Quite interestingly, I often get asked “what supplements should I be taking?” before someone asks me “what should I be eating?”
Supplements can be great, and very helpful to supplement a good diet/lifestyle, and to help treat/correct issues arising from deficiencies. Supplements won’t correct a poor diet, but they will help, especially when coupled with a good diet – and a healthy lifestyle including some physical activity – even walking! Supplements can help prevent disease, and can help you recover from certain conditions, illnesses, or deficiencies.
Here are the top supplements I recommend, and why:
1 – Multivitamin – a POTENT one. I emphasize potent, because most vitamins you find at a drug store, grocery store, wholesale store, are junk and a waste of money. A potent multivitamin does cost more, but you are getting a lot more value for your money. It is a good base to start with people on a path to better health, weight loss, better mood, higher energy levels, blood sugar regulation, and more! Plus, it’s one of the best anti-aging measures you can take!
2 – High Quality Omega 3 Fish Oils – Again, like multivitamins, you really get what you pay for. These help us become smarter (especially developing children), decrease inflammation in the body, and help keep our skin moist and also help slow down aging and prevent wrinkles.
3 – Probiotics – Don’t choose your yogurt based on probiotic claims – they all have pretty much the same, and can help maintain the good bacteria in our digestive systems – if sufficient quantities are ingested. The problem is, with our diets (high starch and high sugar) and the shape of many people’s digestive systems, some sauerkraut and yoghurt or kefir aren’t enough to keep the bad bugs at bay. The bad bacteria love sugar and refined carbs, and so they flourish with many of our diets. Veggies and fruit feed the GOOD bacteria. A probiotic can help prevent colds, infections, athlete’s food, yeast infections, jock itch, thrush of the mouth, and bad breath! It can aslo help your digestion!
4 – Greens Shake – I recently added this to my top recommendations, because I have seen the results in myself and my clients in terms of more energy, weight loss, making a meal quick, and other beneficial effects by having a greens or greens and protein shake daily.
5 – Adaptogenic Herbs – these herbs can give you more energy if you have low energy, calm you down if you are too fired up, help boost your immune system if you are constantly sick, and can even help balance mood, stress and blood pressure. That’s why they are called “adaptogens” – they help your body constantly adapt to changing situations. The right herbs for you depend on your symptoms. Even though they can help you “adapt” certain herbs are better than others for specific symtoms/issues.
6- Supplements for blood sugar dysregulation or hyper/hypoglycemia, type II diabetes – I won’t name specific supplements here, because the supplement really depends upon the individual and their conditions.