In a perfect world, humans would obtain all the nutrients they need from their food. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world. Atypically high access to added sugars has meant that contemporary humans are consuming more calories and fewer micronutrients than at any other time in history.
You might eat something green every day, but that doesn’t mean your body has the nutrition necessary to function at peak performance. Do you know what’s missing?
Today, many intelligent Americans have begun adding supplements and vitamins to their daily wellness routine. They may pick dietary supplements based on brand messaging or grab a bottle of multivitamins and assume they’re covered. Despite taking pills daily, they still aren’t giving their bodies what they need.
We’ve created this guide to help you learn how to choose the right dietary additives. Read on to learn how to sort through your options for supplements thoughtfully.
Start With the Facts
Before you start shopping, it’s important to remember that wellness brands are businesses first. Their goal is to sell you a product. Their flavors, packaging, and list of flavors may sound enticing, but that doesn’t mean they will have any impact on your health.
Furthermore, they will present many of the benefits in a general “catch-all” manner. They might suggest that a supplement is suitable for eliminating exhaustion. If you don’t know what’s causing the fatigue, how can you be sure a product will fix it?
The following tips can help prevent impulse purchases.
Speak to a Doctor
When choosing supplements, we recommend beginning with as much information as possible. Ideally, ask your primary care physician for a blood workup. They should be able to tell you about any specific deficiencies.
Additionally, consider seeing a nutritionist or dietitian. These “food doctors” can often diagnose issues using a simple food diary. Often, they will attempt to address deficiencies with dietary changes rather than supplements.
You should be able to fix most deficiencies with a combination of food and supplements. Many Americans lack Vitamins A, C, E, and magnesium, all of which are available in capsule form.
Know How the Body Processes Supplements
It can also be helpful to understand what happens when you take a supplement you don’t need. Our bodies are efficient and complex systems. We have multiple organs, including the spleen and kidneys, with one job: getting rid of anything in the blood that the body doesn’t need.
If you take an unnecessary supplement, your body will filter out the excess nutrients. Your excretory system will treat them as waste products. In other words, you’ll be paying a lot of money for dietary supplements only to literally flush them down the toilet.
Choosing Supplements to Meet Your Needs
Once you’ve found out what your body needs, you might choose to intervene with supplements. If traditional vitamins haven’t helped, you might want to try something more natural to address a specific complaint, such as fatigue, mood swings, or weight gain. Here is our top advice for deciding which providers to choose.
Read Online Customer Reviews
When it comes to supplements, reading online reviews can be illuminating. Take the reviews for supplemental collagen powder, for example. As you scroll, you’ll begin to see more complaints about the product causing uncontrollable acne than comments about the efficacy of the product.
Ensure the reviews aren’t sponsored, and the company hasn’t compensated reviewers for their feedback.
Consider Comparing Supplement Prices
Shoppers have become accustomed to sorting products by price, lowest to highest, and snagging the best deal. That’s not always wise when choosing something you plan to put into your body.
If you’re buying supplements online, visit many providers and compare supplement prices to find the average. When you make your purchase, choose a product in that ballpark.
Buy From Reputable Sources
Some supplemental products originate from the world of traditional medicine. Those practitioners are more likely to understand the qualities, side effects, and dosages of atypical supplements, such as deer antler velvet or certain mushrooms. Always prioritize authentic sources of these products, especially when trying one out for the first time.
If you can’t buy directly from a traditional medicine practitioner, buy from a trusted brand. Do as much vetting as possible to ensure their claims are correct. As a general guideline, the more transparent a company is about exactly what is in its product, the more likely it is to be legitimate.
Less Is More
Remember that you already get most of the nutrients you need from your food. Making slight dietary changes is often more beneficial than adding supplements. Use supplements only when a personal restriction, allergy, or sensory need means you cannot fill that nutritional niche in a healthier, more efficient way.
With that said, if most of your nutrients come from supplements, you are taking too many. You should take as few as possible to meet specific dietary needs. They are not a substitute for proper nutrition.
Pick Dietary Supplements Your Body Needs
When it comes down to it, the message is simple: find what’s missing in your diet and replace it in the most efficient way. That might mean switching up your plate. If you do pick dietary supplements, ensure they come from a reputable dietary supplement provider and meet your body’s current needs.
The choices you make about your body can impact you for life. How else can you change up your routine to ensure you’re living a lifestyle you can be proud of? Browse the rest of the blog for more advice to kickstart your wellness journey.
