Supplements have a pretty self-explanatory name - they shouldsupplement our diet and lifestyle. Somehow along the way, it seems like supplements became something people started to rely heavily on as either a foundationinstead of food, or as a band-aid for lifestyle factors they weren’t willing to change.
So it begs the question - when should I use supplements?
We totally understand some people feel strongly about living a healthy lifestyle and eating holistically, but sometimes it is really, really hard to manage life without a little help. So we wanted to discuss different scenarios when supplements can be really helpful and identify how to utilize them to maximize how we feel!
We can eat a squeaky ‘clean’ diet filled with whole, unprocessed foods, but it can still be hard to get certain nutrients from our diet in the amounts our body needs. There are some common nutrient deficiencies among the general population, but before you take any suggestion from us, we recommend getting blood-work done by your doctor to know your true deficiencies!
Magnesium -
Magnesium is the #1 nutrient deficiency in the country, and there aren’t many compounds in the body that are as important as magnesium is to our overall health. Magnesium is used in hundreds of biochemical processes within the body. It is necessary for ATP (energy) production and the synthezation of DNA and protein which helps prevent mutations of our DNA (DNA mutations are what cancer stems from). It also has shown to fight depression, inflammation, lower blood pressure, and assist in preventing most chronic disease.
So yeah, you could say it's important! The problem is that most Americans are deficient and it is actually quite hard to get enough magnesium from our food alone. The highest food sources of magnesium include nuts and seeds, but it is tough to eat enough magnesium without overdoing calories or polyunsaturated fats. It should also be noted that most multivitamins don’t contain enough magnesium to meet our daily needs (420mg for men, 350mg for women).
Which is why we recommend supplementing with our SLEEP supplement, so you not only sleep well through the night, but get your adequate magnesium intake (hint: magnesium also calms the body and helps us sleep!).
Vitamin D -
We hope that you are all getting out in the sun daily, multiple times a day, but not everyone has the luxury of warm, sunny weather all year long! You can also get Vitamin D from your food, but seafood is the only significant source and you’d have to eat quite a bit daily to get what you need. The recommended intake is 600 IU, but for us to get blood levels of 600 IU, we’d need to take aminimum of 2000 IU daily to absorb up to that amount in our blood.
So in those winter months when you (and your body!) are missing that sunshine, we recommend supplementing with a quality Vitamin D3!
Omega 3 Fatty Acids -
There are two types of essential fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6. omega-3 fatty acids tend to be anti-inflammatory in nature, whereas omega-6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory. We want some inflammation in the body to help fend off disease and keep us healthy, but the problem is that the traditional western diet has introduced a much higher inflammation level than our body can handle. We should have a ratio of about 1:1 of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids, but due to the western diet of processed foods, vegetable oils, fried foods, and restaurant foods, that ratio now ranges from 1:10 all the way up to 1:25 omega-3 vs. omega-6. Meaning we have a whole heck of a lot of inflammation going on.
Unless you are completely avoiding all processed foods, and never going out to eat, while also consuming copious amounts of fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, or herring, then you are likely in need of some supplementation. The problem is that most fish oils are very poor quality and can actually cause further oxidation and inflammation in the body! That is why we make sure our omega-3 is wild caught, sustainably sourced, and has no harmful fillers or preservatives.
If you find yourself always in the car for work, or shuttling the kids around, or perhaps you travel for work weekly and are on the god constantly, supplements may be a huge life-saver. It can be really hard to pack a chicken breast to take on a plain, or in a long car ride, but if you had an easy protein shake to drink while traveling, you would be getting the same benefit with way less hassle!
If you are traveling on a plane or in a crowded place, we also highly recommend our Immunity supplement to help provide extra support to your immune system. We tend to see a dip in our immunity levels when we travel due to stress, lack of sleep, and a constant bombardment of germs from people and places. If your immune system ever had a time it needed a helping hand, traveling would be it!
Lastly, from first-hand experience, we know vegetables and fruits don’t really come by easily when we are on the road, so utilizing a greens supplement can be really helpful to get the nutrients our body wants, as well as help us break down the abnormal food we may be eating with the added enzymes.
Top Suggested Supplements for Travel: Whey Protein, Immunity, Greens Supplement
If you are currently in the process of trying to improve your sleep routine, or eat more protein, or drink more water, but you find yourself struggling, it can be okay to utilize supplements along the way! They may, in fact, help you get to your goals faster!
For example, a lot of individuals may be trying to improve their sleep through a better routine, removing blue-light at night, and getting more Vitamin D during the day, but still find it challenging. There is nothing wrong with a bit of support from a supplement like our SLEEP to help you get sound sleep while your new habits are forming. Believe it or not, taking melatonin actually does not impair your body’s natural production of it!
This is similar for those of you that are starting to track macros and find you are under-eating protein by a ton! Rather than try to choke down dry chicken breast after chicken breast, add in a simple protein shake to help get you a quick 20-30g of clean, fast digesting protein!
Although we don’t suggest using supplements as a ‘band-aid’ for poor lifestyle habits, they can be a great way to support our diet and make life easier some days.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
