Supplements for Every Body | Signs of Deficiency | Get Micronutrients from Food Scraps | How Micros Impact Performance | Greens Supplements | Immune-Boosting Supplements
If you are in the health and fitness industry, or just look like you’re relatively healthy and fit, you’ve probably been asked “What supplement should I take to [fill in the goal]?” at some point. There are just too many confused people, wanting to believe the answer lies just one pill or powder away. And there are just as many bad shepherds feeding that misbelief, too. Let’s fix that!
In one way or another, I’ve walked countless thousands of people through what you’re about to read. This is my “keep it simple and smart” approach to effective supplementation. I’ll give you six steps to help you get the most out of whatever supplements you do choose to take, and then my six recommendations for a supplement starter set.
Supplement Basics
The Benefits of Multivitamins: Why and How Much
What: Omega-3s are particularly important forms of EFAs, should be supplemented regularly, and occur in higher concentration in fish than plants. Fish-derived omega-3s also yield a higher concentration of two powerhouse EFAs, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).
When buying an omega-3 supplement, reach for those that provide the FAs in natural triglyceride, or free fatty acid form. The other most popular options include ethyl ester, concentrates, or “pharmaceutical grade” forms, all of which are required in higher doses to provide comparable rises in blood levels of what occurs in response to lower doses of the naturally occurring form. Even then, the ethyl esters don’t appear as consistently or nearly as effective as when omega-3s are provided as free fatty acids.
How: To support a healthy inflammatory response to exercise and other forms of physiological stress, as well as to support mood and mental health, and promote a healthy heart and healthy-looking skin, consume at least 2.8 grams per day of combined EPA and DHA, in about a 1.75:1.00 ratio of EPA to DHA.
Also, the more processed grains, refined vegetable oils, eggs and other poultry, red meat, pork products, cheese and other forms of dairy that you consume, the more your fat intake will tilt toward omega-6s. This increases the need for omega-3s to achieve a healthy ratio of omega-6 to omega-3. An even 1:1 to not more than a 4:1 ratio is optimal; a typical Western diet is in excess of 18:1 omega-6s to omega-3.
The Benefits of Greens Supplements: Why and How Much
Step 4: Recharge well and keep life’s stress under control
No supplement out there will do as much for your performance—and health—as getting adequate rest, keeping mental stress in context, and limiting your exposure to people who are toxic to you and sabotage your ability to reach your goals. If your friend’s idea of a healthy night out is downing a 12-pack and ending the evening pointing blearily at food items on a Denny’s menu at 3 a.m., hey, good for them. But if you match them night after night and then try to compensate by slamming a pre and some creatine before hitting the gym the next day, you’re only fooling yourself.
Step 5: Rid your environment of harmful pollutants that you can control
If you think chemical pesticides and weed killers are the perfumes of healthy living; if you believe all things should be stain-resistant and a home or office space isn’t hitting on all senses unless intoxicating inhabitants with plug-ins and aerosol deodorants; if you lather on sun block every day like you’re putting on baby oil to wrestle Blue in Old School… sorry. Your life may smell like a scented candle, but your body is left battling off so many physiological attacks from these common and easily avoidable chemicals. Over time, this can significantly and negatively affect hormones, neurohormones, your health, and yes, the effectiveness of your supplements.
Step 6: Get your mind right
Stay committed, positive, and know that getting in your best shape isn’t a cakewalk. Everything worth earning is earned incrementally. Immediate results can leave you as quickly as they find you!
I know it’s a lot to take in. But there’s an overriding theme here, and it’s this: Supplements aren’t magic. They won’t make an unhealthy lifestyle healthy, but they can make a healthy lifestyle healthier!
Now, once you’ve taken the aforesaid steps and are on your path to a solid base level of fitness, it’s time to start optimizing that base with a few key supps. These six supplements are ones everyone should start with to help stay on the road to optimal health and fitness.
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