Susan Merenstein, Pharmacist/Owner

(412) 586-4678

Back

The Foundations of Health That Matter at Any Age

March 12, 2025

Note: This blog has been updated from March 2025 on February 7, 2026

When people ask me what supplements I recommend, they’re often surprised by my answer.

It’s not about taking dozens of pills a day. It’s about supporting the foundations of health so the body can do what it was designed to do: regulate, repair, detoxify, and protect itself.

Before supplements ever enter the picture, a solid health protocol rests on a few non-negotiables.

Nutrition matters deeply here. I routinely recommend eliminating all ultra processed foods, added sugars, gluten-containing grains, inflammatory seed oils, and artificial sweeteners. These substances drive inflammation, disrupt gut integrity, and interfere with hormone signaling.

Muscle is also critical. Adequate protein intake — especially at the first and last meal of the day — helps prevent age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia). Muscle is the currency of longevity, supporting metabolic health, balance, and resilience as we age.

Once those foundations are in place, supplements can be powerful tools.

______________

Part I: The Foundations of Health

The Goals of a Good Health Protocol

A solid health protocol aims to:

  1. Support the basics
    • Clean food and clean water
    • Daily movement
    • Adequate, restorative sleep
  1. Minimize ongoing toxin exposure
    • Dental toxicity is often the dominant source
    • Air, soil, pharmaceutical processing, and alcohol also contribute
  1. Eliminate accumulated toxins
    • Chelators and detox supports such as nascent iodine, acetyl glutathione, chlorophyll
    • Sweating (sauna) as a toxin mobilizer
  1. Address acute and chronic infections
    • Root-canal–treated teeth
    • Chronically infected tonsils
    • Mercury amalgams
  1. Normalize key regulatory hormones
    • Testosterone
    • Estrogen
    • Progesterone
    • DHEA
    • Thyroid hormone
    • Cortisol
  1. Optimize antioxidant and nutrient status
    • Especially Vitamin C and Acetyl Glutathione
  1. Use prescription medications appropriately
    • Closely monitored
    • When foundational work alone isn’t enough
  1. Support connection and meaning
    • Community, love, optimism, purpose, belonging
    • Social isolation in older adults increases dementia risk by ~30% (Johns Hopkins)
    • Loneliness doubles Alzheimer’s risk

Nutrition Principles I Take Seriously

What to Eliminate

  • All sugar: candy, fruit juice (fructose), honey, molasses, agave
  • Gluten-containing grains-
      • Gluten, stress, alcohol, and fructose contribute to leaky gut. This allows toxins and undigested proteins into the bloodstream, triggering immune dysfunction
        Wheat is inflammatory and genetically complex (hexaploid, ~700 antigens
      • Many people are gluten intolerant without having celiac disease
    • Canola, corn, safflower, soybean, margarine
    • Pro-inflammatory and disrupt cell membranes
  • Artificial sweeteners
    • Especially aspartame

Try a 3-Week Elimination Diet

Remove:

  • Gluten
  • Dairy
  • Eggs
  • Soy
  • Peanuts
  • Sugar
  • Artificial sweeteners

How to Eat for Longevity

  • Increase fiber
  • Protein first and last meal of the day
    • Muscle is inactive overnight
    • Prevents sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss)
    • Key amino acid: Leucine (≈2.5 g/day)
  • Protein targets
    • ~0.7–1.2 g per pound of ideal body weight
  • Order of eating
    • Fiber-rich vegetables first
    • Protein and fat
    • Carbohydrates last
  • Eat the rainbow
    • Green foods = chlorophyll → magnesium at the center
    • Supports gut health → brain health

Lifestyle Foundations

  • Intermittent fasting: 12–14 hours daily
  • Movement
    • Every 45 minutes, take a 5-minute “exercise snack”
    • Reverses the negative effects of sitting
  • Sleep: 7–8 hours nightly
  • Stress
    • You can’t avoid it—but you can prepare your body to handle it

________________________________________________________________________

My 5 Favorite Supplements: A Foundation-First Approach

Why These Supplements Matter

Supplements should never replace good nutrition, movement, sleep, or stress management. Their role is to support the body’s intelligence, not override it.

When the foundations of health are in place, the right supplements can help fill nutrient gaps created by modern diets, depleted soils, chronic stress, environmental toxicity, and aging.

These are the five supplements I consider most foundational for most women.

1. Acetyl Glutathione

Glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant, essential for detoxification, immune balance, mitochondrial function, and protection from oxidative stress. Every cell depends on it.

While the body produces glutathione naturally, production declines with age and is rapidly depleted by stress, inflammation, infections, medications, alcohol, poor diet, and environmental toxins. Low levels are associated with accelerated aging, immune dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative conditions, liver stress, and chronic toxicity.

Standard oral glutathione is poorly absorbed. Acetyl Glutathione is acetylated to protect it from breakdown, allowing it to remain stable through digestion and raise intracellular glutathione levels effectively.

Typical adult dosing is 300 mg or more daily.

This remains the single most important supplement I use.

2. Magnesium Bisglycinate

Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions and is a critical partner to glutathione. Yet a large percentage of people are deficient due to depleted soils, poor absorption, chronic stress, and toxic exposure.

Magnesium bisglycinate is one of the most bioavailable and gentle forms. The glycine component supports absorption while also promoting relaxation and sleep.

Magnesium supports:

  • Muscle relaxation and nerve transmission
  • Sleep quality
  • Mood and stress resilience
  • Cardiovascular health
  • Bone and dental health
  • Detoxification of heavy metals

A common guideline is approximately 5 mg per pound of body weight per day, divided into doses, with the final dose taken in the evening.

3. Vitamin D with Vitamin K

Vitamin D functions more like a hormone than a vitamin. It plays a central role in immune regulation, mood, cognition, bone density, and muscle strength.

Because sun exposure is limited for much of the year, testing is essential. I recommend checking 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels twice yearly, aiming for a range of 50–80 ng/mL.

Vitamin K works synergistically with vitamin D, helping direct calcium into bones while preventing inappropriate calcium deposition in arteries. Together, they support long-term skeletal and cardiovascular health.

4. A Bioavailable Multivitamin and Mineral

Even with an excellent diet, it is difficult to meet micronutrient needs through food alone. Soil depletion and increased physiological demands make supplementation necessary for most people.

A high-quality multivitamin should contain:

  • Activated B vitamins
  • Vitamins A and E
  • Zinc, selenium, iodine, and trace minerals in bioavailable forms

We are not what we eat—we are what we absorb.

5. Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Preferably from Food)

Omega-3 fatty acids are foundational anti-inflammatory nutrients. Chronic inflammation is a key driver of biological aging, cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction, and cognitive decline.

Whenever possible, I prefer food sources, particularly SMASH fish:

  • Salmon
  • Mackerel
  • Sardines
  • Herring

When intake is insufficient, a clean, non-toxic fish oil supplement can be helpful.

Final Thoughts

Supplements work best when they support strong foundations.

When nutrition, movement, sleep, stress resilience, detoxification, hormone balance, and connection are addressed, these five supplements can meaningfully enhance vitality, resilience, and long-term health.

If you feel overwhelmed by supplement choices, start here. Fewer, well-chosen tools often lead to better outcomes.

Foundational Nutrients That Still Deserve Separate Attention

Even the best multivitamin cannot deliver therapeutic doses of certain nutrients. This is not a formulation flaw—it’s a matter of biochemistry, absorption, and physiology.

Two nutrients I routinely discuss separately are Vitamin C and probiotics.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is essential for immune function, collagen synthesis, vascular integrity, adrenal support, and antioxidant protection. It also plays a critical role in regenerating glutathione, making it a key partner to acetyl glutathione.

Most multivitamins contain 50–200 mg of vitamin C, which is far below what many individuals require—particularly during periods of stress, illness, inflammation, toxin exposure, or aging.

Vitamin C needs increase with:

  • Physical or emotional stress
  • Infection or inflammation
  • Smoking or alcohol use
  • Environmental toxicity
  • Chronic disease

For these reasons, vitamin C is best taken as a standalone supplement, often in divided doses throughout the day to improve absorption and tolerance.

Probiotics and Daily Gut Barrier Support

While probiotic research continues to evolve, one thing is increasingly clear: maintaining gut barrier integrity is foundational to whole-body health.

A compromised gut lining—often referred to as leaky gut—allows inflammatory compounds, microbial fragments, and undigested proteins to cross into circulation. This process can trigger immune activation and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, contributing to systemic inflammation, hormone disruption, and immune dysregulation.

For this reason, I view daily microbiome support as preventive care, not just a short-term intervention.

Probiotics help:

  • Support the integrity of the gut lining
  • Reduce intestinal permeability
  • Modulate immune signaling
  • Limit inflammatory cytokine production
  • Promote a more balanced microbiome environment

Daily probiotic support works best when paired with other gut-stabilizing nutrients and lifestyle practices. Magnesium, for example, plays a complementary role by supporting cellular integrity, stress regulation, and neuromuscular balance—all of which influence gut permeability and inflammation.

Rather than focusing on a single “perfect” strain, I encourage a foundational, consistent approach:

  • A diverse, fiber-rich diet
  • Colorful plant foods
  • Fermented foods when tolerated
  • A well-formulated daily probiotic suited to the individual

In this context, probiotics are not a trend or a quick fix—they are part of an ongoing strategy to protect gut integrity, calm immune activation, and support long-term metabolic and inflammatory balance.

Practical Guidance: How I Use These Supplements

If you’re wondering how to apply this information in a practical, realistic way, this is the simple framework I use myself and recommend most often.

These supplements form the core of my personal health routine, alongside clean nutrition, daily movement, restorative sleep, and stress support. They are nutrients that are difficult—if not impossible—to obtain in adequate amounts from food alone, especially during periods of stress, illness, toxin exposure, hormonal transition, or aging.

After using these foundational supplements consistently for one to three months, many people notice improvements in energy, sleep quality, resilience, and overall well-being. From there, additional support can be individualized based on specific health goals or concerns.

If you’d like to explore these supplements further, you can find additional information and available options here:

By Susan Merenstein, RPh | Holistic Consultant Pharmacist

Educational Disclaimer

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or replace medical care. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.

Acetyl Glutathione 300mg daily, more in times of illness, stress chronic disease, or toxicity.

Magnesium Bisglycinate -5mg elemental Magnesium /pound of body weight-typical 150pound human would be 750mg per day!

Our capsules are 150mg each or you can use our Miracle Magnesium Powder at 300mg/scoop. I love to use it as an after-dinner drink to start my wind-down for bed.

Vitamin D plus K-I could say an entire blogs worth on Vitamin D (VHP.com Blog). The vitamin (actually a hormone) is crucial to the immune system, brain, heart, and more! It’s called the “sunshine vitamin” for a reason!

Comprehensive Absorbable Multivitamin to cover the B vitamins, Vitamin E and A, Zinc, Selenium, Iodine, and more.

Clean Fish Oil -1-3 gm (1000mg-3000mg) per day -but preferably eat your Omega 3’s in SMASH fish-Salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and herring-I love all of these except anchovies:)

After starting these and using them for about 1-3 months, see how you feel and if you need to target a specific health issue, I am happy to help.

To your health,

Susan

SHOP ONLINE 24/7!!!

www.GlutathionePharmacist.com

www.VitalHealthPharmacist.com