A different look at supplements: Optimal health in and out of the bottle
10 areas you can focus on to optimize your energy levels, hormone balance, and performance that can make a big difference in your overall physical and mental and emotional health.
- Ericka Thomas
Transcript
10 areas to focus for optimal health and how supplements can help.
I love nutrition science. I’ve always been fascinated by the mechanism behind how the body creates and uses energy and the complex connections between all of the systems in the body and how food influences them. Ideally we would all get everything our body needs to function optimally from real, whole food. Theoretically if we did that then we wouldn’t need to count calories. Or even watch portion sizes because the body has built in on and off switches for our appetite and is brilliantly designed to find the perfect energy balance. Sadly I think we can all agree that the standard american diet is deficient on many levels.
Our modern life of convenient hyper palatable food consumption has disrupted that delicate balance and led to food addiction, gut dysfunction and metabolic disease. Today, the lack of nutrition awareness and just basic general activity in modern life and you see most people deficient in many micro nutrients, using food as therapy on some level and desperate for a quick fix to fill in the gaps. That’s where supplements come in.
There is a lot of information out there about supplements for health wellness and performance. Last week we discussed how to filter through some of the click bait fad diet info based on your own experience. This week we’re talking specifically about supplements. Not just sports permanence but the regular people kind of supplements, multivitamins, minerals, and pre and probiotics. That kind of thing.
I wanted to talk about this because there was a certain point in my career when it felt like I was taking more supplements than calories in an effort to optimize my health and nutrition… No that’s not true. It was really because I wanted to be strong and shredded. Nope that wasn’t really true either. It was actually because I was so exhausted all the time that I needed something to boost my energy. Just to get through the day. I was exhausted because I didn’t have my nutrition, exercise and sleep dialed in and I ignored my gut health and stress levels. That’s the real reason I got so into supplements. I was looking for the magic pill.
Back in the day ephedra was legal over the counter and many supplements that promised fat burning and energy used it in some combination with caffeine. Like I mentioned in last week's episode, I have no problem using myself as a guinea pig. I certainly would never recommend or suggest any kind of supplement that I hadn’t tried myself and knew to be effective. So I tried lots of different kinds of supplements.
So for those of you who have never ventured into the vitamin and supplement aisle you should know that the FDA doesn’t regulate nutritional supplements the same way it regulates prescription drugs. There’s nothing official that guarantees efficacy or that what the label says in in the package is what's there. Levels can and often do, vary from batch to batch. Sometimes you hear about that in the news. This was where a lot of companies got into trouble with ephedra back in the day because it's a very strong stimulant. Now as a business the supplement companies have a vested interest in producing something that is at least GRAS or generally recognized as safe. And I would hope they would want to create something that actually worked for customers but there are mostly asterisks on these products.
I say all that not to scare you away from the supplement aisle but to inform you so maybe if you answer this one question, the only question you need to answer when it comes to supplements, then you will take a little more time and due diligence when it comes to the brand you chose.
So what is the question?
It’s simple.
Why? Why do you need, or want a supplement?
When I first started trying supplements 25 years ago it was because I was tired all the time. I had 2 young kids, I was training in Martial Arts and starting to lead Cardio kickboxing classes Not sleeping well. Instead of trying to sleep better I did what most people do looked for a little extra boost during the day so I could perform better in front of my classes.
A fellow instructor actually suggested a particular energy supplement. Active ingredients: ephedra and caffeine. I took one and was climbing the walls of our apartment for 6 hours straight. It was a little much. So I filed that experience away and a couple years later when my schedule was packed with back to back classes that didn’t allow me to eat proper meals I was introduced to another supplement company with energy bars.
Keep in mind back then there weren’t the selection of delicious health/candy bars they have today. No, there were power bars. And that's it. Sorry power bars but they were like chewing on soggy cardboard. So here was this new to me thing and I was all over it. I really wanted the energy. This company also had a complete nutrition system that included multivitamin, Omegas, probiotics, amino acids and the holy grail I was looking for ENERGY. And after the first 2 weeks I was all in with this stuff. Who am I kidding, day one I felt a difference and that was enough for me.
Active ingredients, ephedra and caffeine. I was hooked. To the point that I started selling those supplements. I went to all the company weekends to learn more about the science behind them. Several years later when they removed ephedra from their products I felt a difference, big time.
I realized that the energy I was running on that felt good to me at first, had morphed into something else. That energy in those supplements was driving me, I wasn’t in the driver's seat. I still wasn’t sleeping so it was like getting out of bed every morning and strapping yourself to the front of a freight train to get through the day. That will play havoc with your nervous system.
And it did for me but I didn’t really realize it until after those formulas changed and I started to see some other side effects of a life lived on supplements without the support of real nutritional balance.
Some of those include anxiety, depression, panic attacks, insomnia, hormone disruption and gut dysfunction (constant gut pain) to name a few. It definitely affected my relationships with my family, especially my kids. But I thought all that was normal. That’s what happens when you’re living in the only body you’ve ever known.
So when I finally shifted my focus from trying to externally regulateing my state through stimulants and began to understand how to internally self regulate through sleep, breath work, and whole food balanced nutrition with micronutrient supplementation, things got so much better. But it took years and lots of different AHA moments. Supplementation doesn’t always come in a bottle.
So what I want to share with you today is
10 areas you can focus on to optimize your energy levels, hormone balance, and performance that can make a big difference in your overall physical and mental and emotional health.
#1 Balance activity with recovery.
Movement (exercise ) can be considered a supplement. Especially if you don’t already do it regularly. Walking in nature is as effective as anti anxiety meds for depression and anxiety when done regularly. For all you Hiit folks out there you need recovery. That isn’t collapsing for 6 hours after your workout. If your body is sore all the time (with or without exercise) that’s an important message to listen to. Optimize for strength, weight bearing exercise.
#2 Get enough water.
Hydration can fix a lot of things because every system in your body needs it. Non caffeinated, non alcoholic non sugar non diet just plain water. Switch and watch the magic happen.
#3 Optimize for protein.
Most people don’t get optimal amounts of protein. (ladies I’m talking to you) It is critically important for hormone balance, bone health and easing transitions through menopause that we get enough protein. It doesn’t have to be meat but you need all those essential amino acids for mitochondrial health. There are a lot of protein supplement options. Collagen is a great source and is easy to get in smoothies or other drinks. There are plant sources out there. I like mine in my coffee.
#4 Optimize for vit D3.
Have you Vit D levels checked. Most people are Vitamin D deficient even if they live in the south because we stay inside all day and slather sunscreen all over ourselves. Your body requires Vit D. And it uses cholesterol to make it through natural sun exposure. You can get enough with 10-20 minutes of direct exposure on your arms and legs every day but we don’t all live in a climate like that year round so if you experience wild mood swings or other weird hormone shifts have it checked. Vit D is a hormone and in turn energy regulator. And remember normal range isn’t necessarily optimal for you.
#5 OPtimize for sunlight. Kinda like # 4 but for a different reason.
Sunlight is very important for regulating your sleep wake cycles and wake sleep cycles. You need to get sunlight in your eyeballs when it’s low in the sky at dawn and at dusk. That tells your brain to turn on and off melatonin. Melatonin is a popular supplement over the counter and we think more is better but when you outsource it your body may stop making it for you altogether so try to get it outside of the bottle as much as possible.
#6 Optimize the pre-biotics with a variety of greens and fiber.
Probiotics are great. I take them from time to time. Not all the time any more although I used to. Now I take them if I’m traveling or if I was on antibiotics for something. The gut microbiome is a delicate balance. There’s no good or bad in that community but diversity is what creates balance. When one bacteria takes over or dies off completely it can throw the whole system out of whack. And fun fact it’s this incredible ecosystem that makes a lot of the micronutrients and neurotransmitters that we need. Like I'm sure you’ve heard of serotonin and dopamine and many others that don’t get as much attention. There are lots of ways to supplement here. A popular one these days is AG1. There are others. The important thing to know is that it’s the fiber attached to greens and fruits that is what the gut needs to feed and develop the gut microbiome. Give it what it needs and it’ll take care of you.
#7 Optimize for micronutrients + minerals.
This is where a good quality multivitamin comes in. You don’t need this if you have perfect nutrition. I’ve had doctors tell me it wasn’t really necessary. But they only said that because they are biased to believe that someone who isn’t overweight must be healthy. And I know that isn’t true.
When I was young, before kids, I had beautiful strong fingernails. After I turned 25 I started noticing ridges on my nails. I had a nail tech tell me it was a calcium deficiency. I ate dairy all the time so that didn’t seem right. It just got worse and worse over the years. Even when I optimized vitamin D which is necessary for calcium absorption. My nails became very thin, brittle and they would peel and split. I tried collagen. I have finally found a micronutrient combination in a multivitamin that has made a difference. After 3 months nails are growing and the ridges are disappearing. I’ve taken other multivitamins before for longer and had no results so I’m pretty sure it’s this particular combination along with the way I am eating now.
That’s the thing about the human body. You can know all the science of how stuff is supposed to work but you are a unique creation and what works for me might not work for you. And vise versa. But that doesn’t mean the solution isn’t out there.
#8 Optimize for healthy fats.
This is one where the supplement world is a great resource. I live in OHIO. This state isn’t known for fresh seafood. So getting regular omega 3 fatty acids is going to be much easier and less expensive out of a bottle. As with all things nutrition the body needs and is seeking balance. Omega 3 balances the excessive Omega 6 exposure in the standard American diet. We need healthy fats. It is a big fat fallacy that fat is bad for you. And before you start yelling about cholesterol, understand what cholesterol is and does. It makes up the structure of every cell in your body and is required to heal any damage. That scar you have was sealed up by cholesterol. Your Liver makes cholesterol for you. Dietary cholesterol isn’t the issue in heart health. It’s inflammation that causes the body to send cholesterol to heal damage. It’s that process that creates blockages. Over simplified but true. Healthy fats help clear that stuff out.
#9 Optimize sleep.
When people think of a natural sleep supplement most often melatonin comes to mind. But for reasons I mentioned earlier it might not be the best to use if you are trying to get better sleep and then better brain and body recovery. Magnesium is. There are a lot of different types of magnesium and they all work on the body in different ways. Magnesium citrate for example is great for regularity and can support the gut. When you struggle with insomnia (and there’s nothing worse in my opinion) before you pick a supplement you need to think about the cause. For many people there is something going on that’s affecting their nervous system enough that it’s triggering alert signals. For others it might be as simple as eating a big meal too close to bedtime. If you’re someone who can’t shut off their brain or you’re exhausted but your body can’t relax, magnesium taurinate and gluconate support muscle relaxation and cognitive function. Another supplement that’s helpful is called L-theanine. It promotes alpha wave activity and focused calm. Ultimately getting good sleep is about becoming better at changing your state from alert to calm. Supplements can help but they work better when you can change the behaviors that are interfering with your sleep too. Magnesium also reduces inflammation and muscle soreness and you can get it through a warm epsom salt bath as well.
#10 Optimize for stress.
Notice I didn’t say reduce stress. I try not to laugh when people suggest “reduce your stress levels”. Look, life is stressful and it’s always going to be. Stress is what gets people out of bed every day. We need it. It makes life interesting. It’s not always fun and it can become a grind but maybe we need to think about it differently. When I say optimize for stress, I mean give your body all the support it needs in order to handle whatever comes your way. That might mean something as simple as going for a walk every day. There are supplements that claim to help with stress. Ashwaghanda has been recommended to me. It’s supposed to reduce cortisol levels, improve focus, etc. Personally when I took it alone I didn’t really notice a difference but one of the supplements I use now includes in combination with other things and I do find it helpful. The best thing you can do for stress levels and your stress response is to build a resilience tool kit with as many things as you can in it that you can use on the fly whenever something comes up during your day. A supplement alone isn’t necessarily the whole answer.
One of the things to note with this list is that all of the puzzle pieces to nutrition matter and it’s never ever about only one thing. When it comes to nutrition and the body everything you swallow has some effect on your system and sometimes it’s a cascade of negative things sometimes it’s a cascade of positive things and sometimes it makes no difference at all. If you’re interested, talk to your health care provider and ask for a few more tests to get a better understanding of what you’re working with. If they say no, ask someone else. You have a right to step into the driver's seat when it comes to your health and your body. Let this episode be your permission slip to becoming the best expert in you that there ever was.
Thanks for listening! If you like what you heard and you want to know more head over to savagegracecoaching.com for the show notes, free resources and the latest news!
I’ll see you next time.
Hey there!
I’m your host Ericka Thomas. I'm a resilience coach and fit-preneur offering an authentic, actionable realistic approach to personal and professional balance for coaches in any format.
Savage Grace Coaching is all about bringing resilience and burnout recovery. Especially for overwhelmed entrepreneurs, creators and coaches in the fitness industry.
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