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My Personal Supplement Regime
by James South MA
Since 1971, at age 23, I have been
pursuing the "elixir of life" and the "fountain of youth."
I suffered many severe health problems
from infancy, including disabling allergies and asthma; severe arthritis of the
knees; motion sickness so severe I would sometimes vomit riding in the car; and
neuromuscular balance and co-ordination problems that would frequently cause me
to trip going upstairs, or even over my own feet. By the time I reached college,
I had suffered several head injuries, had suffered an explosion and episodes of
chemical poisoning in my home chemistry lab, and had almost died in hospital
from acute alcohol poisoning. In short, I was not exactly a candidate for a long
and healthy life.
Medical Epiphany
I also realized by my early 20’s that
standard medicine and doctors frequently offered little help, and often made my
problems worse. I resolved to take control of my own health destiny, and
achieved a "medical epiphany" in 1971 after reading Adelle Davis’
"Let’s Eat Right To Keep Fit" and R.J. Williams’ Nutrition
Against Disease" back to back.
In short order I was taking 50 nutritional
supplements per day, and within weeks many of my lifelong health problems were
vastly improved. I have avoided most of orthodox medicine ever since, and as a
consequence I am overall much healthier at 51 than I was in youth.
Annual Intake
Since 1971, I have taken over 1,000,000
nutritional supplement pills, including over 250 pounds of Vitamin C (8-15 grams
per day). As director of research and product formulator for Source Naturals
Vitamin company from 1987 through 1995, I was able to create many products
custom-tailored for my own health needs, which I have taken ever since. I took
my first life extension drug (Gerovital-GH3) in 1980, and began regular use of
Hydergine in 1982, but did not begin my current extensive life
extension/nootropic drug program until 1989, when I first discovered overseas
pharmacies to supply them.
Allergies and Asthma
My long term difficulties with allergies
and asthma have been steadily diminishing since 1971; throughout the 1990’s my
yearly incidence of allergy and asthma attacks has dwindled virtually to zero.
Vitamin C, quercetin, vitamin A, pycnogenol and grape seed extract, magnesium
and EPA/DHA and GLA have all helped decrease my allergic reactivity. I began
using thymus extracts in the 1970’s, but have never found any as effective as
Thym-Uvocal, which I’ve been using since 1993 (3-4 twice daily on empty
stomach). At the same time Thym-Uvocal has reduced my immune hyperactivity, it
has strengthened my germ-fighting ability.
I suffered frequent severe colds when
younger, yet since taking Thym-Uvocal in 1993, I have not gotten a single severe
cold, and rarely get even a mild/brief (3-5 days) cold.
Sleep-Aid Program
Chronic insomnia has plagued me since
childhood, and so I have gradually perfected a sleep-aid program. I usually take
2-3mg Melatonin, 25mg Dilantin, 1000mg Tryptophan (or 100mg 5-HTP), 1-2 grams
GABA, 1-2 grams Glycine, 2-3 grams Inositol, 1 gram Magnesium and 500mg Calcium,
1 gram Taurine, and various herbs at bedtime. Even with this extensive program I
still have my occasional sleepless nights, no doubt due to my intensive
nootropic/ neuronutrient intake.
Neuronutrients and nootropic drugs are the
core of my supplement program. I routinely take
B1 500-1000mg
B3 500-1000mg
B6 200mg
Biotin 10-15mg and other B’s as well.
Many of the popular neuronutrients, such as Acetyl L-Carnitine, ginkgo, choline and
DMAE,
simply don’t agree with my system, but I have found NADH,
phosphatidylserine,
pregnenolone, CoQ10, Idebenone and
Alpha Lipoic Acid to be especially helpful.
Since chronic cortisol excess is the
"archenemy" of the aging brain, and I have been hypercortisolic since
youth, I continually search for cortisol-controlling supplements. I have found
Vitamin C, Melatonin, 7-Keto DHEA, Dilantin
(phenytoin), Phosphatidylserine and GH3 to be
useful in minimizing cortisol excess.
Nootropic Drugs
Because of the continuous study I do in my
fields - not just nutrition, biochemistry and medicine - I have found it helpful
as I get older to utilize a broad array of nootropic drugs. These help to
maximize my memory, concentration, information-processing, comprehension and
integration abilities. They have also reduced my severe life-long writing block.
The brain repair produced through my
neuronutrients/nootropic program has long since overcome my
co-ordination/balance problems. One of the ways I occasionally demonstrate this
to myself is to whirl around on one foot at high speed like a "whirling
dervish" then instantly stop and reverse direction in a split second,
whirling again at high speed, without even slight loss of balance or dizziness.
My current nootropic intake includes:
Piracetam
(2.4 grams, 2-4 times daily)
Pramiracetam (300mg twice daily)
Aniracetam (375 mg twice daily)
Oxiracetam (400 mg twice daily).
I also use:
Pyritinol
(100-200 mg daily)
Hydergine (4.5-6.75 mg daily)
Vinpocetine (2.5-7.5 mg daily)
on occasion, especially when writing.
One of my favorite nootropic’s is
Discovery’s liquid Deprenyl Citrate. I had used Jumex (Deprenyl HCL)
intermittently over the years, but found that it didn’t agree with me. It
often made me irritable, anxious, "uptight" and even depressed at
times. About 2 years ago Dr. Ward Dean convinced me to try the liquid Deprenyl,
and much to my surprise I found it to be qualitatively different from Jumex. I
find it to be an excellent mood elevator, psychoenergizer, and
motivation-enhancer. It has improved my fine neuromuscular control, and seems to
be a dopaminergic neuroprotector. I take 1-3 drops sublingually upon arising
every morning. It may not be a coincidence that I’ve written more in the past
two years than the previous decade.
Antioxidant Power
Another major purpose of my supplements
program is to optimize my body’s antioxidant power. I routinely take C, E,
Tocotrienols, selenium, zinc, manganese, Lutein, Lycopene, Glutathione,
Lipoic Acid, various Proanthocyanidins, Silymarin and at times
Pyritinol to mop up the
free radical excess that is inevitably produced both by normal metabolism and
life in our toxic modern world. Having followed the free radical/antioxidant
technical literature for decades, I have no doubt that free radical damage is
one of the main, if not the main, causes of aging and degenerative disease. And
given the furious mitochondrial activity of brain cells (which inevitably
generates massive free radical release), combined with the high-levels of
extremely oxidizable DHA found in neuronal membranes, the brain is doubtless the
most at-risk organ from free radical damage. (S. Levine and P. Kidd’s
"Antioxidant Adaptation" and R. Bradford and H. Allen’s
"Oxidology" are two excellent overview texts on the subject of free
radicals/antioxidants I highly recommend).
Personal Profiles
My occasional laboratory blood profiles
verify the efficacy of my diet, supplement and life extension drug program.
My
last test showed a total blood cholesterol of 165mg%, an HDL level of 66mg%, and
a total cholesterol: HDL ratio of 2.5. (Low heart disease risk is below 3.5). My
blood triglyceride (fat) level was also a low 55mg% (normal = 35-200mg%). Every
one of the 50 or so blood parameters measured was within normal limits - most in
the midrange of normal. And my normally low cholesterol/triglyceride levels are
maintained with a high meat, moderate fat but virtually zero sugar diet. My
lifestyle is also fairly sedentary, with walking being my main exercise. I also
avoid processed foods, junk foods and fried foods like the plague they are.
Self micro-management
Another benefit of my supplement program,
combined with my technical knowledge and decades of careful self-observation, is
my ability to effectively micro-manage my mood, energy, healing, immune and
general health status. If I’m fatigued, I can rev up my energy.
If I’m
agitated, I can rapidly calm myself. If I’m insomniac, I can usually put
myself to sleep. If I’m depressed, I can elevate my mood. If I notice even a
hint of a cold trying to develop I can usually knock it out in 12-hours or less.
If I’m injured I can accelerate wound-healing.
It does take time, energy and discipline
to continuously carry out my health program (not to mention money!) and at times
even I feel it to be a nuisance (I take various supplements five times daily,
from arising to bedtime). Yet given that I’m generally far healthier at 51
than I was at 15, on balance I think it’s all rather a bargain - I never did
enjoy suffering and debility
all that much!
ALL INFORMATION IS EDUCATIONAL AND SHOULD NOT REPLACE THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN.
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