Food Not Supplements

Have you ever counted the number of supplements you take and thought it excessive? Have you ever wondered if you were wasting your money, or mixing things that shouldn’t be mixed?  I’ve taken as many as 20 pills at once and wondered what my stomach must be going through digesting all that at once.

The supplement market is booming with sales through the roof.  Totally unregulated, these companies can make any promise they want. Most prey upon unsuspecting, many times desperate people.   I am one of those people who has purchased so much stuff on my quest to be healthy.  I have taken enzymes, herbal supplements, hormone replacements, vitamins, shakes and the list goes on.  I have spent a small fortune on this stuff and taken it unquestionably.

I’ve been to several nutritionists and doctors, each with their own lists of stuff for me to buy and take.  Each sold me on the magic pill to solve my problems.  It didn’t matter that I was asking them for help in fixing my dietary habits.  It didn’t matter that I said I wanted to get my health on track through food choices.  Each time I was told that wasn’t possible and I needed supplementation.   I even remember going once to JennyCraig and telling them no thanks when I looked at the ingredients in their food. At that time I was already cooking from scratch with whole foods.  They became extremely unsure and defensive when I asked to see the ingredient list for their foods.

I began to do research about supplements and became quite disturbed.  I could actually be doing far more harm than good by taking all this stuff.  It was time I faced the thing I was trying to avoid. My food choices were horrible and no amount of suplemention would ever fix that.  There were just way too many pills going into my body and it had to stop.   My first step was to get a true picture of what my body needed, or was lacking.  I went to an antiaging doctor and had a full battery of tests, including blood, saliva and urine analysis. Then a profile was created to show my levels of vitamins, minerals, cholesterol, hormones, etc.

Through that process, I learned exactly what supplementation, if any my body needed.  I learned that many vitamins we take really just pass through our bodies without absorption, literally money down the toilet.  I learned most people are Vitamin D deficient and it is a falacy  to think the sun will take care of that.  I learned that you can indeed get what your body needs from food, but it can’t be genetically altered, or hormone laden.

I buy whole food whenever possible. I buy grass fed, hormone free meat. I have eliminated almost all dairy. I do eat hormone free fresh mozzarella.  Not sure I can give that up.  Whenever possible I buy the goat version.  I take Vitamin D (with K2 to insure absorption) and two herbal supplements to support my adrenals which were in late stage adrenal fatigue.  I drink one PowerShake a day (organic full fat! coconut milk 8oz, handful of organic (blueberry, blackberry,strawberry whatever I have), half organic banana, tsp vanilla, two ice cubes) and one “green” whole food shake (Purium) made with two scoops of greens mixed with water.   That’s it. All the rest comes fropm good, clean, delicious food. I cook my meals and they do not come in cans, bags or jars.

I am sleeping slightly better and when I recheck my levels (every 6 months), I’ve been mostly in good levels.   Vitamin D was hard to get in range and my hormones have had some fluctuations, but otherwise I’m in a good place.  I’m urging you to take inventory of your pills. What are you putting in your body today?   If you are swallowing a ton of pills, it’s time to pause, learn and change.

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Author: laurakump

I'm a mother, wife and daughter on a mission to reclaim my health. I've watched loved ones suffer from memory robbing Alzheimers and refuse to lose my precious memories to this disease. Small changes have helped me achieve health and fitness. I'm an Elementary School Principal on a mission to impact students lives. I believe we can change this world one child at a time. View all posts by laurakump