How should I take my Nutrition, Herbs and Homeopathic Remedies

Knowing when and how to take various types of supplements and remedies is critical for achieving maximum benefits with the least stress and confusion.   While there are some general guidelines, which we will outline below there are many exceptions and special circumstances, so it's always best to look at each new product and protocol to confirm the norm or realize special consumption routines.
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Basic Definitions

• Empty Stomach -- For this purpose, we will define "an empty stomach" as being 60 minutes or more after eating a meal. 

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Nutritional Supplements

Genuine nutritional supplements are just "food".  In general, they can be taken by themselves and the don't need to be taken with additional food.  If you are prescribed and even number of supplements it's generally ideal to take them about 12 hours apart.  if you are prescribed more, it's ideal to take them 6-8 hours apart .

​Standard Process is my primary line of nutritional supplements.   Below are a few guidelines in general regarding Nutritional Supplements:

• Good nutritional supplements are "just food".  
• Generally speaking, nutritional supplements can be taken by themselves with no negative effects to the stomach or the body because it is "just food". 
• Generally speaking, taking multiple products and mixing products is not an issue because it is all "just food".
• Generally speaking, taking supplements with or without meals does not matter.
• Many times people confuse nutritional supplements with pharmaceuticals because they come in pill, capsule and tablet form like pharmaceuticals.   Do not let the delivery mechanism confuse the differences in these two items
• There are exceptions to these guidelines and some are outlined below.

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== Consume with Food Only == 

• Stomach Acid Support - Zypan and Betaine Hydrochloride are supplements that act like stomach acid.  They are prescribed to folks who are having trouble digesting food due to seemingly low levels of stomach acid. This should only be taken with meals, and in general you do not want to hold it in your mouth or chew it, as there is no need to expose your mouth to acids at this level.

== Consume on Empty Stomach ==

• Probiotics 
• Protomorphogens -- The Standard Process Protomorphogens are generally recommended to be taken on an empty stomach as the goal is to get undigested proteins further down the digestive track and taken on an empty stomach assists with that as long as these are not chewed before going down.
• Proteolytic Enzymes --  Protein digesting enzymes like those found in Multizyme and Zymex are recommended to be taken on an empty stomach. 

Herbs 

Herbs come in pill, capsule, tablet and liquid.  My primary line of Herbs is Medi-Herb, distributed by Standard Process.  It is generally recommended to take herbs on an empty stomach.

== Take with Food ==

• Herbs that aid with digestion
• Herbs that are too strong to take without food

Homeopathic Remedies 

Most of my homeopathic remedies are from Eneregetix and they are liquid.  They are taken in drops with a dropper, with prescribed amounts often times being 5 to 40 drops (vs one or two drops).     In general, these are prescribe to be taken without food and on an empty stomach.