What Supplements I Actually Recommend as a Physician (And Where to Get Them)
- P. Murray
- 8 hours ago
- 6 min read
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I'll be honest with you. For a long time, I was one of those doctors who would politely deflect when patients asked me about supplements. "Just eat a balanced diet," I'd say, with a practiced smile. And honestly? I believed it. I spent years in medical school and residency learning to be skeptical of anything that wasn't an RCT-backed pharmaceutical intervention.
Then I became a mother.
Something shifts in you when you're responsible for a tiny human.... and later two tiny humans.... and you're standing in the supplement aisle of a pharmacy at 9 p.m. after a twelve-hour shift, completely overwhelmed by a wall of products that all promise to be "the best." I knew enough to know I didn't know enough. And that sent me back to the literature, which sent me somewhere I didn't expect to land: a genuine appreciation for a handful of well-studied supplements that most of us are actually missing.
So here's what I actually recommend. To my family. And to myself, on the nights I remember to take them.
Why I Changed My Mind About Supplements
The honest truth is that our food supply isn't what it used to be, our soil is depleted, and most of us.... including people who eat "well".... are walking around with deficiencies that quietly affect how we feel, sleep, and age. When I started pulling labs more routinely, I was struck by how many of my otherwise healthy patients had low vitamin D levels, suboptimal magnesium, and omega-3 indices that put them at real cardiovascular risk.
These aren't fringe findings. The data is there. The problem is that the supplement industry is, to put it diplomatically, a mess. Walk into any big-box store and you'll find products with wildly inconsistent potencies, poor bioavailability, and in some cases, ingredients that don't even match the label. A 2023 study found that a significant percentage of supplements purchased through third-party online retailers were either mislabeled or contaminated. That's not a small thing.
Which brings me to why I eventually found my way to Fullscript.
Why I Use Fullscript (And What That Even Means)
Fullscript is a practitioner-only supplement dispensing platform. That means only licensed healthcare providers can create storefronts and recommend products through it. The brands available on Fullscript are held to pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing standards.... third-party tested, properly labeled, stored correctly, and shipped directly from climate-controlled facilities. No Amazon warehouses. No mystery sellers. No counterfeits.
When I write a patient a supplement recommendation through Fullscript, I know they're getting the actual product, at the right dose, from a reputable manufacturer. That peace of mind is not nothing. In a space where the FDA does almost no pre-market review of supplements, the vetting Fullscript does on the back end matters enormously.
It's also just practical. Patients can browse recommendations I've made specifically for them, order from home, and get professional-grade products at a discount. I use it for my own household now too, which feels a little ridiculous to admit, but here we are.
The Supplements I Actually Recommend
Vitamin D3 with K2 .... For Bone Health, Immunity, and More
If I could only recommend one supplement, this might be it. Vitamin D deficiency is staggeringly common.... some estimates suggest over 40% of American adults are deficient.... and the consequences touch everything from bone density to immune regulation to mood.
But here's the nuance most people miss: vitamin D3 should almost always be paired with vitamin K2. D3 increases calcium absorption, which is exactly what you want for bones.... but without K2 (specifically the MK-7 form), that calcium can deposit in the wrong places, including arterial walls. K2 acts as the traffic director, routing calcium into bones and teeth where it belongs.
I personally take a D3/K2 combo for most of my adult patients, especially those who live in northern climates, work indoors, or have darker skin.... all factors that reduce natural synthesis. We dose based on labs, but a common starting point for adults is 2,000....4,000 IU of D3 paired with 100....200 mcg of K2 (MK-7). Look for products that clearly specify the MK-7 form, not just "K2."
Magnesium Glycinate .... For Sleep, Stress, and Muscle Recovery
This one is personal. After my second was born and I was running on fumes between night shifts and night wakings, a colleague mentioned magnesium glycinate almost offhandedly. I was skeptical. I tried it. I slept.
Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body, and most Americans don't get enough through diet alone. The glycinate form is chelated.... meaning it's bound to the amino acid glycine.... which makes it highly bioavailable and gentle on the gut (unlike magnesium oxide, which is cheap, poorly absorbed, and tends to cause GI distress).
The evidence for magnesium in sleep quality is solid, and the emerging data on its role in stress resilience and HPA axis regulation is genuinely interesting. I also recommend it to patients with muscle cramps, restless legs, and tension headaches. Typical dosing is 200....400 mg in the evening. Start low, go slow.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids .... For Cardiovascular Health and Inflammation
The data on omega-3s.... specifically EPA and DHA from marine sources.... and cardiovascular health has had its ups and downs in the literature, but the most current understanding is nuanced: quality and dose matter enormously. The REDUCE-IT trial showed significant cardiovascular benefit with high-dose, pharmaceutical-grade EPA in at-risk patients. And even at lower doses, omega-3s demonstrably reduce triglycerides and support healthy inflammatory balance.
What I tell patients: the fish oil sitting in your cabinet from three years ago is probably oxidized and doing you no good. Rancid fish oil is not just ineffective.... it may actually be counterproductive. Freshness and purity matter. Look for products that are third-party tested for oxidation markers (TOTOX values) and heavy metals. This is exactly the kind of thing Fullscript vets for, which is one of the reasons I feel comfortable recommending specific brands through their platform rather than sending patients to wander the supplement aisle alone.
I typically recommend 1....2 grams of combined EPA/DHA daily for general cardiovascular support, and we go higher for specific indications.
Probiotics .... For Gut Health and Immune Function
The microbiome research is still evolving, and I want to be clear that we are nowhere near fully understanding it. But the evidence for specific probiotic strains in specific clinical contexts is meaningful.... particularly Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG for antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and multi-strain formulations for general gut resilience and immune support.
The challenge with probiotics is that strain specificity and CFU count matter, and most products don't survive to reach the gut if they're improperly stored or formulated. I look for products with delayed-release capsules or enteric coating, verified CFU counts at expiration (not just at manufacture), and strains that are actually backed by clinical evidence.
My kids have been on a pediatric probiotic since they started daycare and the endless parade of viral illnesses that entails. My husband takes one daily. I rotate through a few depending on what I'm managing. It's one of the more individualized recommendations I make, so I always appreciate having a platform where I can match a patient to a specific product rather than just saying "get some probiotics somewhere."
A Note on Quality (And How to Access Our Recommendations)
I can't overstate how much the quality gap matters in the supplement world. Two products that claim to be "vitamin D 2,000 IU" can perform completely differently based on the form used, the excipients, the manufacturing conditions, and the storage. This is not fearmongering.... it's just chemistry.
My approach has been to use platforms and brands that take that vetting seriously, so I don't have to reinvent the wheel for every patient. Fullscript does that work on the back end, which means when I make a recommendation through our storefront, I'm confident patients are getting what I actually intend.
If you want to see the specific products and brands I personally take.... the exact formulations I use in my own household and suggest ... you can browse our curated list directly.
Being a physician-mom means I live in both worlds simultaneously: the clinical evidence brain that wants a meta-analysis for everything, and the tired parent brain that just wants to know what actually works and where to actually get it. These recommendations are where those two worlds meet, for me at least.
Take what resonates. Talk to your own provider about what's right for your specific situation. And know that this corner of the internet is always going to be honest with you, even when the honest answer is "I don't know yet."
.... R
This post reflects my personal experience and is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Please consult your own physician before making any health decisions.
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