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, guercetin, 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, I 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 ALC, ginkgo, choline, and
DMAE,
simply don’t agree with my system, but I have found NADH,
phosphatidylserine, pregnenolone,
CoQ10, Idebenone, and
Lipoic Acid to be especially
helpful.
Since chronic cortisol excess is
the "archenemy" of the aging brain, and I have been hyper-cortisolic
since youth, I continually search for cortisol-controlling supplements. I have
found Vitamin C, Melatonin, 7-Keto DHEA,
Dilantin, 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 (2.4grams, 2-4 times daily)
Pramiracetam (300mg twice daily)
Aniracetam (375mg twice daily)
Oxiracetam (400mg twice daily).
I also use:
Pyritinol (100-200mg daily)
Hydergine (4.5-6.75mg daily)
Vinpocetine (2.5-7.5mg 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. Etc, etc.
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!
The above article is
copyrighted and may not be copied without the written permission of
International Antiaging Systems, Les Autelets Suite A, Sark
GY9 0SF, Channel Islands, UK.
