“Progesterone, thyroid, vitamin D, calcium and aspirin are helpful/curative for autoimmune problems, including lupus; unopposed estrogen is the basic factor in autoimmune diseases”. –Ray Peat.

My supplement list is purposely very small. I often take vacations for a week or two from each of these items.

All supplements mentioning Peat are based on my own opinions and interpretations from the notes I have taken from him over the years and what I have found useful for my own use as well as from feedback from many, many, many, many others.

I take most of my supplements with purposeful timing and/or combined with real food because the vitamins and minerals naturally found in certain foods are beneficially, synergistically compatible with certain other nutrients.

There is an entourage effect eating certain nutrients together, just like the entourage effect that happens from consuming whole plant cannabis over an isolated compound from it.

This entourage effect is important to keep in mind when taking supplements, but not to purchase them in “multi” formulations.

Keep in mind the supplement industry is extremely fraudulent. Private testing of products often reveals little to none of the supposed supplement in the product regardless of “Certificates of Testing” results.

AND, the supplement and vitamin industry can make products as dangerous as Big Pharma. 

See my Dangerous Items list.

These purchased supplement products are often full of fillers, starches, stearates, fibers.

Suggested doses for a one-dose tablet, drop, capsule etc. can be either crazy high and unable to be split (many Vitamin D brands for example) or so low as to be laughable and useless (most CBD products).

The carrier materials (the oils in the gel cap, the gel cap itself, the tableting materials of pill tablets) are often contaminated or a not-healthy choice of material.

 

But with all that said, if you have some guidance on what to look for, some supplements can be a valuable health aid in every way.

When purchasing a supplement, you want to look for:

A company or manufacturer that sells products tested in every lot of product AND tests the capsule, gelcap or softgel materials for contaminants and toxins like pesticides, glyphosate, hormones etc. (As a note, this is pretty rare, which is why it’s important to minimize the supplements you take).

Look for a safe oil type for the carrier oil in a supplement that needs oil as the carrier base in a softgel (like vitamin D or K).  A safe oil for example would be a tested-free-of-contaminants olive oil or whole coconut oil (NOT MCT).

Any supplement that comes as a capsule you will want to look for one with no other ingredients except the supplement in the capsule.

You will want to look for a brand without any fillers, stearates, starches or bad oils mixed in.

Gelcaps and Softgels will have the toxins of anything in the gelatin of the capsule itself.

The oils, of any kind, will have the toxins of the oils in it.

Fish oils and MCT oils are dangerous.

If a supplement is ONLY available in tablet form (like CynoPlus), understand that the tableting materials, fibers, and starches and coatings most likely are toxic and you will need to limit your ingestion of those and take frequent vacations from taking them.

You will want to look for a supplement that’s ONLY the specific vitamin you want, not in combo with any other supplement, even if that would be the recommended and beneficial way to take it.

While a vitamin in combo with another would be beneficial and important, you still want to be able to regulate the amount of EACH ONE SEPARATELY.

You will also want to look for a formulation that allows you to regulate how much you regularly take of the minimum dose. 

Generally you want a brand with a minimum effective amount of the nutrient per dose, like a vitamin D supplement that’s only 1,000 IU in one serving dose (one drop, one capsule, one gelcap) for example. That way you can take two doses if you want say 2,000 IU for the day.

Here is the list I usually use, and a secondary list of a few others.  Use care if using any of these suggestions.

Follow links for additional information I provided.

The Cannabis medicine I use is homemade of two ingredients only:  Cleanly tested coconut oil and organically grown whole plant material.  I use it very sparingly (maybe 1/16^th teaspoon of a dose at a time, 2-3 mg THC per dose) and often take several days or weeks at a time vacation from using any of it.

NOTE: Ray Peat has never advised me one way or another about using cannabis. I do not know his suggestions around using it. I have asked him as well as searched for any comments from him about using cannabis and could find none. Though I follow Ray Peat in so much of his protocols and suggestions, using cannabis and my opinions about it is my own decision and mine alone.

Because my arthritis pain is now better managed eating Peat’s suggestions of real food and aspirin and these other few supplements, I usually only need the cannabis medicine for the occasional scoliosis back spasm flare-up.

Progesterone:  ONLY use Ray Peat’s exclusive brand called Kenogen/Progest-E (this is formulated as a dropper squeeze bottle, it includes a premium, pure and natural Vitamin E as the base in the formula). Peat patented the only way progesterone is bioavailable. You can get that here. 

The website I get it from for the last few years has a marvelous write up about its use and what it does. I use progesterone daily. 

And I take no additional Vitamin E of any kind. Much of Vit. E is fraudulently made, and made out of harmful and toxic other base substances.

HACK:  I keep the small dropper bottles of Progest-E in the fridge and then set out the bottle I’m using on the counter in the morning, upside-down in a small container, and let it soften for a few minutes before using it to squeeze some out or the bottle can be too stiff for my hands to press in. After use, I put the bottle back into the door of the fridge.

The drops are very thick and viscous. Some people object to the taste. But we are not after taste– this supplement, Progest-E, besides aspirin, is one of my most important supplements.

I use a few drops of Progest-E (not measured), maybe as much as 1/4th teaspoonful under my tongue in the morning or additional amounts if I have symptoms of excess estrogen or have anxiety.

Anxiety can be a hormone disruptor and for me I find the Progest-E to help protect me from the excess adrenaline and estrogenic spikes and imbalances during anxiety bouts.

When I was younger and still having a period, I used to cycle 2 weeks on/2 weeks off per month taking it but not anymore.

Decades ago I asked one of my most significant friends who I trust about these kind of suggestions and he said both women AND men could take up to maybe 1/2 teaspoonfuls per day amounts of Progest-E.

Thyroid

The supplement I have used for decades is CynoPlus (T4 120 mcg/T3 30 mcg combo product)  and/or CynoMel (T3 only product). The NovoTiral version will also work if CynoPlus is unavailable (which sometimes it has been).

I test myself by pulse and body temperature and any symptoms for its dose and use.  Usually I use 1/2 tablet up to one full tablet daily of the CynoPlus cut into two (a 1/4 th of a tablet) as taken early in the morning each quarter piece about two hours apart.

CynoPlus is available without prescription here and here. 

 

Cascara Sagrada, One 425 mg capsule taken one time per day mid afternoon (around 3pm).  I believe it helps with arthritis pain because the active ingredient, emodin, is anti-inflammatory.  

I get the tested and no-fillers brand here.   I have in past purchased “aged” cascara in pouches of powder by looking online. I haven’t continued buying those only because of convenience.

This company highly tests their products.  Follow the link to see the full Peat article about Cascara it in its entirety.

 

“Emodin, the main thing in cascara, is anti-inflammatory, and by protecting the intestine it helps to reduce histamine, nitric oxide, and endotoxin.” –Ray Peat.

 

Notes supplied from Peat about emodin:

Cancer Lett. 2013 Dec 1;341(2):139-49.
Targeted abrogation of diverse signal transduction cascades by emodin for the
treatment of inflammatory disorders and cancer.
Shrimali D(1), Shanmugam MK, Kumar AP, Zhang J, Tan BK, Ahn KS, Sethi G.
(1)Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University
of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore.
Emodin (1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone) is a natural occurring
anthraquinone derivative isolated from roots and barks of numerous plants, molds, and lichens. It is found as an active ingredient in different Chinese herbs
including Rheum palmatum and Polygonam multiflorum, and has diuretic,
vasorelaxant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-ulcerogenic, anti-inflammatory,
and anti-cancer effects. The anti-inflammatory effects of emodin have been
exhibited in various in vitro as well as in vivo models of inflammation including
pancreatitis, arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis and glomerulonephritis. As an
anti-cancer agent, emodin has been shown to suppress the growth of various tumor cell lines including hepatocellular carcinoma, pancreatic, breast, colorectal,
leukemia, and lung cancers. Emodin is a pleiotropic molecule capable of
interacting with several major molecular targets including NF-κB, casein kinase
II, HER2/neu, HIF-1α, AKT/mTOR, STAT3, CXCR4, topoisomerase II, p53, p21, and
androgen receptors which are involved in inflammation and cancer. This review
summarizes reported anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects of emodin, and
re-emphasizes its potential therapeutic role in the treatment of inflammatory
diseases and cancer.
Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aspirin, I use this every day, as a powder, two or more times per day. It’s fantastic for both pain relief and for histamine reduction during seasonal allergy sneezing times. Follow the link for more information and Peat’s article about aspirin in its entirety.

 

 

 

Histaminum, Boiron Homeopathic.  A non-toxic, no side effects anti-histamine. These also help with arthritis pain amazingly enough. These are tiny sugar pellets that are prepared per an ancient healing modality called homeopathy. A few amount of pellets are dissolved under the tongue in each dose to heal various maladies with no side effects. They work amazingly well!

Explained from the company website:

Boiron Histaminum pellets relieve symptoms of allergic conditions, including hay fever symptoms and hives.* A homeopathic medicine, Histaminum hydrochloricum 30C does not cause drowsiness or interact with other medications or supplements. It will not mask symptoms of a more serious condition. Easy to take, the pellets melt under the tongue without water, chewing, or swallowing pills.

I use this particular version if I’m having an allergic reaction or inflammation reaction to something in the environment, often seasonal tree and grasses allergic sneezing, or asthma like responses.

I’ve also used it to success to calm down a sudden and unexplained eczema outbreak that I suspected was producing excess histamine response.

Vitamin D, TEST your levels of this regularly (once a year if stable levels, or at least 2-3 times when you are trying to find your level) for quantities to use. This is one of the most important supplements to use.  Your dose will usually be 2000-3000 per day but some people need a little more and some less. You must TEST your levels.

I use Vitamin D from this company in softgels with olive oil (can be a source of contaminants, but this company tests) This company also sells it in drops but that has MCT oil and I avoid that.

Be sure wherever you purchase your brand that they test the product and batches sold for effectiveness and for contaminants of their carrier oils

However, Vitamin D is actually a hormone and there are negative side effects when dosing this too high. If you push your levels well over 100 ng/mL blood for a period of time, it could take almost a year without using it at all to return to normal levels.

Side effects can be severe, almost as if one overdosed on caffeine. It can really toss your thyroid readings and supplementation off too.

See the link for additional information about vitamin D.

 

Selenium,  I use this for thyroid support and it’s important to take this at the same time as your first dose of thyroid supplement. I take one 200 mcg capsule early in the morning with the first quarter of thyroid. I use the “Selenoexcel” version from here. I think this version is more bioavailable and is capsuled with no added fillers.  

 

 

 

 

Mushrooms,  I use about 1/2 teaspoon per day of mushroom powder from this provider, just swallowed off a spoon.

You will want to look for brands that are tested pure, tested for active compounds, and that contain NO fillers, NO other grains like rice powders, NO starch.

You are looking for ONLY organic mushroom extract powder.

I buy the package bulk powder version WITHOUT capsules since capsules add another excipient that’s not good to take on a long term basis.

Mushrooms and extracts can be used for quality immune support. Some experiments for healing cataracts without surgery have involved mushroom extracts. Mushrooms are good to eat as nutrient “vegetables” and intestinal support if you boil them long enough.

 

“I have been experimenting with three kinds of mushrooms (ground, sauteed, and boiled) as intestinal disinfectants, and they seem to be a good alternative to carrots and bamboo shoots. The varieties are oyster, white button, and cremini; long cooking is essential for detoxifying them.  An hour of simmering in butter, then boiling with some water for half an hour.”     –Ray Peat.

 

 

Vitamin K2.  Peat suggested it to me years ago to use K2 to help the arthritis inflammation and pain and suggested this company.  The company makes quality, tested, efficacious products.

They do use MCT oil in this version and I use only 1/3^rd of the dose recommended because of that.

I do NOT buy it in combination with the Vit. D, ONLY the K2 (however, it’s ok if you want to, it’s just harder to correctly dose both vitamins if you want to use higher amounts of K2 then your D could be too high). 

It’s the only time I ingest MCT.

 

“Vitamin K, at least one mg/day [one drop of the formula I use], and probably better with 10, helps to protectively regulate calcium and energy metabolism.   Supplementing both vitamin D and vitamin K can reduce inflammation. And 20,000 mcg, or 20 mg; or two or three times that amount might be better, for cancer or osteoporosis correction.” – Ray Peat.

 

OTHER SUPPLEMENTS for occasional or low dose use:

 

MAGNESIUM:  This mineral is so important many might wonder why it’s not listed in the “daily use” list of supplements.  Dr. Peat mentions the needed and positive effect of magnesium often throughout his Newsletters and consultations.

But here’s the rub– almost all the magnesium supplements, from the harshest of Epson Salts to the “Calm” or “Liqui-Min” versions can so irritate the intestines and gut that it’s never recommended as a supplement.

Peat suggests getting it from food such as coffee and from dark greens (chard, kale etc. boiled for 40 minutes with the water discarded to leach these greens from their high oxalic acids, don’t eat these steamed or raw!).

And in our world today, the soils of the Earth are so depleted and spoiled from commercial poisonings and strip farmings that even getting magnesium from foods can be problematic.

Drinking enough coffee to supply our daily magnesium amount can be counterproductive and cause other upsets.

So here I would suggest Homeopathics and Tissue Salts for your magnesium supplements if you are having symptoms that call for more magnesium.

One can look for homeopathic or tissue salt “Mag-Phos” (magnesia phosphorica or magnesium phosphate).

See the products for dosage suggestions.

One can better consult with a homeopathic expert, homeopathic or herb physician for help with these.

We can also get a very safe dose from SOAKING (for at least 20-30 minutes or more) in a tub of clean water with Epson Salts in it (at least 2 cups or more per bath and no other bath additives). This is also fantastic for acute muscle and bone pain flare-ups.

 

Iodine:  (Peat recommends AGAINST supplementing internally with more that 150 mcg (MICROgrams) daily).  It can however, be an enormous aid when applied topically to breast cysts.

Follow the link for more information on iodine as a supplement.

Peat has suggested getting what we need of iodine only from food, especially raw milk, instead of supplementation. He considers the high-dose iodine people to be incorrect in their assessments of their amounts that are safe to take, as well as considers their body tests of iodine to be based on incorrect conclusions of the science.

 

Carbonated Water:  8 to 16 ounces per day, mixed with juice, (or sipped throughout the day) or it can disrupt your hormones. Carbon dioxide is a fantastic healer and body stabilizer. Very important in respiratory functions, and to help detoxify lactic acid. See Ray Peat newsletters for more information.

 

Baking soda, used to increase carbon dioxide levels and normalize the Krebs cycle. People have used it to relieve symptoms of acid reflux and heartburn. If you have any abdominal distress you cannot identify, or you are having gall bladder pains, do NOT use, it could irritate and burn the tract depending on the other distress. If you use it, take less than 1/8th teaspoon mixed in half glass of water to start to be sure it does not burn.

 

Penicillin VK  250 mg tablets, as prescription with Sandoz or without prescription here.  

Years ago my notes with Peat suggested I could ingest 5 tablets of the 250 mg penicillin VK per day when the arthritis was severe. It worked well. I had no secondary symptoms.  I haven’t used it for several years. Prior to that, I took 1/4^th tablet daily prophylactically for years. I have not needed to take this for a number of years.

 

Niacinamide:

 “doses of 50 to 100 mg at intervals of a few hours, reduces inflammation by lowering nitric oxide [for arthritis pain]. Have you tried antihistamines.” –Ray Peat.

Notes provided from Peat on Niacinamide:

Med Hypotheses. 1999 Oct;53(4):350-60.
Niacinamide therapy for osteoarthritis–does it inhibit nitric oxide synthase
induction by interleukin 1 in chondrocytes?
McCarty MF, Russell AL.
Nutrition 21/AMBI, San Diego, CA 92037, USA.
Fifty years ago, Kaufman reported that high-dose niacinamide was beneficial in
osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis. A recent double-blind study
confirms the efficacy of niacinamide in OA. It may be feasible to interpret this
finding in the context of evidence that synovium-generated interleukin-1 (IL-1),
by inducing nitric oxide (NO) synthase and thereby inhibiting chondrocyte
synthesis of aggrecan and type II collagen, is crucial to the pathogenesis of OA.

Niacinamide and other inhibitors of ADP-ribosylation have been shown to suppress cytokine-mediated induction of NO synthase in a number of types of cells; it is therefore reasonable to speculate that niacinamide will have a comparable effect in IL-1-exposed chondrocytes, blunting the anti-anabolic impact of IL-1. The chondroprotective antibiotic doxycycline may have a similar mechanism of action.

Other nutrients reported to be useful in OA may likewise intervene in the
activity or synthesis of IL-1. Supplemental glucosamine can be expected to
stimulate synovial synthesis of hyaluronic acid; hyaluronic acid suppresses the
anti-catabolic effect of IL-1 in chondrocyte cell cultures, and has documented
therapeutic efficacy when injected intra-articularly. S-adenosylmethionine (SAM),
another proven therapy for OA, upregulates the proteoglycan synthesis of
chondrocytes, perhaps because it functions physiologically as a signal of sulfur
availability. IL-1 is likely to decrease SAM levels in chondrocytes; supplemental
SAM may compensate for this deficit. Adequate selenium nutrition may
down-regulate cytokine signaling, and ample intakes of fish oil can be expected
to decrease synovial IL-1 production; these nutrients should receive further
evaluation in OA. These considerations suggest that non-toxic nutritional
regimens, by intervening at multiple points in the signal transduction pathways
that promote the synthesis and mediate the activity of IL-1, may provide a
substantially superior alternative to NSAIDs (merely palliative and often
dangerously toxic) in the treatment and perhaps prevention of OA.

 

Lidocaine patches  [For severe arthritic flare up pain]

“have a systemic anti-inflammatory effect (by inhibiting nitric oxide synthesis) as well as reducing the pain. It can be taken orally, too, for a general antiinflammatory effect.” –Ray Peat.

 

B1 Vitamin (Thiamine): 

Occasional use only, 10 to 100 mg per day. Can help detoxify lactic acid. Best to get from meat, milk, eggs, etc. Note: Some B vitamins are toxic when taken as supplements. Best to use liver once per week. Ray Peat.

 

A Vitamin: Risky when ingested as a supplement or through carotene. Carotene NOT a good source of Vitamin A.

Carotene can accumulate and disrupt the hormones. Very important to regularly get from milk, eggs and liver. It remedies a number of ailments, including skin problems. If needed, in addition to getting it from the food, use it topically on the skin (like the face or chest) by mixing the “palmitate” variety with a slight amount of coconut oil, applying, letting it absorb for awhile, and then washing it off.   – Ray Peat.

 

NOTES:

Most C’s and other supplements contain contaminated and allergenic fillers, HEAVY METALS and can cause hemorrhoids or other persistent problems. See the Dangerous Items list.

CoQ10 supplements are often not bioavailable because of the way they are packaged and/or manufactured (a fragile substance).

Be very, very, very careful about the origin and type of pregnenolone powder (we no longer recommend pregnenolone powder or even DHEA because of the fraud in the industry) and progesterone supplements (only use Ray Peat’s trusted and unique version of progesterone, Progest-E).  Again, this is part of a fraudulent industry, where many products are definitely not as marked on the bottles).