Please Stop Depending On Supplements
I have a small cabinet full of them, you probably do too. I also have the handful that are taken daily by people in my home. But I am starting to wise up and move away from using supplements as a long term tool in my wellness kit.
I’ve always been a minimalist on supplements due to cost, especially considering the size of our family, but now I have more reasons.
Americans are obsessed with isolated nutrients. There’s always a new discovery that becomes the hot new must-have nutrient we all need to chase after. Let’s take B12 for example. Or CoQ10, or vitamin D…see there are so many. If we just take this one (or ten) supplements, we won’t ever get sick, we think. Some people (ahem…my husband) think that the supplement is protective enough that he can still eat how he wants (which is not as disciplined as I eat). That’s not how it works, that’s not how any of this works.
What we have to remember is that our food was created to work synergistically. This means that the vitamin C from an orange absorbs better than powdered vitamin C in a supplement since it’s packaged with other enzymes and nutrients that work together to make it more bioavailable. Also, the vitamin C not processed when you eat it in a real orange instead of ingest it in a capsule.
We aren’t meant to take mega doses most of the time and foods that nourish our bodies will have many of the things you’re trying to get with your supplements. My husband took CoQ10 religiously. Then I looked up what foods are high in CoQ10. Meat! Well he was doing clean Keto and was getting plenty of CoQ10 naturally so I stopped buying it, knowing he had it covered.
I think you’re getting my point, here. Our FOOD has the power to provide much of what our bodies need.
But there are times when supplements are needed. Here are a few:
When you are changing your lifestyle. Change takes time and using supplements while building habits can be good way to transition.
When you know you have a deficiency and are working to amend it. Maybe this winter you find out your vitamin D level is in the toilet. It’s hard to get enough sun in the winter so a high quality, bioavailable supplement could be in order.
If you’re sick or having other issues (i.e. pregnancy) that need addressing now you could use supplements to add to the food you’re eating to achieve your goal.
If you need herbs or homeopathics and not just a singular nutrient. I suggest herbs in my practice for depression, anxiety, and other common issues. Herbs can be used in several forms including fresh in salads, dried in tea, in a salve, an oil, a tincture or ground and encapsulated. Homeopathics are an entirely different tool and not part of a routine maintenance plan.
I ascribe to slow living which means we usually need to do thing the old fashioned, slow way. Eating our nutrients instead of swallowing a processed supplement is harder but usually better! What bottle can you take out of your daily rotation by replacing it with real food?
