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Diving Deeper Into Supplements

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If you’ve followed the blog, you know my take on supplements. I’m not a fan. They’re dangerous, because they’re highly processed and poorly regulated. They’re expensive. These supplements also have a more pernicious effect. Taking supplements lulls you into a pattern of poor decisions and subsequently diminished health.

If I believe I can get my nutrition from a capsule or a package, what incentive do I have to learn how to eat for fuel and well-being? I’m in a mindset of eating less than optimal food because “my supplements have my back.”

In my early twenties, I had a protein shake after every workout. I never needed to learn about the different animals/fish I could eat. Even though these foods would have provided me with not only the building blocks for muscle, but omega-3 fatty acids as well, I relied on my powders. If I had known about the importance of fatty acids, I probably would have just bought a bottle of pills to wash down with my shake. I’d undoubtedly be missing something else.

Imagine a world in which supplements were non-existent. We would be forced to utilize the science of trial and error to optimize for health. When we were sick, we’d reach for foods in nature that made us feel better. When encountering nausea, for example, we’d discover ginger. From umm.edu.com:

Ginger — the “root,” or actually the rhizome, of the plant Zingiber officinale — has been a popular spice and herbal medicine for thousands of years. It has a long history of being used as medicine in Asian, Indian, and Arabic herbal traditions. In China, for example, ginger has been used to help digestion and treat stomach upset, diarrhea, and nausea for more than 2,000 years. Ginger has also been used to help treat arthritis, colic, diarrhea, and heart conditions.

If our default setting is to reach for a bottle of vitamin C when we’re zapped with a cold, we limit our ability to truly boost our immune system by expanding our tastes to include foods chock full of the nutrient. Bell peppers, dark leafy greens, kiwis, broccoli, berries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, peas and papayas each contain powerful doses of not only vitamin C, but plenty of other healthy nutrients. Many of us never feel the need to incorporate this level of diversity because we consider ourselves covered by the supplement aisle.

It’s critical that we not just see the surface layer of our choices. We’ve already agreed that consuming substances essentially crafted by man may not be right for our body. Now we can be also be aligned on the negative impact supplements have on our food choices.

Strong mind,

Kap

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  • Kevin

    Convenience! for those of us driving a truck for hours on end or working for the USPS duringvthe holidays, lets face it we don’t have time to eat 4 to 6 solid food meals throughout the day every day. A basic no frills protein powderr is a godsend for those if us in this situation and in the real world of hectic schedules running between kids activities, work, and other commitments, protein shakes can make the difference between gains or no gains

    • Mark Bellhorn

      I agree I just wish the gas stations would supply a shake without all the shit in it like mertrx and muscle milk

    • Chris

      Easy? No. Impossible? Still no. If you place a priority on what you ingest instead of relying on convenience you can make it happen. Find ways to prepare good unprocessed foods for your day. Cook extra at dinner and take the leftovers with you in the morning. If you have a free hour during the week, spend it cooking hard boiled eggs and chicken thighs for your week ahead. It’s easy to make excuses. I work 80 hour weeks during the summer and I refuse to let my career be an excuse to consume processed foods.

  • Steve

    Kap, it seems to be your badass grinder personality that keeps you away from the supps, because you don’t want to potentially take an “easy” way out……

    What about a solid diet and the mental toughness to not let supplements lure you into bad choices? I guess the argument would be if the diet was that solid, a ‘supplement’ wouldn’t be necessary. BUT, I think certain supplements can truly help with plateaus (or what seems to be a plateau) in someone’s strength/appearance goals.

    There’s no question I’ve noticed a little help burning stubborn body fat by supplementing with L-Carnitine, an amino acid that assists in transporting fat to the cells, making the fat available to use as energy.

    Moderation is obviously imperative as well as ample research on every ingredient in that “proprietary blend”….if there all even listed.

    #MassUp

    #ThoughtsBecomeThings

  • Msquared

    Kap,
    I’m not totally supplement free, but your writing have given me a strong perspective on why they aren’t needed.
    Like you, I relied heavily on shortcuts in my younger days.
    I am proud to say that I have mentally advanced quite a bit to the point where I use protein on a much more rare basis.

    Thanks for continuing to drive knowledge.
    I knew about ginger, but had forgotten.
    Read you mañana.

  • http://www.Kelebekfusion.com Kelebek Beyaz

    Here’s something to ponder: what about those people who take supplements because they can’t eat the foods that naturally contain nutrients because of allergies? Just a thought. I am allergic to an astounding number of food (no joke on that one). For example, I am allergic to ALL FISH! Allergic as in-Epipen ER allergic. I am also unfortunately allergic to (and this kills me): most fruit. Not in the way I am to fish but I have mild allergies. Berries: love berries. But if I eat them, my lips swell up to size of tires and I break out in hives.
    I am not trying to change your opinion darling. Kap and most of the readers of this blog know that I am scientist and I agree that supplements are unregulated and I prefer the natural sources. I bring this up because I think: I am allergic to so many things but I at least I still have options (although limited) so that I don’t have to take supplements. But I am sure that there are people out there who are not as lucky and may have it far worse than I do and probably have to turn to supplements or vitamin injections.
    -Kelebek

    • Ed H

      Kelebek,

      What would you do if supplements did not exist? I’m not suggesting you alter your current program because I know nothing about your situation and trust based on your writings, that you do the appropriate research. I’m just curious about what you would have done a hundred years ago….

      • http://www.Kelebekfusion.com Kelebek Beyaz

        Hi Ed:
        Thank you for your question. As I said I was not trying to change anyone’s opinion. I was curious as to what Kap’s opinion was for people who do not have a choice. I do not use supplements. It’s a conscience choice I made years ago. I am just limited as to what I can eat to get some of my nutrients. I come from a family where food allergies are prevalent to the point where there have been some deaths in the past because of that. So I was educated very early on what I was allergic to and what I could eat to get things like Iron, vitamins, Potassium, and such. Many of my relatives take a host of supplements and I certainly do not judge them. I just stick to what I can eat and without having reactions.
        I cannot speak to what I would have done a hundred years ago.

        • Ed H

          Sounds like you are doing the same thing you could have done a hundred years ago. From your context I assumed you added some supplements.

          Your approach to yourself is very responsible and one we all should follow, whether limited in food choices like you, or not. The marketing world has so ingrained (as Kap would say, see what I did) the absolute need for cakes and cereals, juices and soda, hamburgers, shakes and fries that living without seems like a huge sacrifice. The reality is living with that stuff is a sacrifice.

          • http://www.Kelebekfusion.com Kelebek Beyaz

            Thank you for your feedback Ed. I do have people say to me, that I am missing out on so many things-that’s their opinion. I don’t see it that way. Again, I don’t judge. I think they might be missing out. So I will never get to taste Flounder-true. But I get to live.
            Kelebek

  • Ed H

    I love this type of post. So many people think they’re truly doing themselves good with the myriad of junk out there… I’d love to see more on the topic (I should state “even more” since you do hit the topic in one form or another quite often).

  • joe

    Meh. We do what we have to do to hit our macro targets. Some days are easier than others. Personally I find it pretty hard to get in 200g of protein while keeping calories at >2000. Some days it is just prudent to supplement.