Why I wrote this.
An old friend reached out with some questions about supplements. As a nutrition coach this actually a pretty common occurrence for me, and as I was writing a resonse the idea popped into my head to just make it a blog post, since my message back to my friend now exceeded 500 words! Here is my basic advice for choosing supplements.
Why supplements matter.
Nutrition is important when it comes to living a healthy life, and supplementation is just one part of that. For someone who has never taken a vitamin or omega-3 supplement in their life, sometimes just adding those is a great first step.
When it comes to the world of supplements, there are a lot of small things that really add up. The last thing I want is for something as simple as the supplements someone takes be something that holds them back from better health or reaching a fitness goal. Here are some things that I typically coach people to look for.
Folate vs. folic acid.
Folate is from plants whereas folic acid is made in a lab. Folate costs more, which is why a lot of manufacturers use folic acid instead. People with MTFHR gene mutations (30-50% of gen pop) are unable to convert folic acid to folate in the body. Folic acid has also been shown to cause cancer in lab rats.
Encapsulation and inactive ingredients.
Making sure that all supplements are in an easy-to-digest gel capsule is crucial to maximize breakdown and absorption in the body. Be sure to steer clear of stearic acid (an inflammatory derivitive of processed vegetable oils) and magnesium stearate, which may block absorption of key nutrients.
Vitamin D3.
Making sure D3 is the form of vitamin D, and that it is paired with vitamin K2 for absorption. Both are fat soluble, and ideally should be suspended in a fatty solution, such as MCT oil.
Fish oil to EPA/DHA ratio and dosing.
With fish oil, look for 50% or higher of the oil coming from EPA & DHA. Manufacturers are known to cut fish oil with alpha-lenoleic acid, which can technically be turned into EPA or DHA in the body, but often doesn't actually happen.
Most people need 2400 mg combined EPA and DHA per day, so base your dose off that recommendation. For example the fish oil pills that I take each contain a combined total of 600 mg EPA and DHA, so I would take 4 per day to get my proper dosage.
The reason for the higher dosage is that most Americans eat a 20:1 ratio of omega 6s and 9s compared to omega-3s. Just to bring that ratio a little closer to the 3:1 ratio our ancestors had, we need to supplement a little more.
That's certainly not all there is to supplementation. Just a quick couple of things to check for. Just remember all those pills now could be preventing prescribed pills later.
