TO SUPPLEMENT OR NOT TO SUPPLEMENT, THAT IS THE QUESTION-

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This topic is very controversial, because you have people that believe that supplementing is very much necessary to live a healthy life: then you have those that believe there is little to no value, and that big supplement companies are out to make some dough.  This is where the beauty of educating oneself comes into play.  You simply can't rely on the opinion of others in such an unregulated industry where people have jumped on the money train, neglecting the health of those that may use their supplements.

So my purpose of this post is to help you simplify whether or not you need to supplement, and which type of supplements you need, and how to recognize a reputable company.

1. WHEN YOU NEED TO SUPPLEMENT

To figure out if you need to supplement, I recommend doing this needs analysis.  By answering these questions you will see if you really need all that protein powder or that pantry full of the hundreds of different pills.  It always amazes me how some homes have low quality food in the fridge and pantry, yet they try to get all their nutrients from pills and powders.  That is not proper nutrition.  It should be high quality, nutrient dense foods in the fridge and pantry, and as little supplements as possible.  Here are some questions to ask yourself to see if you need to supplement:

-Am I deficient in any macro/micro nutrients?  (Am I getting enough healthy fats, proteins, veggies & fruits, and vitamins and minerals?)

-For what purpose do I need to take this supplement?  ( Am I do a particular workout program where I am trying to gain mass, lose fat, trying to lift heavy, run faster, etc ....performance benefits?)

-Is there appropriate, peer-reviewed research, science, backing the claims of the supplement?  ( is there proof that this supplement does what it says it does?  Is it from a reputable manufacturer?  Is it safe?)

These simple questions can get you pointed in the right direction as far as need to supplement.  If a doctor has prescribed you to supplement, then it is because you are probably deficient or certain body systems are not performing as they should. 

Simply put, if you are not deficient and your body performs well within your physical daily outputs, then you probably do not need to supplement.  That being said, depending on your intake of proper nutrients and your activity level (your output, calorie burn),  most people need to supplement because of their lack of eating all that their body needs to replenish itself after exercise and activity throughout the day.   Life is busy and most people do not eat enough of the proper foods to get all the nutrients they need.  This is why there are so many different types of supplements.

2 ESSENTIAL VS. NON-ESSENTIAL 

When you think of supplements, this is how you should categorize them: essential or non-essential.
To help you understand the difference, think in terms of what your body needs to function vs what it doesn't need.

Essential nutrients come from food that our body needs and cant produce on its own.  These are your proteins/ amino acids, essential fatty acids,vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.

Since you can take in these essential nutrients with food,  you technically don't need to supplement. BUT there are many populations that are more likely to be deficient like the elderly, athletes and other special cases, and honestly most of the population; this is when you need to supplement to get the essential nutrients your body "needs."

Essential Type Supplements:
-Protein Supplement (deficient in whole food based protein)
-Fish oil Supplement (deficient in your essential omega 3 fatty acids)
-Greens Supplement (deficient in veggie and fruit intake)
-Multivitamin and multimineral (deficient in lots of vitamins and minerals, fruits and veggies)
-Protein-carbohydrate drink (when you have an intense workout, needed to replenish muscles)
-branched-chain amino acids (needed during high intensity workouts when fat loss/ muscle preservation is desired)

Non-essential nutrients are food based nutrients that the body can make on its won, or are nutrients that are not needed for normal body function.  There are a lot more supplements that fall into this category since it is so broad.  It doesn't make them bad necessarily, it just means they are not essential for the functioning of our body.  Some are completely useless, and some help with performance.  Over time they do not help with over all optimal nutrition.

Non-Essential Supplements:
-r-Alpha lipolic acid  (helps with insulin sensitivity and fat loss)
-Tyosine and phosphatidylcholine (helps reduce CNS fatigue during high-intensity/volume workouts)
-Caffeine (To improve CNS output prior to competition)
-Sodium bicarbonate (help reduce lactate activity in muscles)
-Beta alanine (helps reduce lactate activity in muscles)
-Creatine (helsp regenerate ATP (energy) to help with high intensity power/ strength workouts)
-Green tea extract (stimulates the metabolism during weight loss)
-CLA (stimulate metabolism, induce apoptosis of fat cells, and down regulate of leptin during weight loss)

3. WHO TO TRUST???

I want to start with a very important statement.  Just because something is on the market does not mean its okay.  Unfortunately, the supplement industry is one that is not regulated very well, if at all. If I wanted, I can go buy a lot of ingredients and make my own supplements and sell them that same day.  So what should you look for when buying supplements?  Here are a few suggestions so that you can make sure your getting high quality products from respected companies and manufacturers that are genuinely looking to help you rather than just turn a profit.

-They have been doing business for quite some time and has their supplements certified by a third party.
-Make sure they follow GMP, good manufacturing practices
-Make sure their products have a small list of ingredients.  The fewer the better.
-Make sure they have real science to back the claims of their products

If you ever take a supplement and feel some bad side effects, you probably want to get off of it immediately.  What works for one person may not work for another.  Your friend may suggest a certain supplement that they cant get enough of, then you try it and NOTHING.  Another thing to watch out for is that friend that jumps on board some new start-up company that claims their products will heal cancer.  You know who I am talking about.  They may have a good product put they charge an arm and a leg for it.  Of course the claims are typically not backed by strong science, just said to build hype and make some money.

I hope this was helpful.  Ultimately, you should try your hardest to get all your nutrients from good food sources, but again, if you are like most people, that just doesn't happen all the time.

Hit me up if you have any questions.  A good website to visit  to review the purity and label claims on a product on the market today is www.consumerlab.com

Feel free to leave feedback or any other information or suggestions you may have.