by Chris Shugart
Nutraceuticals fall somewhere between healthy foods and helpful drugs, and they're perfectly legal to obtain without a prescription.
Every day on the way to the gym I pass a billboard for a health food store. It says, "Enjoy your food. Supplement the rest." Not a bad motto, but it's missing something.
One category of supplements sits in the gray area between food and drugs. These supps aren't pharmaceuticals, and while they're food-derived, they're not really food anymore. They do things basic nutrition can't. The category is called nutraceuticals.
Unlike most supplements, they don't just fill gaps left by your regular diet. They prevent and even treat certain disease states. The maker of a nutraceutical "hacks" a food, finds its bioactive component and isolates it. Ideally, the final step involves making that ingredient more bioavailable – better absorbed and utilized by the body.
There are a lot of effective nutraceuticals today, and the category is growing. But if we had to pick the top four backed by robust research, they'd be micellar curcumin, high-absorption resveratrol, DHA, and microencapsulated vitamin D3.
The top four nutraceuticals
1. Micellar curcumin
The active compound in turmeric, curcumin is a powerhouse anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It modulates pathways like NF-kB and reduces arthritis pain and joint aches, supports liver health and neurological health, and lowers cardiovascular risk. But that's just the start. Curcumin...
- Boost erection health and overall sexual functioning.
- Defends against pesticides used on foods.
- Limits fat regain after a diet.
- Fights off viruses.
- Improves mood and battles depression.
Many quickly dismiss curcumin's benefits because its natural bioavailability is poor, but those folks haven't cracked a research paper in years. The absorption problem was solved by UCLA neuroscientists who invented a "solid lipid curcumin complex," patented as Longvida Optimized Curcumin® (Buy at Amazon). Without using synthetic polysorbates or emulsifiers, it increased curcumin's bioavailability by at least 95 times.
The curcuminoids survive initial hydrolysis and deliver free curcumin and its metabolites to the brain and throughout the body via the lymphatic system. Take one dose and high levels of curcumin are detected in the bloodstream within an hour and for a day later. That means a single daily dose is all you need.
2. High-absorption resveratrol
This polyphenol mimics calorie restriction effects, activating sirtuins linked to longevity. It's studied for heart health, neuroprotection, and anti-aging. The gym crowd knows resveratrol for its ability to minimize the effects of excess estrogen, but there's more. Resveratrol...
- Exerts anti-obesity effects and improves metabolic syndrome.
- Combats endocrine disruption and the obesogenic effects of household chemicals.
- Preserves muscle fibers normally lost to aging.
- Reduces waist size. It does so by influencing several metabolic and cellular pathways that impact fat storage, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation.
- Fights off neurological diseases. Several genes and pathways, including those that affect oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage, are implicated in Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairment. Resveratrol has the potential to help both. It also helps with anxiety and depression by enhancing cerebrovascular responsiveness.
To increase absorption, Biotest dissolves pure resveratrol into a mixture used in the pharmaceutical industry to enhance drug bioavailability. It's sold as Rez-V (Buy at Amazon).
3. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)
The partner of EPA, DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid critical for brain and heart function. It's a structural component of cell membranes and has solid evidence for reducing triglycerides, supporting cognition, thwarting depression, and lowering inflammation. But there's more...
- DHA is essential for protecting retinal cells from damage and degeneration. High-DHA fish oil helps with dry eye syndrome, macular degeneration, and glaucoma.
- Fish oil improves body composition if you take enough of it.
- Improves pro-social behavior and reduces violent tendencies.
- Reduces neuroinflammation and cortisol levels, which determine how well your anterior midcingulate cortex works. The aMCC is the part of your brain most associated with willpower and discipline.
The only caveat? Most benefits come from a high dose of fish oil, preferably with more DHA than EPA. That requires some innovation and formulation ninjitsu. Flameout (Buy at Amazon) takes care of it and contains five times more DHA than EPA.
4. Microencapsulated vitamin D3
Beyond bone health, vitamin D regulates immune function, mood, and inflammation. Deficiency is common, and supplementation shows strong effects on immunity and disease prevention (e.g., respiratory infections). Its receptor is in nearly every cell. And there's more:
- Correcting deficiencies (which are super common) improves sexual function.
- When athletes have adequate levels of vitamin D, they exhibit better sports performance. They build strength more easily, and they have fewer injuries.
The problem? The older you get, the harder it becomes to absorb and utilize vitamin D, even from the sun. In fact, several things prevent your body from using the vitamin D you take. To "get it in you," use microencapsulated D3 containing caprylocaproyl polyoxyl-8 glyceride, a surfactant used by drug makers to enhance the absorption and bioavailability of pharmaceuticals. That's found in D Fix (Buy at Amazon).
