“Do I Need Supplements?”
People ask me this question all the time, and my answer is always this: You should try to eat high quality foods that will give you the nutrients your body needs. If you find gaps in your regular nutrition, supplementation is absolutely a good idea. But, you should never rely on supplements to be your primary source of good nutrition. It’s like forgetting to water your plants for weeks, then giving it a bit of fertilizer ever few months and expecting it to flourish.  BASICS FIRST!!!
There’s a few things I want to be clear on:

1. I don’t advocate any specific brand. There are many good ones out there. I am approached VERY regularly to get behind a brand- and in the past I have. In the future, it’s possible that I will find something that I love. But so far, each time I tried to get behind a brand it felt completely inauthentic and incongruent with my core beliefs.
2. There’s no ‘blanket’ recommendation for supplementation. Your need for supplementation is so individual. I highly recommend getting testing before you start supplementing with non-food supplements.
3.  You can supplement with foods. There are common dietary deficiencies such as iron, magnesium, iodine, folate, vitamin B12. The answer isn’t always pills- in fact, it’s much better in most cases to supplement with whole foods. For example, you can up your iron with red meat, organ meats and greens.
4. Supplementation isn’t always the answer. You can be taking all the supplements, and eating all the best foods, but if you’re not absorbing it, you can still be deficient. Eating under stress, (or just being stressed out regularly), eating quickly, and low stomach acid (or chronic use of antacids) are common causes of nutrient malabsorption.

If nutrition is something you’re working on, confused about, or are struggling with, I invite you to register for the 4 Secrets to Fat Loss over 40: how my clients are losing weight naturally (and keeping it off) without dieting.
To Your Health,
Tanja