Foundation Five™: 5 Nutrients That Prime Your Body for Daily Readiness

What is the Foundation Five™ & Why They Matter

The Foundation Five™ are five core nutrients that most adults are consistently under-supplied in, regardless of diet quality. Together they support the physiological systems that daily performance depends on: energy metabolism, stress regulation, immune function, sleep quality, and nutrient absorption. Without this baseline reliably in place, recovery slows, resilience narrows, and output fades in ways that are easy to feel but hard to trace back to a cause.

• What they are: a quality multivitamin, vitamin D3, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, and a probiotic/digestive enzyme formula
• Key functions: energy production, inflammation balance, stress response, sleep quality, immune regulation, gut absorption
• Who may need more: adults under chronic stress, those who work or train indoors, people with dietary gaps, anyone experiencing persistent fatigue or slow recovery

Why Start with Nutrients?

Before we talk supplements, it helps to understand what we mean by readiness. Readiness is not peak performance. It is the capacity to show up, respond, and recover, consistently, across the demands of a real life. Training, stress, work, sleep, relationships: all of it draws from the same physiological account.

When that account is depleted, the body does not simply underperform. It signals. Fatigue sets in, recovery slows, stress responses heighten, and resilience shrinks. If that pattern sounds familiar, you are not imagining it. Most people experience micronutrient depletion as a gradual fade they cannot quite explain.

Whole foods should always be your first priority. Vegetables, fruits, quality proteins, healthy fats, and minimally processed grains are packed with the vitamins, minerals, fiber, phytonutrients, and co-factors your body is built to recognize and use. No supplement replicates the complexity and synergy of real food, and no supplement strategy substitutes for a consistently sound diet. Start there.

That said, the research is clear: even people who eat well carry gaps. Soil depletion, food processing, modern stress loads, and the realities of daily life mean that specific nutrients are chronically under-supplied in the majority of adults, regardless of diet quality. The  address precisely those gaps. They are not a workaround. They are a safeguard.

1. Multivitamin: Filling the Gaps That Diet Misses

The idea that a balanced diet provides everything you need is sound in theory. In practice, most people are not eating with the precision required to meet micronutrient needs across a full day, every day. Research indicates widespread insufficiency in multiple vitamins and minerals across the general adult population, particularly in vitamins D, E, and C, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.¹

The Physiological Case

Micronutrients sit behind nearly every physiological process that readiness depends on: energy metabolism, neurotransmitter production, immune regulation, and tissue repair. When these processes are running on partial supply, the effects show up as reduced endurance, slower recovery, lowered mood, and impaired concentration, often long before any clinical deficiency is measurable.

Think of a multivitamin as a maintenance protocol. It is a practical safety net for the gaps that accumulate when your real life, travel, stress, or a busy week affect what you actually eat. For most people, those weeks are not the exception.

What to look for:

• Active, bioavailable forms of key nutrients (methylated B12 and folate, chelated minerals)

• Adequate doses of commonly depleted nutrients, not just token amounts

Foundation Five™: Multivitamins

2. Vitamin D3: The Readiness Regulator You Likely Need More Of

Vitamin D is technically a hormone precursor, and its influence on the body extends well beyond bone health. It plays a regulatory role in immune function, mood, inflammation control, muscle strength, and cardiovascular health.² Deficiency is common: estimates suggest that over 40% of American adults have insufficient vitamin D levels, with higher rates among those who spend most of their time indoors, have darker skin tones, or live in northern latitudes.³

How deficiency shows up in daily life

Chronically low vitamin D is associated with increased susceptibility to illness, slower muscle recovery, impaired sleep quality, and lower mood, all of which directly erode the capacity to perform consistently. It is one of the few single nutrients with measurable effects across multiple readiness domains simultaneously.

Here is why this is relevant to you specifically: if your work keeps you mostly indoors, if you live above the 35th parallel, or if winter runs longer than three months where you are, your skin simply cannot synthesize adequate vitamin D from sunlight for a significant portion of the year. Diet alone rarely compensates. Supplementation is not optional at that point, it is logical.

Vitamin D3 is the form the body uses most efficiently. When paired with vitamin K2, as in D3 Excellence, it directs calcium appropriately into bones and away from arteries, addressing a common concern with higher-dose supplementation.

What to look for

• Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), not D2

• Paired with K2 (MK-7 form preferred) for safe, effective calcium direction

• Dose typically ranges from 1,000 to 5,000 IU daily, though needs vary individually

Getting your levels tested via a standard 25(OH)D blood panel before supplementing is a practical step. It gives you a real baseline to work from rather than guessing, and lets you track whether your dose is actually moving the needle.

Foundation Five™: Vitamin D

3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Managing the Inflammatory Load of Daily Life

Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), are essential fats the body cannot produce on its own. They must come from diet or supplementation. Their primary function is not muscle building or fat loss, two things the supplement industry tends to over-claim. Their primary function is inflammation regulation.⁴

The Inflammation Connection

Chronic low-grade inflammation is one of the most common and least discussed contributors to persistent fatigue, poor recovery, joint discomfort, and mood dysregulation in everyday people. It is not the acute inflammation of an injury. It is the slow background burn of daily stress, disrupted sleep, processed food, and inadequate recovery, adding up over time.

If you consistently feel like recovery takes longer than it should, or that your joints carry more stiffness than your activity level explains, the inflammatory load of modern daily life is often part of the picture. Omega-3s help balance the ratio between pro- and anti-inflammatory signaling in the body. Research consistently shows benefits across cardiovascular health, brain function, mood stability, and muscle recovery when EPA and DHA are adequately supplied.⁵

Beyond EPA and DHA: Why other fatty acids also matter

EPA and DHA get the most attention, and they deserve it. But they are not the only essential fatty acids relevant to daily performance. A broader look at the fat landscape reveals several others worth understanding.

CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), found naturally in grass-fed dairy and meat, has been studied for its role in supporting healthy body composition and immune function. Current evidence suggests it may help modulate fat metabolism and support lean mass, though research is still developing on optimal doses and populations.

GLA (gamma-linolenic acid), an omega-6 fatty acid found in evening primrose and borage oils, works differently from the pro-inflammatory omega-6s that dominate most modern diets. GLA follows a metabolic pathway that supports anti-inflammatory signaling, making it a useful complement to omega-3s rather than a counterpart.

Omega-7 (palmitoleic acid) is a lesser-known monounsaturated fat found in sea buckthorn and macadamia oils. Emerging research points to its role in supporting metabolic health, insulin sensitivity, and cardiovascular markers, though it remains an area of active investigation.

ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), the plant-based omega-3 found in flaxseed, chia, and walnuts, is technically essential, but the body converts it to EPA and DHA very inefficiently, typically less than 10%. It contributes to overall fatty acid balance but should not be relied upon as a primary omega-3 source.

The practical takeaway: getting the full spectrum of essential fatty acids, rather than relying on a single source, gives your body more complete tools for managing inflammation, supporting cell membrane integrity, and sustaining the metabolic processes that underpin consistent daily output.

What to look for

• Combined amounts of at least 1,000 to 2,000 mg per day

• Freshness matters: rancid fish oil is not just ineffective, it is counterproductive

Foundation Five™: Fish Oil

4. Magnesium: The Stress Buffer Your Body Depletes First

Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body, including ATP energy production, protein synthesis, blood glucose regulation, nerve signal transmission, and muscle contraction and relaxation.⁶ It is also one of the most commonly depleted minerals in modern populations, with surveys suggesting that a significant portion of adults in the United States do not meet recommended daily intakes through diet alone.⁷

The Stress-Depletion Cycle

The relationship between magnesium and stress is bidirectional and important: stress depletes magnesium, and low magnesium amplifies the stress response. This cycle is particularly relevant for anyone managing sustained physical or psychological demands, which describes most people living busy, active lives.

If your sleep is lighter than it used to be, or you notice that stress hits harder than it once did, magnesium depletion is worth considering. It supports the activity of GABA receptors, which quiet the nervous system and promote the transition into restful sleep.⁸ Poor sleep is one of the fastest routes to diminished resilience, and magnesium is one of the most evidence-supported nutrients for addressing it without the side effects of pharmaceutical sleep aids.

What to look for

• Chelated or complex forms (glycinate, malate, threonate, citrate) absorb better than oxide

• Evening timing supports sleep and nervous system recovery

• Typical effective doses range from at least 200 to 400 mg elemental magnesium daily

Foundation Five™: Magnesium

5. Probiotics and Digestive Enzymes: Readiness Starts in the Gut

Gut health is not a wellness trend. The gastrointestinal system is directly connected to immune function (roughly 70% of the immune system resides in the gut), mood regulation through the gut-brain axis, and nutrient absorption capacity.⁹ Put simply: if you are not absorbing the nutrients you consume, everything else in this list works less effectively. The most thoughtfully chosen supplements only deliver what your gut can actually process.

Absorption and the Gut-Performance Link

Digestive enzymes ensure that the proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in your food are broken down into usable components. Without adequate enzyme activity, nutrient absorption suffers regardless of diet quality. Enzyme production naturally declines with age and is further disrupted by chronic stress, which suppresses the parasympathetic state the digestive system needs to function optimally. If you eat well but still feel like something is not landing, enzyme insufficiency is a plausible factor.

Probiotics support a balanced gut microbiome, which influences inflammatory signaling, immune tone, and even cortisol metabolism. The research on specific probiotic strains is still developing, but the evidence for consistent probiotic use supporting digestive comfort, immune resilience, and regularity is substantial.¹⁰

What to look for

• Multi-strain probiotic formulas with at least 10 to 30 billion CFU. 

• Broad-spectrum digestive enzymes covering protease, lipase, amylase, and ideally cellulase for plant foods

Foundation Five™: Enzymes & Probiotics

How to Apply This

With all supplements, they work best as a consistent daily practice, not a short course. The benefits of micronutrient repletion, inflammatory balance, and gut support accumulate over weeks and months, not days. Here is a practical starting framework based on where you are most likely to feel the difference first:

1. Start with the two or three most likely gaps for your situation. If you are rarely outdoors, vitamin D3 is a high-priority start. If sleep or stress is your primary challenge, magnesium is a logical early priority.

2. Add a quality multivitamin and omega-3 as your next layer. These two address the broadest range of common insufficiencies.

3. Introduce probiotic and enzyme support, particularly if digestion is not optimal, you eat on the go frequently, or you are under sustained stress.

4. Take consistently for at least 8 to 12 weeks before evaluating results. Most of the meaningful changes in energy, recovery, and resilience are gradual and compound over time.

5. Track simple indicators: sleep quality, energy on waking, how quickly you recover from exertion or illness, and general stress tolerance. These are your readiness signals.

References

1. Fulgoni, Victor L., Debra R. Keast, Regan L. Bailey, and Johanna Dwyer. "Foods, Fortificants, and Supplements: Where Do Americans Get Their Nutrients?" Journal of Nutrition 141, no. 10 (2011): 1847-54. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.111.142257.

2. Holick, Michael F. "Vitamin D Deficiency." New England Journal of Medicine 357, no. 3 (2007): 266-81. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra070553.

3. Forrest, Kimberly Y. Z., and Wendy L. Stuhldreher. "Prevalence and Correlates of Vitamin D Deficiency in US Adults." Nutrition Research 31, no. 1 (2011): 48-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2010.12.001.

4. Calder, Philip C. "Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Inflammatory Processes: From Molecules to Man." Biochemical Society Transactions 45, no. 5 (2017): 1105-15. https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20160474.

5. Omega-3 Fatty Acids Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Last reviewed February 15, 2023. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Omega3FattyAcids-HealthProfessional/.

6. de Baaij, Jeroen H. F., Joost G. J. Hoenderop, and Rene J. M. Bindels. "Magnesium in Man: Implications for Health and Disease." Physiological Reviews 95, no. 1 (2015): 1-46. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00012.2014.

7. Rosanoff, Andrea, Connie M. Weaver, and Robert K. Rude. "Suboptimal Magnesium Status in the United States: Are the Health Consequences Underestimated?" Nutrition Reviews 70, no. 3 (2012): 153-64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2011.00465.x.

8. Abbasi, Behnood, Masud Kimiagar, Khosro Sadeghniiat, Minoo M. Shirazi, Mehdi Hedayati, and Bahram Rashidkhani. "The Effect of Magnesium Supplementation on Primary Insomnia in Elderly: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial." Journal of Research in Medical Sciences 17, no. 12 (2012): 1161-69.

9. Vighi, G., F. Marcucci, L. Sensi, G. Di Cara, and F. Frati. "Allergy and the Gastrointestinal System." Clinical and Experimental Immunology 153, suppl. 1 (2008): 3-6. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2249.2008.03713.x.

10. Mazziotta, Chiara, Marika Tognon, Fernanda Martini, Elena Torreggiani, and Gianni Rotondo. "Probiotics Mechanism of Action on Immune Cells and Beneficial Effects on Human Health." Cells 12, no. 1 (2023): 184. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12010184.