I have this gut instinct that i am short on vitamin e, zinc, K2 and calcium. Were i a rich man, i would supplement with foie gras, fresh oysters and 3 year old comte every day, but i am not :(

Heavy supplementation is the way to go. I suggest at least

• 1 multivitamin with chelated minerals and lots of Bs (25-50mg)
• Vitamin C 4-10g
• D3, 2500-5000
• Magnesium, 6mg/kg
• Iodine, 1mg
• Selenium as Brazil Nuts (4 per day or ~250mcg)
• Zinc, 25mg
• DHA/EPA 500mg

No calcium, and no iron for most.

Don't live in ilussion that food is enough, unless you live in the mountains. Cooking techniques, depressed soil, genetic engineering, farming methodologies, transport, storage etc... all influence vitamin/mineral/etc. content.

Better to piss it out then be without it when you need it. Ofc, you still have to eat the best food available, its not substitute, its just additional protective measure.

Also, during illness, there is really no doubt about it. Acute illness means acute deficiencies of most of vitamins and minerals. If you got viral disease, make sure to load up on Vitamin C and Mg.

Technology matters. LET, chelation etc....

If you go over fifty mgs of zinc add 1 to 2 mgs of copper

It probably depends on whether or not you have any underlying conditions that would require supplementation. For instance, many people with migraines find relief by supplementing with magnesium - and as I'm finding out now, probably zinc as well. Calcium, however, makes migraines worse.

But if you are getting adequate amounts from your diet and you aren't trying to treat an underlying condition, probably not.

Something to consider is that many of the RDAs have antinutrients in mind, so a very low intake of phytate would increase the absorption of Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn, Co, Mn and probably more. Most people rarely have a piece of meat that isn't sandwiched between, or at least accompanied by, some form of phytate-rich bread. If you take it a step further as I do and eat meat/organs by themselves without any other foods that might inhibit absorption or make digestion less comfortable, you greatly increase the percentage absorbed. Furthermore, a diet bereft of gluten and WGA will increase the surface area in the small intestine when the villi regrow, which will also greatly increase absorption.

I don't believe that we require the tidal waves of nutrients that the average person does in order to get the same level of absorption.

Supplement YES. Stress never takes a day off. Even with the best diet, we can't keep up with nutritional demands with our modern food supply.

You should log your food for a week at over at http://cronometer.com/ That will tell you the average amount of each nutrient you are getting. Doing this will show you what foods you can add to your weekly groceries to meet the RDA for all nutrients. This is ultimately cheaper and more effective than supplementing. For instance a large potato, a can of spinach, and 16oz of meat would sufficiently cover the RDA for everything you listed except vitamin d.

However, even considering an adequate paleo diet there are still some things that are left out. Usually, Vitamin E, Vitamin D, K2 (MK-4), and if you eat less than a pound of fish a week, Omega 3.

For this reason I supplement with LEF "Advanced K Complex" (best on the market), and Carlson's Cod Liver oil, which has the RDA for Vitamin D and enough Vitamin E to make the diet complete.

Note: Most nutrient toxicity reports come from supplementation overload not from whole food sources. The same amount of a nutrient that is harmful in a supplement wouldn't be harmful if it came from your food choices. Case-in-point, a high Vitamin E diet is associated with lower CHD and breast cancer risk, while supplemental Vitamin E is associated with higher rates of all cause mortality!

D3 - may or may not be necessary depending on your latitude, ability to get significant sun exposure on most body skin....and perhaps most importantly 25(OH)D level. It's very easy to test: grassrootshealth.net

Magnesium is something that almost all of us need to supplement, calcium, not really. If one tolerates magnesium citrate, that's a good route to go. However, many don't. I can only use Jigsaw Health Magnesium. It's a sustained release form of magnesium malate. the only one I've been able to find, ever. Seriously, if I could tolerate anything cheaper, I would.

It's not "necessary" to supplement if you get enough sun and you get enough of the right kinds of foods (as well as the co-factors needed to make use of them). But lots of folks like a little insurance (I take magnesium since I don't care for nuts).

For a good overall take on supplementation, see Chris Kresser's supplement wisely post.