Supplements 101

Supplements are often marketed as the “main solution” to losing weight, feeling better, and transforming your life. However, while supplements can play a helpful role in your physical transformation, it’s often they are given more credit than they deserve. Supplements should be supplementing healthy foods and lifestyles.
Healthy supplementation is just 1 among at least 6 major factors which determine optimal health including first and foremost NUTRITION, sleep, hydration, exercise, and mental health.

Most supplement companies will try to sell you on a bunch of overpriced products, claiming that these “Special powders or liquids” can do more for you than just having healthy nutrition habits. Simply put, billions have been spent on advertisements seeking to make you a customer. The truth is, we are made up of what we think, do, consume, and say. If you build a car with cheap parts, you can expect it to not perform and function correctly. Just as if we provide our bodies with bad quality ingredients, you can expect the same outcome. Supplements, in general, are designed to get you more of the nutrients you need which you do not get from your primary nutrition.

The universal supplements that I would recommend are:

Magnesium- It has been depleted in the soil and is likely the number 1 deficiency in the body. Magnesium is a mineral that’s crucial to the body’s function. Magnesium helps keep the blood sugar normal, bones strong, and heart rhythm steady. I apply this topically before bed and many brands don’t absorb well and stay on your skin ut I linked the brand I use that absorbs well and doesn’t stink.

Vitamin D3- Studies show that low vitamin D significantly increases risk factors for dementia and a cause for depression & brain fog. We get vitamin D from sunlight but many of us are not getting enough sunlight. Our ability to produce vitamin D from the sun reduces as we age. Those with darker skin pigments also produce less vitamin D. That means if you have darker skin tone and live in a northern latitude, supplementation may be even more important. Lastly, the more fat you carry, the less you will be able to utilize vitamin d as it is stored in the fat. So use all of these variables to help determine if and how much vitamin D to supplement with.

Fish Oil (EPA/DHA)- Our omega 3 to 6 ratio should be around 1:1 yet due to the Standard American Diet many people are around 1:16. Make sure to buy a quality source. Two ways to check are by: freezing it, if the clear yellow color becomes foggy it is a bad source and you can simply open up a pill and smell it and if it smells rancid, it is bad quality. You also want to make sure that it is high in EPA & DHA, check for somewhere around 500 mg DHA and 1000 mg EPA. Refrigerate to keep it fresh.

My recommendations for each of those are at the following links:
Vitamin D3- For vitamin D, determine the IU’s off of the variables I listed above. If you’re close to the equator and getting plenty of sun daily, you likely do not need to supplement. If you are supplementing, determine if you’re taking 5000-10,000 IU’s off your unique situation. Reach out to me if you need help here.
Magnesium- https://easemagnesium.com/discover-ease/
Fish Oil- https://wileysfinest.com/peak-epa/