The CORE 4 Supplement Protocol for a Robust Life
It’s no secret that we’re really big fans of supplementation. Very few of us actually get the nutrients we need from food alone, even if we’re eating really well. It’s tough to get that much variation in our diet and that’s why supplementation is so important. But walking into a supplement store for the very first time can be overwhelming. Not only are there a crazy amount of different nutrients to choose from, but there’s variation in brands, chemical structure, and dosing.
We’ve found that it's always best to start small and supplementation is no exception. On this episode we talk about four absolutely essential nutrients that are a fantastic starting point for anyone wanting to supplement. Listen in to learn why a multivitamin, omega-3, green drink with probiotics, and vitamin D should be in everyone’s cabinet.
Some Topics We Discussed:
What are some common denominators that have created optimal health in people? (1:39)
What is The Core 4 program? (12:34)
What to look for in an omega-3? (14:04)
Why is Vitamin D so critical? (16:14)
How do I pick a quality multivitamin? (18:51)
Why should we incorporate a green drink into our diet? (21:26)
Why is magnesium important? (26:50)
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
You can manipulate your genes with nutrition. (8:14)
The Core 4 program is the easiest way to optimize your health. (13:21)
Shoot for 50 nanograms per milliliter on a Vitamin D test, not the reference ranges. (16:43)
Greens are not just another form of vitamin. They help us detox better than almost anything. (21:32)
Magnesium is responsible for over 300 chemical reactions in the body. (27:04)
Products + Resources:
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT
Brian Strickland 00:43 Hello, listeners and welcome back to The Holistic Navigator Podcast, where we believe in the body's ability to heal itself, if given the proper nutrients and care it deserves. My name is Brian Strickland. I'm the producer of the show. And here with me in our studio is your host, Mr. Ed Jones. Ed, how are you doing today?
Ed Jones 01:02 Thank you, Brian, I'm doing quite well. I'm going through a good period of sleep. Sometimes I like all humans go through cycles of not being able to rest as well as other times. But I have my little toolkit with all my GABA and all my good things. So right now I'm feeling great, very rested. And thank you for asking.
Brian Strickland 01:21 Well, you're doing better than I am then. But today, guys for talking about some of the most basic nutrients for the foundation of optimal health, something we refer to as the core four. We believe these are essential nutrients everyone needs. So let's not waste any time getting into this conversation. Ed, in your long experience in this industry, have you witnessed any common denominators that have created optimal health for people? Or have you seen a lack of something that has led to really the devastation of people's health?
Ed Jones 01:54 Absolutely, Brian, in fact, before I came in here this morning, I pulled up my iPhone, my new iPhone, I've just switched off Android. So I've gone to the other side and so far is doing pretty well. But I did the calculator on there, I thought I wonder how many approximate people I have actually counseled and listened to and observed over my 41 years. And I deal with probably 20 plus people a day, but I actually did the numbers and only 10. So it came up to 106,000 people and we're not talking just casual conversation, I'm talking really digging into their life, their lifestyle, their exercise, their health issues, their supplement program, not treating diseases, but listening and educating. So 100,000 plus, I have seen so many common denominators. One reason I've seen it is because I look for it. Keep in mind people that that you know, when your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And that is my description of many parts of the conventional medical model, because their toolkit is limited. And they are taught very well in school how to use the pieces of that toolkit, but it kind of boxes them in. And that's certainly as true as prevention and nourishment and preventing disease. You know, it's a lot easier to round a horse up a lot easier to keep a horse in the barn, then round it up if you leave the fence open. Well that's what's happening in conventional medicine. They're actually leaving that fence open. But they're sure ready to come in with the the big guns if you're not feeling well. But those are treating symptoms most of the time. And again, I don't mean to demean people in the conventional medical model, because they're wonderful, well intended, very smart, but they're in a broken system. I call it the sick care system, certainly not health care system. But your question is, have I seen a pattern or common denominator? Absolutely. And here I'm going to explain to you how you can probably prevent or delay by even decades, the devastation of poor health. You know, it continues to amaze me, Brian, I listen and talk to people constantly, as you know, I would do because that's my life involving nutrition. And so many other people can watch their loved ones and their friends being devastated by disease and the treatments involved. But yet, for some reason, they think it won't happen to them. And it's just not true. Well, you know, what if we visualize what we want our future health to look like? I kind of made a few notes here. I think that most people maybe not at 18 years old, but I'd say it 30 plus when they've witnessed some loved ones, some family members maybe themselves struggling through health. They're kind of wondering, why does this happen? Because there is a reason for poor health people. It isn't jumping off the moon and coming into your bedroom at night and making It making it occur. It is mechanisms, it's biochemistry, there are so many reasons for poor health and disease, and you're not being looked at from that angle. So what are the things if you visualize your future health as far as what you want and what you don't want? Well, one is, you don't want chronic aches and pains. If you talk to your great grandmother, your grandmother, you're going to see you know, probably or grandfather is hobbling around, maybe taking lots of Advil and Motrin, you know, having stiffness, having arthritis, all the things that come with older years of living. Well, we don't want that, that ideally, we're visualizing. We don't want chronic aches and pains to we want to maintain a stable mood and emotions, all of us know that it's epidemic, the anxiety and depression that is, is really facing every other person, it seems. So we want to maintain a mental function that is far more stable. When I say maintain, it's so much easier to maintain than to treat. Number three, we want to create health that in itself is showing as glowing skin, radiant hair, healthy nails and bright eyes. The next time in the next few minutes when you meet the next few people look into their eyes and see if it's glowing, if it's bright, if it's sparkling. That's what we should have most of the time. Not like if you slept bad last night, Brian it's going to take away from some of that temporarily. But we know we can recover. Lastly, the biggest concerns of most people, if they've lived long enough to see the world is there dreaded fear of the villains that seem to be lurking in the dark around the corners for us. What are those? Cancer and heart disease. Almost every one of us has experiences with loved ones, friends and family who have been devastated by that. And the truth is, they're not lurking close. They really aren't. But we are inviting them into our life by our lifestyle and our lack of knowledge. Do not expect conventional education and knowledge to be addressing this conversation. They can't. They can treat it in an acute emergency very well, but not for the prevention. But today, I am going to give you a treasure map to what I call the pot of gold that's going to transform and protect your long term health as much as it possibly can, which is significant people. You know, you're told by your physician, it's in your genes. You know what? That makes me laugh because the Genome Project, which everyone had all the hopes and dreams that it was going to fix our entire future of mankind and disease. Where do you read about it anymore? You don't, because none of it really played out. None of it. We have the same basic genetic structure as a earthworm or a mouse or something else and we can't manipulate it with pharmaceuticals. You can manipulate it though with nutrition. That's the secret people. You know what, in 1971, December 23, Richard Nixon announced the war on cancer. In that year, there were one in 33 people had cancer. Today, it's one in three. I don't know about you, but those numbers seem like we're going the wrong direction. And it's not because they diagnosed it early. A little of it is, but we can see that the decades have just continued to have a slide down. And you know, the life expectancy for the US right now is approximately 78 years. Guess what? Cuba is 77.7. Puerto Rico 78.9 and Germany's at 80.07. Well, you know what, Cuba and Puerto Rico, you can imagine they're still living kind of the older school of eating at home, more activity, more sunshine, doing the things like we have an for decades in existence. Unlike Americans who are mainly doing less exercise eating far more artificial foods. They won't allow bad junk food at a family table in some of these countries. But here it's just become the norm. And you know what? It's scary. And an analogy I want to use before I tell you the secret to how to put a plan together that I'm convinced will 80% reduce your chance of chronic disease is a goldfish. Just think back when you were young and I don't know if the young people today are using or buying or having goldfish like I did when we grew up. We had so few things to fool with and it was just, you know, it was my little love pet. Well, if you think about the goldfish, you go to the pet store and you buy it. Well, it's pretty simple the rules of the game. The rules of the game to keep that goldfish healthy is the water needs to be fairly relatively pure. That means no chlorine or toxins. Makes sense. Who wouldn't think that would be important to it has to have oxygen in the water. So we make sure it has a little pump, and it pumps those bubbles through. Third, it has to have a timely nourishment. Nourishment, meaning two things calories, and nutrients. Well, of course, we buy the goldfish food, it seems to be complete and we feed the goldfish, but we of course have to do it on timely manner. We don't do it once a month, and we don't do it five times a day. Next is temperature of the water. And last is pH acid alkaline. So those are the five things that will produce a healthy goldfish that can live a normal life expectancy. But guess what? What if we had a goldfish health care system similar to ours, and all of a sudden after about two months ago, fish was struggling, the color was getting fading out, he was sitting on the bottom of the tank still breathing still moving, guess what the goldfish healthcare system would say? We're not going to worry about the oxygen, the chlorine, the nourishment, maybe we'll yeah, we'll look at that the temperature the water, I'm not going to pay much attention to the pH because we're going to just put in that water every day an antifungal and antibiotic, a little bit of steroids and some painkillers. And the fish will be okay. Guess what? That makes no common sense to you as a listener or to anyone who would hear it. But that's exactly what is in the toolkit of 90% of every visit to every physician is that. Why would we not look into the water of that goldfish? Same reason we don't look into the nutritional content and lifestyle of human beings. Follow the money trail, that is the main thing. So I want to start right now telling you after all of my 41 years, when I connect the dots of when I hear these people talk to them and see what they're taking. This is the core program that will put together for you the most successful odds of aging gracefully, feeling wonderful and lessening disease. Doesn't guarantee anything, but I can tell you with 100% accuracy is going to put the odds back in your court. So Brian, I'm going to talk about what I called The Core Four Plus. I actually came up with this a few years ago, because I saw so many individuals who were basically looking at hundreds or 1000s of selections of nutrients. And they were just like how fog had come over, they had no idea where to begin. And I understand that
Brian Strickland 12:59 It's completely overwhelming walking in the store if you don't know where to begin.
Ed Jones 13:03 Right. And you know, you visit different health stores, you look online. And so many people throw their hands up or they do the wrong thing. They want to do something right. So, you know, they do the best they can they read the ads, they look at this. And it's just the devil is in the details, people. My core four plus, which is something I accidentally fell into probably 25 years ago, because we didn't have the research back then. I couldn't bring up PubMed and say, what are the studies showing that that taking this would do that. But we do now. And that's what's even more frustrating because conventional medicine now has the evidence, but they won't address it. They won't teach their members about how to educate their patients. Okay, here's what you're gonna do people if you truly want to live a long, optimal life, and you don't want to fool with really reading about nutrients, really investigating not even doing blood work. This is what has to be taken. One: omega three. We all hear omega three, which is fish oil. And what you have to do with this is take the right brain at the right dose. Because again, if you take a brand that has heavy metals, it's very toxic to your body. You have to be an informed consumer. And the number one predictor of mortality on a blood test for people over 50 guess what it is? It's omega three levels. When our omega three levels are very low, your chance of mortality is many times higher than it is on the optimal range. Well, I will ask you this question. How many times is your physician tested your omega 3s? Zero. That's exactly right. You're gonna have to put together a team approach for your long term future with someone who understands this. It doesn't mean you get rid of the people you have. They're wonderful for acute emergencies but for long term you got to get someone else or create partnerships. That's one reason I'm, I know you're listening to this. Well on The Holistic Navigator under products, you can order blood work on your own and go to your local lab to have it drawn, I highly recommend you going to our holistic navigator product page and ordering some of the important bloodwork. I did do a podcast on blood work, I encourage you to listen to that before you actually order in case you want more things. All right, omega three, make it really quick and simple. You want 2000 milligrams of EPA DHA, that is the critical numbers to get the results you want, which is what are the results? Better memory, less loss of memory, less inflammation, better rhythm of the heart. You know, many people especially men die quickly because it's not because they had a bad heart. It's because their heart got out of rhythm. And of course, you know that if it starts doing that and starts just formulating, then it can't pump blood and then you fall on the floor. And if you don't have a defibrillator or some miracle comes in, you may pass away. A lot of times stress triggers it and lack of omega three. So take your omega threes people. Number two vitamin D, we talk about it probably every third or fourth podcast. Vitamin D is actually not a vitamin, it is a hormone. And we know from looking at studies the further up from the equator that people live, which means less sun, means less blood levels of D, the more incidence of many diseases, especially autoimmune, MS, depression, on and on and on. Now, so many people I talked to say, Oh, I take vitamin D. So have you had your blood checked? And they're like, no, no, do I need it? Well, I'm just telling you this personally, I have to do 14,000 units a day to be barely minimum. Well, that means if I follow the common advice of take 2000 or even 5000 a day, I would still be very low. And what is very low do to me or other people? Increased hip fractures, more depression, less stamina, and here's a big one for men less testosterone. If a guy comes in and talks to me with low testosterone, I can tell you that with a $6 bottle of vitamin D and getting blood levels to 50 nanograms or up to 80 he will have 20% more testosterone for a $6 remedy and reduce cancer rates significantly. So again, do your blood testing. Do it through the Holistic Navigator if you don't have a health care practitioner who is open to this. But remember the 50 nanogram is what you shoot for not the reference ranges. Third, so we've gone through omega three, vitamin D, the third of this core four is a multivitamin. Multivitamins contain a huge array of different nutrients. Each of those nutrients has a specific purpose. It makes enzymes happen, it makes digestion happen, it makes brain chemicals produced, there's you know of course encyclopedias are written on the function of each of these nutrients. B complex alone converts food to energy. Then we have the minerals that help build the body, help maintain so many functions. But multivitamins as a general rule are still old school I walk into many stores including health food stores that have old, non current poorly researched formulas from the 80s. They just stick around. I don't know why. Well, I do not believe in a multivitamin should contain folic acid it has to contain methyl folate.
Brian Strickland 18:51 I feel like multis is a category where people will get really confused about what to look for. So can you just maybe run through some of the bare basics of what to look for when choosing one?
Ed Jones 19:00 Absolutely. And you're exactly right, because they all are labeled to look pretty dang good. And you know, inviting. They like okay, this is my insurance policy. I'm going to take this of course the number one thing is Centrum is the worst multivitamin that has ever been produced because of everything from the red dyes, to the synthetics, to the fact that a tablet that's so hard, but as far as multivitamin one tip is buy capsules. Generally, generally capsules are a better quality and they will melt in the human body much quicker. I had a gentleman probably 15 years ago he was at the time I said he was quite old. And he was probably exactly where I am now. But he was taking the calcium magnesium from a very good company who had actual studies to show the time it would take for this pill to dissolve. Well, he was taking this for many many months and he one day he hurt his back. Went to the chiropractor and the chiropractor did some x rays. This got brought me in the X rays and guess what I saw? I saw about four or five of these tablets scattered all the way down his intestinal tract to his rectum. They were totally intact. He never saw them when he pooped them out because they're covered with black, you know, and most people don't expect their stools quite like I do. So we really convinced me no one over 40 or 50 needs to be doing these tablets. Stick with capsules, you know, they're going to melt in seven minutes because they're gelatin, and they will do a far better job. Because if we're not melting, they're doing nothing. And then the other thing with multis, you know, the synthetic versions are rampant everywhere with using synthetic vitamin E and many of the nutrients that are simply not what is on the level of excellence. We're not dealing with paper towels here, people. This is something a cup is not a commodity, it is something that is an insurance against disease. It is so freakin important. And I'll mention this again in a minute. But you know, we partner with nutritionw.com in order to have a trusted resource, and that company has definitely removed any and all products that would be questionable, because they go through every single label and actually know every company. So if you need to order anything nutritionw.com under shopping, and they do sand with ice packs. So in the summer, you don't have to worry about it. Next, a green drink, Brian, I don't know, do you drink a green drink?
Brian Strickland 21:31 I do.
Ed Jones 21:31 Okay. People think when I say the word green drink, that is just another source of vitamins. And it's truly not. And what I mean by that is there's a system in the liver called P450. Anyone who studied biochemistry or anatomy would probably know that. What does it do? It turns compounds that could potentially be dangerous to us, which we ingest with every breath. And every piece of food and drink of water, or drug that we take it has to go through the liver, the P 450. Then dismantles it into its more separate components. So we can either be utilized, or it can be excreeted. Well guess what happens to many of us because of the overload of toxins in our life, is that we aren't doing this. So we're actually backing up almost like a septic tank that is getting full. Now when you drink a green drink is turning on these p450 systems. One of the reasons we get disease is the level of toxicity in our life. Can you imagine if you think back to the American Indians? What kind of chemicals did they come in contact with? There was zero. None. I mean, they might have had a little bit of metal. But they didn't have any chemicals, no fertilizers, no antibiotics, nothing. And so they didn't have a high level of toxins. And you know, actually, when we look at the life expectancy of people that I've written about this before, the greatest turn of events to improve life expectancy had nothing to do with medicine. It was the plumbers. The plumbers is what did it because most diseases back in the 30s. And before was spread because of lack of sanitation. And we did that because we would go poop somewhere or urinate or dump garbage and there wasn't a system to move it through. So it stagnated and it fed the whole toxic world. So don't think that conventional medicine should take the credit for all of this except in end of care. They can extend it but big time is on delivery of babies. That's where it hugely, their skill levels have just blossomed and of course does a wonderful thing. So we're down to the omega three, the vitamin D, the multivitamin, the green drink, and I want to include probiotics in that if I can. And so drinking that I put it in my special morning drink which I spoke up before which I do a keto drink. I put the green drink in it. And I put MCT and I put flax seed that's been my breakfast for four years. The green drink does not bother that taste but if you do it by itself, you know that you have to want to do this. And what do you do mix it in Brian?
Brian Strickland 24:27 I do something similar. Do you mix it in with the morning shake. And I agree it's I mean, sometimes it's not really palatable if you're just drinking it straight with water or milk but mixing it in with a flavored protein and if you put any kind of like blueberries or other berries in the shake, or if that masks it pretty well.
Ed Jones 24:45 Yep. And the thing is, you know even if I don't do well the rest of the day eating if I do this for breakfast with my protein, my keto, my fiber, and my MCT, I know that I've that had the equivalent of six servings of organic, green phytochemical powerful colored vegetables.
Brian Strickland 25:05 That was one question I did have. What kind of complexity are you looking for? In a greens powder? I mean, some of them have A-Z everything that you could think of some of them are a little more simple. Is there a benefit to having a more simple formula than a more complex?
Ed Jones 25:25 No actually see phytochemicals are the molecule that's in colored foods that offer that particular plant a protection from something. Nature did not put color into foods to please human beings. It didn't put it in there for photographers, they didn't put it in for any reason other than that particular color has an ability to protect it from either pest, ozone, disease, fungus, any number of things that could attack it and kill it. So if we adjust these phytochemicals, guess what, we share some of that protective shield that nature has put into them. And I'm a huge fan of using a very multiple sourced greens and when I say greens, it does not include a lot of carbohydrate greens. Now if it does, you need put that product back. You want something that includes the basic good things like the broccolis or the cauliflowers, but you also want stuff like maybe algaes and chlorella and spirulina, you may want some mushrooms. Because each has a different purpose. And so, look for variety, look for very low sugar, and you still don't know because you don't know how they were actually harvested and grown. But I'd say many of the green companies being fairly reputable. And every single day I will drink a green drink. Now lastly, and you know, I've started harping on this particular nutrient, because I know of its massive importance to longevity, and also feeling well, which is magnesium. Why is it so vital? Because 300 enzymes and purposes of the body rely on this molecule, and most Americans are deficient. And what happens when you are? The body then wants to do something called constrict different organs and tissues. What is that? It could be the arteries. What does that mean? Oops, blood pressure, asthma. What is that? The lungs are constricting. Muscle cramps? How about a fib? How about headaches? Magnesium head plays a huge role in preventing kidney stones. It also has so much to do with relaxation and sleep because without it constructiveness means tightness and tightness can prevent you from relaxing well, that prevents sleep. But to make it very simple, if you want to listen to the details, go back and hear my other one. But to make it super simple today do not buy magnesium oxide. It is the one form that is wonderful for constipation, but it doesn't get to the heart and doesn't get to the other parts of the body that we want. And I shoot for 400 to 500 milligrams a day myself. I love magnesium threonate. I do two of those a day because it maintains memory, because it's the only magnesium that passes the brain barrier. And then I do two to three of a glycinate or a chelate type of magnesium. Side effect: loose stools if you have a tendency but not if you get the good brands. There you go. So if someone will do the Core 4 Plus, I don't care if it's your 25 year old son or daughter or your 85 year old grandparents, they will see results. How they feel and I can tell you if they do enough good functional medicine blood work on day one, and they do core four for 90 days and then repeat it, it may not even look like the same person in their chemistry. Chemistry is what produces your future people. It isn't just luck, and it's not just genes. And we can change your chemistry with the right nutritional program. And what's going to happen is you're going to all of a sudden become more resilient, more adaptable, maintain grit and grit is a word I really stumbled upon last week again, which is seems to be lacking in people because they don't have the the maybe the overall stamina that used to be around. I don't know. But grit means tough times calm and you are going to make it through because you have got a strong strong physical and emotional system. And so people I am so thrilled to always try to help and educate and again if you want to look into products go to nutritionw.com. But I always still love Hippocrates. And one thing he said, which I've repeated maybe a couple times is illnesses do not come upon us out of the blue. They are developed from small daily sins against nature. When enough sins have accumulated, illnesses will suddenly appear. Wow, that is so wise. And again, the disclaimer is if you have medical conditions, check with your health care practitioner, hopefully one that you trust before you start things. Thank you, listeners. Thank you so very much. I love doing this. And I look forward to many many more you have you have any questions, please email them. Have a wonderful and safe day. Thank you.
Brian Strickland 30:44 The information on this podcast and the topics discussed have not been evaluated by the FDA or any one of the medical profession and is not aimed to replace any advice you may receive from your medical practitioner. The holistic navigator assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any purchaser or reader of these materials. The holistic navigator is not a doctor nor does he claim to be please consult your physician before beginning any health regimen.
“This is the core program that will put together for you the most successful odds of aging gracefully, feeling wonderful, and lessening disease… It will put the odds back in your court.”
-ED JONES