To Supplement Or Not? That Is The Question

To Supplement Or Not? That Is The Question
By Heather Anderson

O.k., Real Foodies, there is some division on this subject out there, right? Some feel that you can get all that you need from your food and herbs. Some believe that it is good to supplement with fish liver oil and other whole food supplements. Still others endorse multiple vitamin and mineral supplements. There is a wide spectrum of views, so ultimately, each person has to check things out for themselves and decide. In this post I’ll share my reasons for believing that supplementation with the RIGHT supplements is very beneficial if not essential, and then how to know what the right supplements are.

First of all, even many of us who believe in eating real food don’t always get it all accomplished. Sometimes we eat out. Sometimes we don’t get that oatmeal soaked, or didn’t have organic produce available. Many of us could use a good quality supplement to help fill out what we are already doing. It is sometimes tempting to lean on supplements for our nutrition, but they will never adequately do that. They are intended to do just what the term implies, supplement what we are already doing for our bodies through the food we eat.

My second reason for supplementing is that we do not eat the variety of foods we used to eat. A wide variety of plants, herbs, roots and grains used to be eaten. Although some Real Foodies do better at including a wide variety, many do not. Roots especially were often wild harvested but rarely are today. They contain an immense amount of nutrients we just don’t get in other ways.

Thirdly, food is only as nutritious as the soil it is grown on. Most soil is extremely depleted. Even organic produce is often (though not always) grown on soil far inferior to what it was 50 or 100 years ago. The exception of course, is growing your own food on soil you know has been built up for many years.

Finally, there are so many added stresses to our lives that our bodies are burdened heavily by them. There are more toxins in our food, water, skin care, and in the air we breathe than ever before. Most of us live at such a frantic pace today we can hardly catch our breath. Even when we try to live “greener” and slower lives, there is much we can’t avoid unless willing to go hide out in the hills. And although I like to visit the hills, I do like living near civilization.

So, if like me, you see that it might be prudent to supplement, how do you choose. There are so many out there, and all claim to be just what you need. I heard a doctor say once when asked which supplement was the most important, “The one that is missing.” Personally, I believe that everyone should take a good quality, food form multi-vitamin. These usually cover the brood spectrum of nutrients necessary for our bodies to function. You will not find this quality at your local Wal-Mart or supermarket. And frankly, you get what you pay for. Good quality vitamins are not cheap! Always look for food form because it will be something that your body can actually use. Our bodies are designed to take in nutrients through plants and animals, not rocks and dirt. And synthetic vitamins are of course, not real. They are often made from petroleum and cold tar.

I also like to use supplements that help our hormonal systems function better. Our hormones do more than cover reproductive functions; they regulate body temperature, blood sugars, metabolism, growth, and function of organs . When hormones are out of balance, either too little or too much, the whole body is out of whack.

Glyconutrients are a newer category of nutrition discovered in the last twenty years. Glyconutrients are essential sugars that enable cells to communicate. Previously, sugars were thought to only be necessary for energy, but now we know that at least 8 are necessary for basically every function of the body. Our bodies do have the ability to produce these sugars, but the process is so complex that the body has to be functioning optimally to be able to do so. These sugars must be present to form protein molecules, to have proper immune function, to have proper brain function and so much more. Taking the immune system for example, you can have all the proper nutrients (vitamins and antioxidants, etc.) but if you don’t have these sugars present, your cells won’t be able to tell each other how to use them. Your cells won’t be able to recognize the good guys from the bad, thus you have either an underactive immune system (allowing for cancer, viruses, etc.) or an overactive immune system (allowing for auto immune diseases such as diabetes, lupus, and fibromyalgia). These sugars are mostly found in rarely eaten things such as roots, mushrooms (wild), saps, and seaweed. I have found the most noticeable health improvements when I have supplemented in this area.

Then there are all the various food based supplements such as fish liver oil, herbs and “super” berries etc. Supplementation can get expensive, so you have to decide where to draw the line. Also, remember that no one juice, berry or herb is a cure-all. We need variety! I am not putting down any particular super food, but any company that says you only need this one juice to be well, is not telling the whole truth in my opinion. I would like to add here that I love herbs, but have only minimal knowledge of how to use them effectively. I hope to grow in this area but it takes time. That being said, I do have certain herbs and combinations that I would hate to be without. (I will share more about these in future posts.)

There are some great companies out there that sell high quality products. These are a few that I personally feel I could recommend: Garden of Life, Dr. Mercola supplements, Standard Process, and Mannatech.

I hope this has given you something to think about and check into. Do you supplement? I would love comments; just keep them polite, please.

Note: My husband does sell Mannatech products and the links shared here do benefit us.

This post is linked to Real Food Wednesdays.

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