Fortify Your Life: Your Guide to Vitamins, Minerals, and More

by Tieraona Low Dog M.D.

Overview

Health-conscious consumers read nutritional labels, but it's nearly impossible to get the nutrients we need with diet alone. To get the USDA-recommended daily quota of vitamin D, for example, you need to eat 15 eggs or 26 sardines; of iron, 414 almonds or 15 cups of broccoli. So we rely on nutritional supplements—vitamins and minerals, probiotics and enzymes—but the variety of pills, products, and elixirs on the market today is overwhelming. And, as we have seen in recent news, some of these products are downright fakes. Trusted natural health physician and bestselling author Tieraona Low Dog, M.D. provides a personalized approach to using nutritional supplements for your specific health needs, helping you navigate the complex and often confusing landscape of vitamins, minerals, and more.
 
Dr. Low Dog explains the basics about every essential nutritional supplement and guides the reader in creating a personalized supplement plan, tailored to individual genetics, age, gender, and lifestyle. Low Dog evaluates current research, explains the relationship between food and supplements, describes how medications cause chemical imbalances in the body, and advises on how to judge brands and read labels.
 
Low Dog engages and encourages readers to take charge of their own health and provides guidance to find the right combination of nutritional supplements to improve mood, strength, energy, and well-being.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781426216688
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/02/2016
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	392,555
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

TIERAONA LOW DOG, M.D., is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of integrative medicine, dietary supplements, herbal medicine and women’s health. Dr. Low Dog has been an invited speaker to more than 550 scientific conferences, has published 45 peer-reviewed articles, written 22 chapters for medical textbooks, and published five books including National Geographic’s Life is Your Best Medicine and Healthy at Home. She is a frequent guest on the Dr. Oz show and NPR’s The People’s Pharmacy. She currently serves as the Fellowship Director for the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine where she leads the nation’s first inter-professional graduate level training program in integrative medicine.

Table of Contents

Preface 9

Introduction 13

Chapter 1 Life Fortified 23

Chapter 2 Inside the Bottle and Behind the Label 33

Chapter 3 Vitamins 73

Chapter 4 Minerals 145

Chapter 5 Nutraceuticals 199

Chapter 6 Supplements for Common Ailments 249

Chapter 7 Making Sense of Health Information 259

Appendix 1 Your Food Journal 279

Appendix 2 Your Personalized Supplements Chart 281

Appendix 3 Laboratory Tests 285

Appendix 4 Drug-Nutrient Depletions and Interactions 297

Glossary 322

Acknowledgments 325

Index 327

Editorial Reviews

11/02/2015
Physician Low Dog (Healthy at Home) focuses on foundational supplements (vitamins and minerals) as well as a handful of her favorite nutraceuticals (probiotics, melatonin, etc.) in this useful resource. Readers expecting a dry read will be pleasantly surprised; Low Dog interweaves historical nuggets (e.g. beriberi, caused by thiamine deficiency, was discovered by Chinese physicians more than 1,300 years ago) into pertinent information about the vitamins and minerals that keep the body running smoothly. The author observes that many Americans do not eat healthfully (she learned from her patients’ food journals that many rely on carbs, especially sugar, and caffeine); she notes that the nutritional value of produce has declined and the use of pesticides and presence of environmental toxins has risen, writing that “more than ever, our cells need protection from the damaging effects of environmental pollutants.” In addition, she writes, heavy use of medications can lead to nutritional deficiencies (as explained in an appendix). Through this comprehensive guide to nutrition and supplements, readers will gain an understanding of the crucial role of vitamins and minerals and precisely how, when, and why supplements are beneficial. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Fortify Your Life is a must-have for everybody who cares for their health." --The Washington Book Review

From the Publisher