Nutrition Series, Part 4: Supplements
Nutrition Series, Part 4: Supplements
Whether you don't trust them, or take them religiously, it's important to know the value of Supplements for your health.
Envision Fitness Update
We moved!!! Thursday was our final day at 7900 Excelsior Blvd. It’s been an extraordinary 7.5 years. To this point in my life, it’s the longest stretch of time I’ve done one thing in one place without stopping. Many of you reading this are a big reason why. I cannot thank you enough, and I am eager to continue serving you in our new location.
Beginning June 1st, we will be operating out of the Kilo Collective! The Kilo Collective is owned by Holly Janiszewski and is a gym for independent health professionals to use to run their businesses. Not far from our old location, our new address will be 10921 Excelsior Blvd, Suite 101, Hopkins, MN 55343. If you would like more information, please reach out to me directly at eweiner@envisionfitnessmn.com.
Worth Listening To
The liver is the only vital organ for which we have no synthetic way of keeping alive (lungs have a respirator, for example).
The liver is not meant to store fat. It is a processing center for the foods you consume. But this is very different than simply avoiding fatty foods. When the liver cannot keep up with demand, excess calories (usually carbs) are stored as fat, often in the liver.
Fructose, especially liquid fructose, has incredibly dangerous effects on our liver and metabolic health.
Conversations with a Personal Trainer
A number of conversations over the previous two weeks have revolved around a core passion of mine: Education. Specifically, schools, how we learn, getting the most out of kids, critical thinking, shifting educational pursuits, and the future of higher education. One such example that struck me was a discussion of a student who felt a need to take an advanced class for a subject they had no interest in, which subsequently led to the student cheating in that class. Why do we place value on taking advanced courses for subjects we have absolutely no interest in? Is it all about checking boxes?
Do We Really Need Supplements?
Whether you believe they are essential or think they can’t be trusted because the FDA doesn’t regulate them (they actually do), supplements are everywhere. Moreover, they are an important part of the dietary ecosystem. The purpose of this piece is two-fold: If you find yourself distrusting of supplements, to help ease your fears. If you’re overly zealous about supplements, to somewhat curb your expectations.
I personally fall somewhere in the middle and endorse what Andrew Huberman frequently says on his podcast: “You have to first change your lifestyle habits, then change your eating habits, and then you can begin to look at supplements.” Yet, many times I see this process done in reverse, as though supplements are some magical panacea. They are not. But they do serve a purpose.
What are these supplements I’m talking about, and why should you care? A supplement is meant to enhance or plug a gap in something. The supplement industry did over $177 billion in revenue in 2023, $95 billion (54%) of which was in the United States. In 2017, over 57% of adults in the United States took at least one supplement. That number grew to 80% for adults over 60. Do our diets really have that many holes to fill?
My own experience tells me that yes, we have many gaps in our regular dietary consumption — even amongst “healthy eaters.” Take protein, for example. It is extremely hard to get an adequate amount of protein if you are trying to build or maintain muscle. In Part 1 of this series, I stated that, at a minimum, we should consume 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. For a 150-pound individual, that is 102 grams of protein per day.
If you can drink a low-calorie shake (protein shakes are approximately 100 calories per serving) while getting 25 grams of protein, that strikes me as a no-brainer. Those 25 grams of protein are nearly a quarter of a 150-pound individual’s daily requirement.
Similarly, the average American should consume approximately 30 grams of fiber per day. Meanwhile, the average daily consumption is closer to 16 grams. We can fill that gap with more vegetables, fruits, seeds, legumes, and whole grains, absolutely. But what if you’ve tried that approach and you know that’s not going to happen?
Most of you reading this live in Minnesota. What about vitamin D? Vitamin D is best absorbed through UVB rays from the Sun and is poorly absorbed through food. When taken with a meal, supplementing vitamin D actually provides better absorption than the vitamin D that is in our food.
And let’s not forget the importance of fish oil. As I mentioned in Part 3 of the Nutrition Series, fish oil contains mostly EPA and DHA, two Omega-3 fatty acids that you cannot get in your diet without eating a lot of fish.
These are examples where supplementation works. But there is still a need to be diligent in your decison-making process when buying supplements.
Not All Supplements Are Created Equal
While the FDA does regulate supplements, they are not under nearly as much scrutiny as pharmaceutical drugs. There are two major risk factors with supplements: What is on a nutrition label is not necessarily what is in the product, and the level of toxins that may be found in that product (lead and cadmium are big ones).
Imagine you purchase your favorite coffee drink on your way to work. However, when you take off the lid you notice it’s only filled three quarters of the way. This is what sometimes happens with supplements. A label will claim it has 5mg of melatonin while only possessing 3.5mg.
Fortunately, there are ways to ensure you’re getting the best quality possible. Several companies exist whose primary purpose is to test supplements to measure their quality. I use Labdoor for nearly every supplement I consume.
One fascinating observation is that these testing companies seem to improve the industry's behavior (every free marketer’s dream). When I began using Labdoor three years ago, more than half of the products I reviewed on their site rated below a B-. Because of the scores, I even changed the Omega-3 supplement I was taking. Now, many of the same products from the same companies rate much higher, especially in the Omega-3 category.
There is still a lot of trust involved on the part of us, the consumer. Trusting the labs that conduct the actual test, trusting Labdoor or its competitors, and trusting the supplement companies to maintain their level of quality after receiving a score. I would argue that we do the same thing every day with the food we buy. Unless we grow or make our own food, we are putting trust in the quality and sourcing of the product’s ingredients (i.e. “natural flavors” — what is that?).
With that in mind, I use four criteria when deciding which supplements are right for me:
Do I actually need it? Could I get this nutrient in my diet? Is it a product my body naturally makes?
Do I trust the product? Have I checked to see if what is on the label is actually in the product?
Does it fit in my budget? Supplements are expensive and the they add up quickly. Is the cost worth it?
Do I notice a difference? Have I seen a change after taking it for a month? If I stop taking it, do I notice its absence?
The result has led me to six supplements I take regularly, ranked top-to-bottom in order of my priority:
Protein powder — Legion Athletics
Omega-3 fish oil — Nordic Naturals Amazon
Prebiotic Fiber — Supergut
Vitamin C & D — Emergen-C Amazon
Multivitamin — Legion Athletics
Creatine — Optimum Nutrition Amazon
Protein, fish oil, and fiber are my staples, which I consider an extension of my daily food consumption. Meaning, I take them every day. I have tried to remove multivitamins and vitamins C and D. However, I am notoriously bad at eating enough fruits and vegetables. Plus, thanks to having kids in daycare, I have been sick more in the previous year than any year I can recall in my life. Thus I have reintroduced Emergen-C and a multivitamin into my daily routine.
A word of caution with any vitamin C supplement: I like to mix Emergen-C with my afternoon tea. However, vitamin C begins breaking down at temperatures as low as 158 degrees Farenheit. So I now ice my tea before mixing in the Emergen-C.
If you are reading this thinking, “Why don’t I just take what he takes?” please don’t do that. Each of us has very different nutrient requirments based on numerous factors such as our resting metabolic rate — how many calories we burn in a day — our daily activity level, and our current nutrition routine.
In a World Absent of Scrutiny, False Promises Run Rampant
Regardless of what any label claims, there is no single product, or even a cocktail of products that is a substitute for putting in the work and making habitual changes little by little. Dietary supplements fill a hole in our nutrition much like supplemental insurance covers expenses that traditional insurance may not cover, or a storage unit may supplement the lack of space in one’s home.
Anecdotally, in 2010 I fell victim to the notion that supplements possessed some magical properties. I had just begun my strength training journey as a scrawny 18-year-old and wanted results quickly. I had read about the supposed benefits of “green coffee” and “acai root” and how they could help you reduce belly fat while building muscle. When something seems too good to be true, it all too often is. Several months and a few hundred dollars later I had finally learned my lesson the hard way.
How Do You Know Which Supplements You Should Take?
Like most things, getting started is often the most challenging part. If you are considering the addition of supplements to your health routine, it can be enticing to load up on eight different products all at once. The problem with that is, how on earth are you going to know which ones are actually benefiting you?
Instead, why not get your vitamin and mineral levels tested? Why not take the time to observe what you eat on a daily basis and find out where the gaps are? Information gives you tremendous power over which moves to make.
Finally, there is one caveat to any supplement you decide to take. It takes time. No matter how much protein you ingest, your body can only build muscle so fast — and while protein will help you build muscle, too much will also lead to significantly increased body weight. If you are vitamin D defficient, depending on your level of defficiency and your dosage, it could take as little as four weeks, or as long as twelve weeks to see a change. Like exercise and nutrition, the people who get the best results are the ones who remain consistent and don’t give up.
If you are interested in learning more about supplements, and which ones may be right for you, please leave a question in the comments, or send me an email at eweiner@envisionfitnessmn.com.
Other Learning:
Podcasts:
What America’s Bold New Experiment is Missing — Plain English w/ Derek Thompson
Controlling US Inflation, Global Trade, and the Future of India and Japan — Econ 102 w/ Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg
What’s Wrong with Writing Education — How I Write w/ David Perell
Articles:
A New Centrism Is Rising in Washington — David Leonhardt
The Rise and Importance of Secret Congress — Matt Yglesias & Simon Bazelon
From Boredom to Fascination: My Journey with Education — Hot Takes by Adam Singer
Why Creatives Will Win by Thinking Small — The Honest Broker by Ted Gioia
Social Capital 2023 Annual Letter — Chamath Palihapitiya
Seven reasons America is headed for a more conservative decade — Noah Smith
The Death (again) of the Internet as We Know it — Noah Smith
At Least Five Interesting Things to Start Your Week (#38) — Noah Smith