SpectraCell Micronutrients

November 2022

In 2022 I went off of all of my supplements for one month just so that I could perform a Micronutrients baseline to establish what I really needed to be supplementing versus what was just a waste of money. I was satisfied with the results because I was already supplementing the things where my levels showed low or that I was deficient in.  

These were those results:

February 2024

In the months prior to this test, I began to notice that my energy level was off.  It was once again taking me two hours to complete a standard one hour P90X workout. 

Many years ago, I had encountered the same thing, but I mistakenly wrote it off to "something that just happens as we age".  But when I began taking an NAD booster (in this case, TruNiagen NR), I found all of my lost energy and then some!   

When my energy began to dissipate this time, I'd just assumed that my current intake of NR was no longer sufficient for my needs. However, when I took an NAD test, it showed me that was not the case! My NAD levels were just fine!  So I was a bit puzzled as to the cause, until this SpectraCell Micronutrients test's results came back.

Just look at what it found!

Needless to say, I was shocked!  How in the heck could I be deficient in things that I know I am already supplementing quite well???

My very first though was "They must have changed the formulation of one of my supplements and removed all of the B vitamins!!"  I don't like taking formulations, just for this very potential reason! But that didn't explain the deficiency in CoQ10, Cysteine, or Glutathione. 

 A quick check of my Life Extension Two Per Day multivitamin supplement bottle revealed that the contained B vitamins had not changed - they were still there!  So my very next thought was that I must have something in my diet or supplementation that is interfering with my absorption of those B vitamins, CoQ10, Cysteine, and subsequent production of Glutathione, and I immediately knew what that something was.  I had encountered it once before when I had experienced low ferritin measures -- it was the various teas in my morning Lemon Tea!

My tea brew used to be admittedly quite strong! I figured if a little was good, a lot must be better, right? Ha! Wrong! I had been brewing it so strong that it was impacting my ability to store iron in the form of ferritin. When I cut it back to half strength, that issue resolved, so I thought I was good.  But I didn't realize it's continued impact upon other micronutrients, and I was taking all of my morning supplements with my morning Lemon Tea!

Polyphenols, such as tannins, gallic acid, and ellagitannins, are found in various foods and beverages, particularly in coffee, tea, and red wine. These compounds have been shown to bind to and inhibit the absorption of iron, zinc, CoQ10, and some B vitamins, such as niacin, thiamin, and pyridoxine, potentially leading  to reduced bioavailability and subsequent deficiencies. And my situation was a very classic example!

I could have changed the timing of when I take my supplements to space them out away from my morning tea, but instead I've opted to just eliminate the tea bags completely from my morning Lemon "tea" and finish moving all of my other polyphenol-containing supplements into the late evening where:

 a) they won't interfere with those other supplements' absorption, and 

b) they are better placed for their AMPK and autophagy-inducing effects anyway.  I had attempted a complete move of them to the evenings previously, but had never finished that effort.  This was finally the impetus I needed to get off my butt and get it done.  My supplements listing has now since been updated to reflect this change.

Since making this change, I've already noticed the increase to my energy and stamina that I had gradually begun to notice waning before.

I wonder how many other people take their multivitamin with their morning coffee and are unwittingly negating their multivitamin's effect?

It just goes to show that you'd have absolutely no way of knowing that these things were happening, without doing some sort of consistent testing to ensure that you're continuing to remain on track!

It also surprises me to note that I can have a measurably slower pace of aging and yet still be deficient in several basic nutrients!  Wow!!

Needless to say, now that I've corrected this mistake, I will be taking another SpectraCell Micronutrients Analysis in another month or so, just to validate that everything has returned to normal, and I will consider increasing my dosages of anything that remains near borderline (if applicable) or towards the lower end of normal.