Hi, I’m Mathew Diaz, Integrative Health Coach and Founder of RLW. I Help empowered people to remove the root level causes behind their surface-level symptoms, so they can have the health & life they deserve.
Have you ever tried to solve a problem with supplements & FAILED? I have, and I always wondered why that is.
It is overwhelming how many different supplements sound as if they will solve one or all of your problems. Sleep, detox, energy, lean muscle, lose weight, think faster, hair loss, low testosterone, irregular menstrual cycle there is a supplement for everything. I used to spend easily over $200 dollars a month with much success… or at least I thought I was having success. I learned, later on, I was buying supplements that were good quality, “science-backed” but they were not right for me and they were slowly making me sick (honestly many supplements are not formulated well and WILL lead to other problems).
The good news is, I’m not a genius, so anyone can learn what I have learned. It wasn’t until I came across a particular integrative modality of medicine and got certified as a health coach that I realized how simple simpler health really is compared to the conversation many people are having that seem to be unnecessarily confusing aimed at a small percentage of people.
If you want to find out why so many things fail to make a difference in your life or why so many people succeed, yet you don’t then keep reading. The world is more than black and white, works or doesn’t work, yes or no. The world is better represented with a more flexible phrase, “it depends”.
Today, I answer these questions:
What is worth your money?
How do you know what supplement to take?
What will work for you?
Here is what I learned after diving into the rabbit hole of clinically effective Natural Health Medicine. Everyone can tell you their supplement is a miracle and many of them wouldn’t necessarily or knowingly be lying to you but they would still be wrong. What is that supposed to mean?
For this to make sense I’m going to go through how the typical person goes about finding their supplements. They find someone they trust like a health guru/fitness guru or ask their PCP or friend or try to search on Dr. Google. If you’re watching this hopefully you already know better than to buy your supplements at Walmart or Target or CVS so I’ll skip talking about that. Those sources will point you to what is really an add-on supplement, in other words, it’s not the supplement you should take in the first place or even the second or third for that matter. Most people try the add-on supplement out and hope the problems go away. If it does they end up feeling dependent on whatever product makes the symptom vanish, and they feel like that is what it’ll take for them to have a better quality of life. If it doesn’t work they move on to the next product and they hope they find the needle in the haystack of supplements that will “work”.
What do I mean by add-on? Pretend you had to travel 15 miles away, you can take your car or you can use a helicopter they can both get you there but the car is more practical, less expensive and more flexible. The car is a more practical or foundational form of travel while the helicopter is cool and flashy but may not get you there, car parking spaces are easier to come by than helicopter landing pads.
Here’s an example of an add-on supplement. It’s a good supplement but it still should come after some other foundational supplements which we’ll get into a little later. Let’s take chlorella for example.
Health benefits of chlorella: Chlorella has been labeled a “superfood” because it contains these vital nutrients:
Chlorophyll20 — It may aid in protecting your body against infections,21 alleviating constipation,22 promoting optimal blood pressure levels,23 cleansing your liver and your blood and removing molds.24
Antioxidants such as lutein, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, and zeta-tocopherol — Chlorella extract may promote free radical-scavenging capabilities in rats induced with a chemical called naphthalene, according to results of this 2007 Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry animal study.25
Other nutrients — Chlorella is home to essential nutrients such as vitamin K,26 vitamin B12, folate, iron,27 omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, polysaccharides, and proteins.28
Extensive research has also linked chlorella to multiple health benefits. This microalgae may help:
Detoxify the body — Studies have shown that chlorella may help eliminate heavy metals and pathogens from your body.29,30
Boost the immune system31 — Chlorella supplements may help reduce the risk for immune system disorders and improve immune system function.32
Improve quality of life among people diagnosed with breast cancer — Subjects with breast cancer who took chlorella and chlorella extract experienced less instances of fatigue and noticed improvements to dry skin.33
Normalize blood sugar levels34 — Chlorella supplements were effective in addressing insulin sensitivity among rat subjects, which shows its potential in improving blood sugar levels among people struggling with insulin resistance.35
Regulate blood pressure levels — Chlorella supplements are abundant in the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which assists in lowering high to normal blood pressure levels in study subjects.36
Manage cholesterol levels — In a 2014 Nutrition Journal article, researchers found out that chlorella supplements helped decrease triglyceride and total cholesterol levels among subjects with hypercholesterolemia.37
Counteract the negative effects of oxidative stress38 — Chlorella extract helped protect rats’ bodies against liver injuries and other oxidative stress-induced changes in the body.39
Contribute to healthy brain function40,41 — Because chlorella can combat oxidative stress, this supplement may not just enhance brain function, but also reduce risk for cognitive decline.42
Promote better metabolism43,44 — Chlorella may prompt changes to genes that influence your insulin signaling and how fat is metabolized in your body.45
Citations: https://articles.mercola.com/vitamins-supplements/chlorella.aspx
Sounds amazing and it’s absolutely true. For the most part, if you are looking for help in any of those areas there are less expensive more foundational supplements that need to come first. Why buy a sleep supplement or drug if the problem could have been solved by drinking more water? And/or exercising? And/or meditating?
Here is what my “science-backed” supplement protocol looked like.
Protein- Grass-fed Whey
Pre-workout- Caffeine, Citruline malate & beta-alanine
Post-workout- Creatine monohydrate & L-carnitine L tartrate
Multivitamin- This multi was formulated by smart well-educated people who meant well but still ended up formulating a supplement that throws multiple systems off balance. In fact, at the time I started frequently experiencing tingling in my hands. Everything I was taking was leading to more issues than I wanted to solve, although it was “scientifically backed”.
Here are some of the many potential symptoms I was creating by taking the Multi:
Anemia
Impaired Collagen Formation
Fatigue
Demyelination of nerves
Low Hormone Production
Diarrhea
Osteoporosis
Atherosclerosis
That was from one of the #1 brands of natural supplements. What you don’t know can, will, and does hurt you. That supplement was creating a copper deficiency, all those symptoms are linked to one mineral deficiency.
Ok then what’s the answer? The answers lie in understanding the hierarchy of supplements so I’ll use Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs:
Image Below (1A)
It would be hard to reach your full potential as a human being if you don’t have food, water, and shelter, the basic needs.
The same needs to be done when it comes to your health and how you choose a supplement, I’ll call this infographic The Root Level Wellness Hierarchy of Supplemental Needs.
Image Below (1B)
Similarly, it would be hard to find a good health supplement made by someone who doesn’t understand this hierarchy or who doesn’t study natural health but instead studies mainstream science’s viewpoint which heavily ignores non-patentable solutions ie. Natural solutions. Mainstream science suffers from the same problems as anything mainstream, it is heavily political, cares more about the money & it does not change when new information is presented that would upset the status quo.
What is worth your money and how do you know what supplement to take?
Start with the foundation- Activated Multivitamin and Mineral or all in one powder. Remember the Copper deficiency we discussed earlier? Imagine if instead of causing a deficiency of one mineral, you supplemented with a balanced supplement that supported all the minerals your body needs to function optimally. In this day and age, everyone needs to supplement. Even organic fruits and vegetables are less nutrient-dense than in the past, due to soil degradation. The next on the foundational list is a well-formulated Omega-3 supplement, a Probiotic, a fruit & veggie powder, and a digestive enzyme to get more nutrients out of the whole food you already eat.
Will they work?
If you get a good one yes! Remember you can’t really feel prevention. If you drink more water and you don’t notice a difference in your energy levels it doesn’t mean it didn’t work and you should go back to being dehydrated. You’re still giving your body what it needs. If you get 8 hours of sleep, and you don’t notice a change in your energy levels either it doesn’t mean sleep isn’t working.
A Word of Caution
After learning this for the first time you may still end up chasing your tail trying to look for the miracle supplement that will solve all your problems. Don’t do it! You are wasting your time and money and potentially causing a health issue in the long run.
Your homework for today is to compare what you have bought in the past to a good brand’s version such as Equi Life (affiliate link). Equi Life is the company I use and work within my practice, I don’t recommend anything I don’t use for myself, my clients, or my family.
If you would like more information like this subscribe to the podcast or my Rumble Channel, new episodes every week. If you need help with your health from a non-emergency Health Coach sort of way, let me help you or point you to someone who is a better fit, email me at mathew@rootlvlwellness.com to set up a free exploratory call or to join my group health coaching program (Feb. 2021). Until next time, seek knowledge, take ownership, and constant action.
Article by:
Mathew Diaz, Board Eligible IHP2M & Founder of Root Level Wellness LLC
*I do not diagnose, treat or cure disease.