Prior to going on IP, I took my own vitamins (i.e. One-A-Day for Women, Nordic Fish Oil, Vitamin D3, and Caltrate). My IP coach told me to only use IP Supplements. I reviewed the IP supplements with what I usually take and noticed my supplements provide a lot more vitamins and minerals.

At the end of the day, I know IP is just a method of making business/money for these IP coaches & chiropractic clinic. I don't think I should take these "special" IP supplements when my own supplements contain the same stuff.

What is your opinion about these IP supplements?

The only ones "required" are the multi, the cal-mag and the potassium.
If your one-a-day/D3 combo is the same or better, stick with that.
Fish Oil is optional so stick with yours regardless.
Consider looking very carefully at the caltrate versus the IP cal-mag and potassium combo. Definitely consider taking those, especially if you are prone to foot cramps. These really are meant to keep the electrolyte balance and mineral balance due to the things we don't eat in Phase 1. Those are the two that the folks on alternates have a little trouble finding matches for.

The IP ones seem to be fairly high quality but they are not magic pills, of course, and are pricey. Any of the other stuff you can definitely politely refuse without endangering your health.

I think the Potassium and Cal-Mag are important to take. If I don't take them, I get really bad leg cramps at night.

The issue with non-IP vitamins is with the FORM of the nutrients and the dosing.

IP by its nature is taxing on your liver and kidneys. Some forms of common nutrients can ALSO be tough on your liver and kidneys to process. I've done a lot of research into this, and made the decision to use strictly IP vitamins while I am in Phase 1 because one thing IP did VERY right was create vitamins that were extremely bio-available/easy for the body to process.

This is particularly true for the potassium. Most commercial potassium supplements use potassium citrate or gluconate. IP's version uses potassium carbonate - which is the broken-down form of potassium gluconate. It is much easier on your body to process and absorb and does not add additional stress on your liver/kidneys.

IP's vitamins are also set up to balance out the nutrients we are NOT getting from the limited diet we eat in Phase 1. If you choose to use commercial supplements I would strongly suggest you compare both dosing and forms of the vitamins and minerals - 100mg of potassium gluconate is not going to be equivalent to 100mg of potassium carbonate, and that is going to be true of most nutrients.

EDIT: As was mentioned before, the only required vitamins on Phase 1 are the multivitamin, the Calcium-Magnesium and the Potassium-Calcium. You CAN use a commercial Omega-3 supplement if you choose to, and the other viatmins are not really necessary.

We really do need a like button.

What is your opinion on the enzymes? Although not the question of the OP, I did use these for a time and they seemed to do something. They seemed a little synergistic with the novi-lax. Had you looked into that at all? Any thoughts? (I really appreciate your informative and authoritative responses.)

A friend of mine did the program and stopped using all supplements. She had an emergency gall bladder surgery that the doctor said was a direct result of her not taking her pot-cal, cal-mags. She cant do this program, or any other like this again. Every time i see her (at work) she is asking me if I am taking my cal-mags, and pot-cals

The Natura Enzymes are just Omega 3 and Omega 6 - from everything I've found there's not really any difference than taking an OTC Omega 3-6-9 supplement. Especially if you are taking a Fish Oil or Krill supplement, you may already be getting most of what you need. A vitamin E based Omega 3 supplement would be strictly Omega 3 and that might be worth switching to a 3-6-9. The oil-based Omega supplements would work in synergy with anything you use to keep things "moving", simply because it's oil in your digestive tract and helps "grease the works"

Glad I can help!

I never paid attention to the 2mg Omega 3 and 6mg Omega 6 as I was always looking at the list that began with papaya, ginger, fenugreek. Makes perfect sense that there was a "synergy". I am using 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed most p4 days now. I pretty much abandoned the supplements as I ran out of them in p4, but I bet it might serve me well to continue to take some stuff. There was some discussion on that in the maintenance thread. Thanks for the explanation.

Yeah, the jury's out on whether the herbs in the supplement actually contribute much (fresh papaya has enzymatic properties, but not so much with dried). Ginger is good for the digestive tract but you'd get the same effect from drinking ginger tea (and it's MUCH tastier!). And I'm a big fan of Flax or Psyllium for the pipelines

The "Big 3" supplements for phase 1 probably aren't as necessary beyond P1 just because you are eating a much broader range of nutrients in P4 so there's not as much ground to make up. I'm still mentally preparing for P4, but I will definitely continue the Omega supplement (I took it before IP as well), and switch to a regular OTC multivitamin.

Thanks, Scorbett. And apologies to FreeBird3 for semi-hijacking your thread.

What do you do if you forget to take your Cal-Mags with your snack? Can you take them later, on their own, w/o food?

Yes. I frequently forget to take them with my snack, and take them right before bed, and haven't had any issues. It's more important to get them in. It's probably better with the snack, but it doesn't upset my stomach to take them without food.

I am confused about the Potassium supplement. The new phase 1 sheet says Potassium citrate. I am preparing to start IP using alternatives. Which supplement should I be looking for?

There's a discussion of this in a thread on potassium vitamins: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...ernatives.html

According to the posters in that thread, Ideal Protein had to change to potassium citrate for U.S. sales because of FDA requirements. Alternatives for the new formula are pretty easy to find.

I think it's harsh to say that the food or supplements are a money grab.
the fact is that users of IP need the base supplements and it's too much to ask to make people chase them on their own since some alternatives may be incomplete. I can't imagine asking the patients to comprehend the science behind this diet AND ensuring that their OTC supplements are complete for a fee that is the same as my out of network Copay that I give for sickcare.

also, I don't pay my coach. Even if they made 50% profit on the consultative fee l, two weeks of food, and initial supplements ($350) and foods ($84/wk in P1), that's less than $50 per session.

I'd have gladly paid that over being on the death-march I've been on getting fatter every year for 20 years.