Milk is a major source of vitamin D for many people. As you've stopped consuming commercial milk and milk products, make sure you are getting enough vitamin D from other sources.

In addition to milk, vitamin D is also found in eggs, fish and fortified orange juice. However, you only get an average of 250 to 300 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day from dietary factors alone, which is rarely enough to maintain optimal levels. Recent research has found that it takes 2,000 to 4,000 IU of vitamin D per day to have a significant impact on cancer risk reduction.

Fortunately, vitamin D is also made in your body after exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun.

One of major functions of vitamin D in your body is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. During the summer months, you will get enough vitamin D from just spending some time outside every day. Your body can produce about 10,000 IU of vitamin D per day with full body exposure, about 5,000 IU with 50 percent of your body exposed, and as much as 1,000 IU with just 10 percent of your body exposed.

In the winter months, though, you will most likely not get enough vitamin D if you live in a place that has low or infrequent amounts of sunshine (such as the southwest U.S.). In that case, I strongly recommend a healthy tanning bed like the Sun Splash.

Please read the section on vitamin D so you will be certain to obtain enough of this essential vitamin.

Lesson 2: Consider adding vitamin E.

Although the vast majority of people seem to benefit from vitamin E, that certainly is not universally true. For most however, it seems a reasonable supplement to take at about 400 units as it  reduces the rate of omega-3 oxidation.

Keep in mind that your body can easily distinguish between natural and synthetic vitamins, and natural vitamin E is between two and three times as bioactive as the same amount of synthetic vitamin E. Natural vitamin E is always listed as the "d-" form (d-alpha-tocopherol, d-beta-tocopherol, etc.). Synthetic vitamin E is listed as " dl-" forms.

But your optimal source for vitamin E is from your food. A 2002 study suggested that if you consume plenty of vegetables (about one pound of vegetables for every 50 pounds of body weight), the antioxidants in the vegetables may provide as much, or more, protection as vitamin E supplements. 

If you are taking my Whole Food Multi with minerals, vitamin E and  calcium are already included, so there’s no need for an additional supplement.

Lesson 3: Make sure you are getting enough calcium.

If you are off all milk products, then you should consider a calcium supplement. Vegetable juice has plenty of calcium, and if you take it with cod liver oil the vitamin D will help you absorb all the calcium you need. If you are unable to drink  vegetable juice but can tolerate citrus fruits, you can use calcium citrate as your calcium source. If you are a protein nutritional type calcium is an especially important supplement for you, and you may want to consider a regular supplement unless you are consuming raw dairy.

Lesson 4: Learn about lipoic acid.

I am not fond of recommending supplements routinely, but I do believe that antioxidants make sense for many of us.

Lipoic acid is a very potent antioxidant and the only one known to easily get into your brain. Your body produces it in minute quantities, and it helps boosts vitamin C and E.  

Clinically, lipoic acid seems to be a useful supplement in treating hepatitis C. It can also be used for painful nerve conditions in diabetes, and there is suggestion that it might slow down the aging process through its reduction in free radicals.

I wish I had been aware of lipoic acid when I pursued my former and exclusive health passion, exercise. I am sure I caused considerable harm with some of the excessive exercising and running I did in the 70s and early 80s. I did not take antioxidants at that time, and, worse still, I consumed plenty of whole grain bread and steel-cut oatmeal that further raised my insulin levels. I would have considerably more hair left, I suspect, if I had recognized the dual nature of excessive exercise. It can be a potent stimulus to good health, but it can also be overdone and actually accelerate the aging process.

I now routinely take vitamin C and lipoic acid (100 mg) prior to my runs. Since they are primarily water-soluble they should be taken close to the time of exercise. Vitamin E can be taken once a day, or even once a week, as it is fat-soluble.