If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’m a big believer in foundational support. Before diving into fancy protocols or specialized supplements, it’s the basics that make the biggest difference: digestion, minerals, gut health, detox, and the everyday support your body needs to function the way it was designed to.

Below are my top recommended supplements for almost everyone — based on over 5.5 years of reviewing hair-mineral tests, tracking client results, and staying up-to-date on the science.  HOT TIP: Rotate forms/types/strains every bottle.  Our body needs diversity and too much of one thing can push our balance off.  Once you finish a bottle of something, try a different type.

***Educational only. Consult your doctor before starting any supplements

A healthy gut is the root of… well, pretty much everything: immunity, mood, metabolism, sleep, hormones, inflammation, skin — you name it.

Your gut microbiome communicates directly with your brain (the gut–brain axis), influences your stress response, impacts sleep quality, and helps regulate weight. Research shows probiotics can reduce anxiety, improve mood, and support better sleep.
Meta-analysis on probiotics reducing anxiety and depression, Nutrition Reviews.

• For weight loss: Hafnia alvei HA4597 (supports satiety signals)
• For sleep: Bifidobacterium longum 1714
• For anxiety + mood: Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 + Bifidobacterium longum R0175

Always check the letters + numbers after the strain (for example, R0052, 1714, HA4597).
These numbers tell you you’re getting the exact strain used in studies — not just the general species. No numbers = no guarantee.

• Bloating, gas, irregular bowel habits
• Trouble sleeping
• Anxiety or frequent overwhelm
• Unexplained weight gain
• Low immunity or frequent illness

My favorite probiotic brands (Click to purchase)
MegaSporeBiotic 

BiotiQuest Sugar Shift 

BiotiQuest Simple Slumber

I talk about potassium constantly because it’s one of the most common deficiencies I see in hair tests. After 5.5+ years of running HTMAs, the vast majority of clients are low in potassium. Being low in potassium impacts energy, mood, digestion, and blood pressure.

U.S. FDA regulations limit potassium capsules to only 99 mg, which is barely enough to move the needle for someone who’s depleted.
Most adults need  4,700 mg a day but should supplement only up to ~900 mg/day, split as:

• 300 mg in the morning
• 300 mg in the afternoon
  But you should work up to this — don’t start with the full dose.

Powder allows flexible dosing and better absorption.
Raman, R. (MS, RD). (2024, December 6). How Much Potassium Do You Need Per Day? Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-much-potassium-per-day

• Muscle weakness or cramping
• Constant fatigue
• Constipation
• Heart palpitations
• High blood pressure or kidney stones

My favorite potassium powders (Click to purchase on Amazon)
Magna Electrolytes (this will provide both potassium and magnesium)

Redmond Re-Lyte Electrolyte Powder

Jigsaw Health Adrenal Cocktail + Wholefood Vitamin C This is unflavored and very salty but has the additional benefits of wholefood vitamin C

Potassium Gluconate Powder to put in your own smoothies or make your own electrolyte mix

Douglas Laboratories Potassium (capsule form)

Magnesium is involved in over a thousand reactions, it helps your body make energy, calm your nervous system, balance hormones, detox, move sugar into your cells, relax muscles, repair DNA, and keep your cells working properly.. And yet most people aren’t absorbing it well.

ATP — your energy currency — does nothing unless it’s attached to magnesium.
No magnesium = no usable energy.

Magnesium allows muscle fibers to release and relax after they contract.
Low magnesium = tight muscles, cramps, jaw tension, and restless legs.

Magnesium helps control nerve firing and supports GABA, your calming brain chemical.
Low levels can cause anxiety, irritability, and feeling overstimulated.

Magnesium helps regulate melatonin and calms the brain at night.
This is why people often fall asleep easier when magnesium is optimized.

Magnesium helps prevent the “stress switch” from staying stuck on.
It supports the enzymes that break down stress chemicals.

Magnesium is required to move sugar from your blood into your cells.
Low magnesium = cravings, energy crashes, and insulin resistance.

Magnesium helps convert T4 → T3 (active thyroid hormone)
and helps your ovaries and adrenals make balanced hormones.

Magnesium fuels Phase 1 and Phase 2 liver detox pathways.
It also helps your body make glutathione, your main detox antioxidant.

Magnesium helps guide where calcium goes and keeps it out of soft tissues.
It’s just as important for bone health as calcium — sometimes more.

Magnesium is required for DNA repair enzymes and helps prevent oxidative damage.
This keeps your cells healthy, especially as you age.

Glyphosate is found in over 80% of people tested in the U.S., and Monsanto holds a patent on it as an antibiotic because it kills bacteria.  We need healthy gut bacteria to absorb magnesium and other esstential minerals. No good bacteria = poor magnesium absorption. Hair-test data shows that many people have elevated magnesium in tissue — which actually means the body isn’t absorbing it properly and is instead pushing it out. When you supplement magnesium (especially in well-absorbed forms and with decent gut health), you increase the amount of magnesium available to be absorbed.

Low-dose glyphosate exposure alters gut microbiota composition and modulates gut homeostasis 

Jyoti, et al.

 Mechanisms and implications of the gut microbial modulation of intestinal metabolic processes. npj Metabolic Health and Disease (2025)

The different types of magnesium (Click to purchase on Amazon):

1. Magnesium glycinate is often used for its calming effects to treat anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

Unflavored powder

Flavored power

Capsules

2. Magnesium malate treats fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms.

Capsules

3. Magnesium taurate is the best form for managing high blood sugar and high blood pressure.

Capsules

4. Magnesium L-threonate brain health, potentially aiding the treatmetn of disorders like depression, Alzheimer's, and memory loss.

Capsules
My favorite magnesium types and brands:
Magna Electrolytes (this will provide both potassium and magnesium)

Jigsaw Health MagSRT

KAL Energy  Magnesium Keep-Going Drink

Let’s talk digestion — because low stomach acid is a silent epidemic. And no, reflux doesn’t mean “too much acid”… often it’s the opposite. NSAID over-use, stress, infections, aging, and possibly prolactin-related pathways may all contribute to low stomach acid. When you don’t make enough HCl, you simply cannot break down or absorb crucial nutrients (protein, B12, iron, magnesium, zinc).

• Activates digestive enzymes
• Helps break down proteins
• Prevents nutrient deficiencies
• Protects against pathogens
• Supports proper downstream digestion

 Gastric Re-acidification with Betaine HCl in Healthy Volunteers with Rabeprazole-Induced Hypochlorhydria

• Bloating after meals
• Feeling full quickly
• Reflux or burning
• Nutrient deficiencies (hair loss, fatigue, weak nails)
• Gut infections or SIBO patterns

My favorite HCl supplement and why:
NOW Foods Supplements Betaine HCl

Designs for Health Betaine HCl with Pepsin

This is one of the simplest ways to support your body’s detox systems — especially with daily exposures to pesticides, mold toxins, metals, and environmental chemicals. Binders help grab onto toxins floating around in your system so your body can eliminate them overnight.

Different binders attach to different things. If you use just one type (like charcoal) every single day, you can actually deplete certain minerals over time. Rotating creates balance and broader coverage.

Take binders away from food and supplements so they don’t bind the nutrients you want your body to absorb.

• Brain fog
• Fatigue
• Sensitive to smells or chemicals
• Skin flares
• Bloating or gut sluggishness

My favorite binders and why:
Nature's Way Activated Charcoal

Pectasol Modified Citrus Pectin

Coseva Advanced TRS

Morning:

• Probiotic right when you wake up (try keeping by your toothbrush if you have a heat stable type like Mega Sporebiotic)

With meals:

• HCl (if supporting stomach acid)
• Potassium powder 
• Magnesium

Afternoon:

• Second potassium dose
• Magnesium 

Evening:

• Nightly binder — away from everything else (try keeping by your toothbrush so you don't forget)
  

Weekly:

• Rotate probiotic strains, rotate binder types and potassium/magnesium forms
• Track digestion, energy, bowel movements, sleep, mood
• Periodically re-evaluate with hair-mineral testing
  

These foundational supplements can support almost anyone, but they’re not one-size-fits-all. Listen to your body, go slow, and introduce one new supplement at a time. Sometimes when people start new supplements — especially ones that affect the gut, detox pathways, or immune system — they can experience something called a Herxheimer reaction. This happens when your body starts killing off harmful bacteria or releasing stored toxins faster than it can clear them. When this happens, you may temporarily feel worse before you feel better, with symptoms like:

• headaches
• fatigue
• nauseua
• brain fog
• body aches
• irritability
• skin breakouts

It’s basically your body saying, “I’m detoxing faster than I can keep up!”

• Use a nightly binder to help grab onto and remove toxins
• Drink extra water to support kidneys and lymph flow
• Light movement (walking, stretching) to keep lymph moving
• Lower the supplement dose temporarily until symptoms ease
• Support digestion (HCl, warm fluids, simple foods)
• Rest — your body is working hard behind the scenes

Herx reactions are usually short-lived and simply mean your system is adjusting. If symptoms feel too strong or last too long, slow down your supplements and check in with your practitioner. 

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.