SFH #87: Food Supplementation: A Precursor
How to approach supplements 💊
Many people take supplements. It hit $42 billion as an industry in 2019. The worldwide projection for 2022 is $220 billion. With the weight behind this cash machine industry, it's worth investigating what and why we should be looking at food supplementation.
First and foremost, to get the ideal minerals and vitamins to optimize our health, most of us need to be eating a nearly perfect diet, and we are collectively quite far away from that reality. According to the CDC, only 10% of Americans eat enough fruits and vegetables to hit the RDA markers of ideal nutrition.1 Add to that the problem with our existing ecology in modern agriculture, and our food consumption can still miss the mark even if it checks the proverbial healthy box. ✅
So whether we are looking for the extra boost with our existing healthy eating practices or deficient in a particular area, how do we make intelligent choices in our supplementation?
Personalize it by testing for deficiencies. Most importantly, we need to understand our existing baseline and needs. You wouldn't start doing a set of random exercises for your body without understanding strengths and weaknesses and how you want to leverage the physiological benefits. It's the same with our internal systems. Understanding our targets for supplementation is where we should start.🎬
Learn about the fundamentals. Whether your labs show outstanding balance or not, learning the fundamentals of how our body utilizes and thrives in an ideal nutritional state goes a long way.📚
Be consistent. It takes time to build up levels in the cases of deficiencies. Additionally, some vitamins can't be stored in the body, so regular supplementation is needed to maintain levels. Consistency provides a constant supply of essential nutrients.🧱
Watch this extended form version of a discussion between Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Elizabeth Boham for supplemental enlightenment. 📺
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p1116-fruit-vegetable-consumption.html