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Created on Thursday, 10 February 2011 02:08

Let’s continue our analysis of Dr. Donald Miller’s personal supplement program.

Lipoic  Acid- Dr. Miller takes 600 mgs of Alpha Lipoic Acid and 400 mgs of R-Lipoic Acid. I only take R-Lipoic Acid. My understanding is that Alpha Lipoic Acid consists of S-Lipoic and R-Lipoic in equal amounts, but that only the R portion is usable by the human body. If that’s true, what then is the point of taking Alpha? Perhaps there is more to this than I know, but I will point out that the Life Extension Foundation, which used to recommend A-LA, now recommends only R-LA.   For a long time, there was no stable form of R-Lipoic Acid, but now there is. I honestly do not know why Dr. Miller, or anyone else, continues to take Alpha Lipoic Acid.

Coenzyme Q10- Dr. Miller takes 400 mgs of the Ubiquinol form of CoQ10, also known as CoQ10-H2. I also take the Ubiquinol form, but I have generally only been taking 100 mg a day.  Sometimes, I’ll take 200 mg in a day, but that is as high as I’ve gone. But, I’m all for higher dosing when there is a specific indication for it, such as with heart failure or Parkinson’s disease.  CoQ10 has become one of the most popular supplements in the world, and for good reason.  Nothing revs up your mitochondria like CoQ10.

Carnitine- Dr. Millers takes 660 mg of L-Carnitine and 2000 mg of Acetyl-L-Carnitine every day. I have only been taking Acetyl-L-Carnitine, 1000 mg. The difference is that the acetylated form of L-Carnitine gets into the brain more readily. Carnitine, like CoQ10, is very important to the heart, although the standard L-Carntine is just as effective there, Again, regarding dosing, it comes down to what you can afford and what your tolerance is for swallowing pills and capsules. There are no safety issues that I know of.  

Omega 3 fatty acids-  Dr. Miller is taking about 1000 mg each of EPA and DHA from fish oil. I have been taking about 2/3 as much, also from fish oil.  However, it’s interesting that Dr. Miller takes his in the form of Cod Liver Oil. CLO is different from standard fish  oil in that it is high in Vitamin A.  He is getting 23,000 IUs of Vitamin A from that cod liver oil, which is considered a very high dose. He is also getting 2500 IUs of Vitamin D, which brings his total Vitamin D intake to 7500 IUs. Dr. Miller says that in the form of Cod Liver Oil, and in combination with Vitamin D, that amount of Vitamin A is perfectly safe. There has been concern in recent years about toxicity from Vitamin A, and most vitamin companies have reduced the amount of pre-formed Vitamin A in their multis, including VRP. You probably know that the orange pigment beta-carotene is a precursor to Vitamin A. The body seems to be able to convert beta-carotene to Vitamin A without difficulty. Some have questioned whether we need any pre-formed Vitamin A at all, which is strictly an animal product. But, Dr. Miller believes that Vitamin A is safe and beneficial, but only when derived from cod liver oil.

We will continue looking at Dr. Miller’s program next time.