There are many good reasons to add quality supplements into your routine, a couple of those being specific health conditions requiring temporary nutrient boosts, holistic healing protocols for acute or chronic health conditions, or specific performance requirements during advanced phases of training. However, we strongly advise against long term dependence and the over-use of dietary supplements and here’s why.
Too many supplements can tax the liver and kidneys- It can be a very expensive way to flush your toilet: vitamins are absorbed between 30-40% and minerals; 25-35%
- Phytates and oxalates from food inhibit supplement nutrient absorption at even higher rates – so why not just get your nutrients from your actual food?
- Americans spend 26.9 Billion dollars on supplements in 2009 and wasted 30% of their food- do the math
- Many supplements and their formulas interfere with other supplements’ effectiveness and absorption, so when you are stacking several variations daily without proper guidance from a practitioner- you are likely canceling them all out and wasting a TON of money. Worse; possibly making yourself sick or creating more symptoms and looking for more supplements to fix those.
- Most importantly: supplements are meant to supplement – not replace and they are not meant to treat. Using supplements to cover up symptoms or fix problems without addressing the actual issues that are causing the problems is no different than taking prescriptions drugs or participating in other unhealthy behaviors to mask the symptoms.
If you are taking several supplements to support your adrenals and thyroid, help you fall asleep and then adaptogens throughout the day but you are not actually addressing the thoughts, habits and behaviors that are causing you to be sick and getting to the core of your problems by figuring out the root cause of your inflammation and autonomic stress responses then you will only find temporary relief and eventually need to keep adding more supplements. Is there a parasite infection causing chronic cortisol release and immune reaction in your body and is that why your adrenals are pumping so much cortisol? Is there an underlying autoimmune disease (or another one)? Is it as simple as a mineral deficiency or dehydration?
Now we’re only talking about the physical/material issues. Problems go deeper than that. You have to look at your mental and emotional patterns and how those direct your behaviors. You have to look at the Spiritual aspect of your life and ask yourself if you’re over-supplementing the body where it’s in-fact spiritually starved. I won’t get into that here, but that is something we work very deeply with our clients on and often is the core issue 3 out of 4 times.
But to help you understand and get control of your own nutrition (and budget) from a dietary perspective:
The golden rule is to always aim for total nutrition from an earth quality diet- it’s the most bio available, absorbable method to obtain what your body will use without overloading the liver/kidneys.
Spend your money, first, on organic and diverse, earth quality foods, add Celtic sea salt to your water, and just focus on *variety*. If it’s hard to budget your time or you struggle with digestion and getting enough meals in the day; do fresh organic juices (variety) and add fats such as coconut oil, ghee, MCT + collagen + 1/4 to 1/8 serving quality protein powder (designs for health is 💥) in between meals.
Use some of your budget for preparation and rotating meals or use services that prep paleo/keto/organic etc whatever meals; even if it’s just 1-2 meals per day and you cook your own 1-2 per day. Just ensure you are receiving a variety of organic, clean whole foods balanced with fat and protein (this is also to help absorb fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin D).
Also aim for 1-2 raw diverse salads rotating dark greens with a meal each day. Even a small one will supply tons of nutrients and minerals
Pick 3-4 proteins each week and rotate every other day. Add fish in there at least 1-2x; especially shellfish, sardines, salmon, tuna. These contain high mineral contents as well as healthy omegas which will allow you to save on those ridiculously expensive supplements. Pro tip: when you can splurge, go for some lamb or duck!
