Most supplements miss out on the sophistication that nature provides through real food.

You can’t supplement your way to health and unfortunately the supplement industry is entirely unregulated and most supplements are synthetic form, cheaply made for profits, and derived from less than healthy derivatives. I primarily recommend focusing on REAL nutrient dense foods instead of expensive supplements. You will experience better health and save money if you focus on real food.

Supplementing vitamins and minerals in isolation rarely improves deficiencies and doesn’t address the root cause of deficiencies anyway. Even more, vitamins and minerals exist in certain ratios in nature and the human body; supplementing in isolation can disrupt intended ratios. For example, zinc supplementation can cause copper deficiency, calcium supplementation can cause phosphorus deficiency. This study (LINK) demonstrated that consuming sufficient vitamin A, K, magnesium, zinc, and copper from foods specifically lowered mortality and cardiovascular risk, whereas supplementing with these vitamins and minerals did not have any impact. Even more, this study (LINK) evaluated 30 different supplements from Amazon and over half of them had inaccurate labels or did not contain what was written on the label.

Supplements can be helpful in the short term when acutely sick or addressing a certain issue, but in general, supplements do not fix your problems. Aim to get all the nutrients that your body needs from the foods you eat and don’t waste your money on supplements. Eat fermented foods instead of probiotics. Drink milk instead of supplementing with Calcium. Eat Oysters instead of supplementing with Zinc, B12, and selenium. Eat beef liver and seafood instead of supplementing with B vitamins and vitamins A and D. Eat sardines instead of supplementing with fish oil.

I have been practicing holistic health for over 10 years and have personally consumed way too many supplements, so I understand that it seems like an easy fix sometimes, but supplements and vitamins are not nearly as beneficial as real foods. My health became significantly better when our budget no longer allowed for expensive supplements and I realized that real foods are so much more beneficial. That being said, there are a few supplements that most people benefit from:

Magnesium: Magnesium is very difficult to get from food alone, so most people benefit from supplementation. Organic magnesium salts are more bioavailable than inorganic forms. These include Magnesium glycinate, citrate, malate, and taurate. I have found that magnesium Glycinate is the most tolerable and least likely to cause GI side effects. Get Magnesium from https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/tcaudill or you can use magnesium lotion from Earthley or magnesium chloride flakes if you like taking baths!

Oysters: Oyster Max from Marine Health foods (link) Code: healthforthehome for 10% off

Cod liver oil: Rosita https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/tcaudill

Trace minerals: Biofulvic minerals (link)