Supplements 101

Intro

According to some reports, the dietary supplement industry is raking in upwards of $20 billion dollars each year.  This statistic will continue to grow as manufacturers continue to capitalize on what I like to call our “pill popping culture.”  Supplement sales coupled with healthcare expenditures would suggest a relative positive relationship between the former and our overall health.  However, the exact inverse is happening.  According to the most recent surveys, our healthcare system ranks 37th among industrialized nations and insidious diseases like obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and hypertension (just to name a few) are ubiquitous.  So, the logical conclusion is that pills (in the form of medicine or supplements) and good health are mutually exclusive.  In layman’s terms, one has nothing to do with the other.

However, unscrupulous manufacturers, ever driven by that seductive profit motive, continue to use predatory marketing techniques and questionable claims to promote their product.  With that in mind, how is one supposed to sift through all of that and select a good quality supplement?

(Disclaimer: Before I continue, let me say that there are honest supplement manufacturers that produce very high quality product, which are based on sound science.  I use some of these supplements myself, and I cycle on and off of them based on nutritional need.)

Supplements Defined

I think the best way to answer that question is first define what a supplement is.  According to the medical dictionary at Merriam-Webster Online, a supplement is “a product taken orally that contains one or more ingredients that are intended to supplement one’s diet and are not considered food.” That last phrase is key – there is absolutely no substitute for real food.  Unadulterated food contains living nutrients in the precise ratio that nature intended and our bodies recognize.  That being said, the basic premise of a supplement is to support an already existing healthy diet and physical fitness plan.  If you are following that simple rule, then you should be getting the vast majority of your vitamins, minerals and antioxidants from your meals.    Ah, only if things were that black and white.

A Health Dilemma

Even for the staunchest of health enthusiasts, life has an annoying knack for getting in the way sometimes. It can derail the most nutritious diet and put the brakes on the most disciplined fitness plan.  This is the sweet spot for nutritional supplements.  If your day has been hectic and you haven’t eaten enough veggies and fruits, there’s a multivitamin for you.  If inflammation is an issue, and quality fish is hard to find, there’s a fish oil for you.  If you’re working late and you don’t want to order pizza with your colleagues, there’s a protein-based meal replacement supplement for you.  Everyone will have their own unique needs, so find yours.  The point I’m trying to drive home is that supplements should be an option only when nutritious food isn’t.  A diet based on protein shakes and meal replacement bars isn’t sustainable, or very satisfying over the long term.

Due Diligence

Once you’ve identified your particular supplement needs, you’ll obviously want to select a good quality supplement.  Literally anyone with a pulse can manufacture supplements since it’s an unregulated industry (thank Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch for that).  Consequently, it will be incumbent upon you to do some research.  This will admittedly require some extra time on your part in the beginning.  The worst thing you can do is rely on the popular “before and after” or fitness model photos.  Numerous photographers have admitted to drastically altering pictures and many fitness models admit to taking other supplements such as steroids and human growth hormone (HGH).  Sounds a little misleading, huh?

But as I’ve said before, it’s only your health at stake.  If there were a new car, new shoes, or new house in which you were interested, you’d probably leave no stone unturned researching and looking for the best deal and highest quality.  Why should your health be any different?

A rule of thumb: always select whole food-based supplements over synthetic supplements.  You’ll know whole food-based products because you’ll see that designation on the label.  The thought behind supplements derived from whole food constituents is that they are created by extracting the required nutrients from real food along with other synergistic components that enhance the effectiveness.  Essentially, this process closely mimics how these nutrients exist in nature and will be better assimilated by your body, at a cellular level.  Synthetic supplements begin and end in the lab, so the components are largely something that your body can’t recognize and you basically end up with expensive urine.  It’s your money at the end of the day and budgets dictate purchases, but I’d recommend spending the extra couple of bucks on a whole food-based product.

Final Tips

• Always keep a preventive focus on wellness, especially supplements.  It’s much easier than trying to get well after disease.
• Clean, unadulterated food first.  Supplements second.
• Purchase whole food-based supplements…your body will recognize it more readily than cheaper, synthetic alternatives.
• Do your due diligence and get your supplements from reputable manufacturers.
• Based on the delinquencies in the SAD (Standard American Diet), a good starter mix of nutritional supplements are a multivitamin, fish oil and vitamin D3.
• Educate yourself on the Codex Alimentarius (world wide food code that aims to limit our access to unadulterated food, natural therapies and supplements).
• Then sign the petition and write your local politician.

Related posts:

1. Prevention 101
2. Fitness 101
3. Nutrition 101