Many of you may be feeling overwhelmed about how to fit in the time required for your diet transitions while also fitting in the natural products protocol recommended to move through this program. I understand how challenging this can be and I hope you will allow yourself some time to gradually work into the schedule so that you’re not hard on yourself if you can’t quite fit it all in in the beginning. It takes a lot of forethought and organization to heal yourself. It would be nice if we could rent out personal secretaries to help you all sort the more complex details out. Despite the frustration it can cause at the beginning of your program, there is an advantage to this complex protocol. That is that it keeps you focused on the commendable project of taking care of you – all day long!

This is a fantastic habit to get into. As for scheduling the individual parts of your self care, I’m listing a few guidelines and ideas below for you. I hope it helps. I find sometimes just sketching out a little chart of a piece of cardboard or on a page in your day timer can help.


Supplements and When and How to Take Them
General Rules:

Vitamins and Minerals and phytonutrients (grape seed extract etc) are extracts from foods should be taken with food except for Calcium Magnesium which can be taken at bedtime. Calcium and or Magnesium CAN be taken with meals except if you have low stomach acid. If so, it’s alkaline buffering effect on the stomach acid will further impede your digestion.

Most herbs should be taken between meals unless they irritate the stomach (as olive leaf occasionally does). Herbal tinctures can be added to a little bit (approx. 1/4 cup) of water and, if possible, held in the mouth for up to thirty seconds to maximize absorption. If you are taking more than three doses of herbal tinctures per day or if you have a strong sensitivity to alcohol, you may wish to add the tincture to 1/4 to 1/2 cup of just boiled water. Let it stand for approximately ten minutes and most of the alcohol will evaporate with the steam.

All supplements and or medications should be taken two hours after or one hour before the purge drink unless the protocol states that they should be mixed into the purge.

Herbal teas are better absorbed and thus more effective when taken between meals but if they are being used for enjoyment purposes rather than for their medicinal effect, they may be taken with food.

Bitters and digestive enzymes are both to be taken around meal time. The bitters can be taken as much as thirty minutes before a meal and the enzymes are best taken with your first couple of bites of food. Having said this, either of these digestive supports may be used immediately before, during or after a meal and still have some effectiveness.


Other Tips re Scheduling Issues
Thinking ahead re lunch - Have you tried doing this before bed the night before to give you a little more time in the morning? You can even prepare something to take with you for breakfast. If you are on a rotation diet, it can be helpful to do your rotation from dinner to lunch the next day so that you can take supper leftovers for lunch the next day.

If you have to leave the house very early in the morning and don’t have the two hours to wait in between the purge and eating breakfast, hopefully you can pack a healthy breakfast “to go” and eat at work once your purge has had a chance to “do it’s thing.”

Purge Drink (Caproyl, Psyllium blend, Bentonite) - first thing in the am and last thing at night are the most common times to take the purge. In cases where the early morning dose poses a problem I have heard of folks getting really creative and taking it in the middle of the night. They mix up the liquids with the water and measure out the psyllium and then either set an alarm or if they have regular “nocturnal emissions” (i.e. getting up to ‘pee’), then they take it at that time. Ideally, when you are using the purge twice a day, the doses will be separated by at least eight hours and it is very important, even if you are using the drink at night and want to minimize bathroom trips in the night, to drink an extra eight ounces of water with the purge drink.

Breakfast and any medications or supplements- two hours later.

Systemic Enzymes (i.e. Zymitol) - These must be taken between meals or they are wasted breaking down the foods and will not impact inflammation the way they are intended to. You can take Zymitol one hour before lunch and one hour before dinner. You can also try taking them two hours after dinner. As long as they don't energize you too much this may work.

DDS, Probioplus and/or SBX, and most herbal tinctures or capsules- one hour before lunch, after dinner but before bedtime on an empty stomach and perhaps another dose with a meal if you are taking multiple doses. If you are using something just once per day, using it on truly -empty stomach would be best.

Other bedtime remedies- You can take products like Astragalus Combo or Milk Thistle Combo or other non stimulating herbal remedies alongside the DDS. If you use calcium/magnesium to help you relax at night, this could be combined with the above as well.


What are some general tips for taking my multiple supplements?

Supplements are a "catch 22". We do in fact need extra nutrients to help boost immunity and support the detoxification process but they can contain excipients (additives for processing) that have the potential to cause reactions and wherever possible, excipient-free supplements should be sought out. Vitamin supplements often come from food sources and in exquisitely sensitive individuals, supplements can cause sensitivities. However, in most cases, the vitamin and mineral extracts are purified to such a degree that only the most sensitive person would have reactions to them even if they were extracted from a food they were allergic to.

I recommend careful self-observation while using supplements, and taking a break one day a week from all of them that are not essential to life. This one day break allows your body to more deeply integrate the benefits of the products.

If you are extremely sensitive and suffering from severe environmental illness, you may need to consider rotating your supplement excipients as well as your food. This will require some investigation into the excipients that each one contain. Ideally I’d recommend searching out excipients free vitamin mineral products. Excipient free supplements are very expensive to make and are difficult to find.

If you suspect you are experiencing allergies to therapeutic products that you are taking, you may want to try to locate a practioner who tests for allergic reactions using electro dermal screening. It is preferable if this person does not have a financial interest in the sale of any products as this could potentially affect the outcome of your tests. The allergies article in the Newsletter section includes some information about Electro Dermal Screening. You can also do a web or Whole Approach site search under EDS or Electro Dermal Screening to find out more about it. Some practioners are only able to test for food sensitivities. Practioners who’s training is current and who are using a recent version of electro dermal technology are likely to have the capacity to test for compatibility with supplements but those with very old machines may not be able to do so. Therefore it would be prudent to ask them specifically if they can provide this service.

If you do go for electro dermal screening, it is important for you to take a one or two day “fast” from all supplements and medication (except those essential to life) before your test. Keep in mind that with an immune/intestinal condition as sensitive and changeable as CRC , it is possible for compatible products to become not compatible and vice versa so regular testing is required. A repeat test every one to three months is ideal during the early stages of your healthy transition.

In addition to the EDS technology your health journal/diet diary is an essential base for any investigation into which supplements you tolerate best. It’s important to record when you start taking new remedies and or supplements as well as your diet diary notes. Having a record of a change in your product protocol is just as important in retrospect when you are strategizing or problem solving as knowing what you ate.

See the Whole Approach store for totally natural, additive-free, Yellow Sun vitamins and minerals and the Generation Plus Zymitol and Digesticol enzyme products.


When should I take my supplements?

Separate your supplements and/or medication from your purge drink by two hours.

Your purge drink also needs to be separated from your food. One hour before eating or two hours after is ideal so that you can optimally absorb your foods while allowing the active ingredients of the purge drink to cleanse the intestines when they are as free from food as possible.

Take vitamins, minerals and digestive enzymes with food

Take herbs on an empty stomach with the exception of a few extra strong herbs like olive leaf extract, Kolorex, or garlic supplements that can sometimes cause stomach upset. If you need to, you can take Kolorex, olive leaf extract and garlic supplements with food to make them easier on your stomach. If you can tolerate them with no discomfort, the Kolorex and the Olive Leaf extract can be used on an empty stomach and there is some advantage to this but not if there is any discomfort at all from doing so.

Zymitol is a proteolytic enzyme and should be taken on an empty stomach preferably during the day.

Take probiotics away from food at least a half hour before or one hour after meals.

SBX can be taken between meals on an empty stomach if your intent is to maximize it’s cleansing potential. It can be taken at the same times as your probiotics if desired.

SBX can also be taken with food if your main purpose in its use is to maximize nutrient absorption. It is particularly helpful for assisting with iron absorption from food.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tarilee,