A reader asked me the other day: “What do you do with all the overwhelm and choices?”
My first reaction: go turn off your phone. Truly, turn it off. If you are overwhelmed by the endless information out there, in the world in general and also nutrition, that’s your brain signaling it needs space, rest and calm.
As a holistic nutritionist, I see so much waste (and overwhelm) in the wellness space, especially when it comes to vitamins. NO, you don’t need that many supplements.
I often wonder as I see stuff on the internet, do people actually use all these powders and supplements or are they just talking points for a brand? I might be shooting myself in the foot here as someone who shares wellness tools and supplements, but I also share what I have truly seen work, to help people…not to promote a particular brand or dollar amount.
I do believe in the power of targeted supplements that change as your needs and your season changes.
And information overload is REAL. More and more lately, from observations, my own reactions to news and social media and conversations with clients…information overload is a root cause of SO many stressors, especially anything energy or brain related.
I hope this helps bring some clarity to you rather than overwhelm!
The best supplement? The best medicine? It’s free.
margin, rest, sleep
a walk in nature
fresh vegetables
family dinner gathered around the table
laughter
hugs
morning prayer
creating, cooking, painting, exploring
clearing off your counters
Supplements and health tools should never replace a home cooked meal and a good night of sleep. You can’t out-supplement a crammed calendar.
A few rules I live by as a holistic nutritionist when it comes to supplements…
Quality does in fact matter. For example, synthetic ascorbic acid that’s highly processed from Walmart (sorry!!), isn’t going to do as much as food based Pure Radiance C. Cheap vitamins will end up costing you more long term.
Many raw ingredients, in particular plants and CBD, come from China. The hemp plant acts as a “mop” to mop up toxins, pesticides and pollutants in the air. Hemp is planted in large industrial areas to clean the air—it is then transported to the US and slapped with a “made in the USA” label on it. The ONLY hemp and CBD I trust is Green Compass—family farms with strict growing and manufacturing practices. Your body can taste the difference.
Quality supplements typically have the right co-factors to balance things out. For example, calcium always needs K2, iron always needs Vitamin C.
Supplement blends with B vitamins should be taken with caution. Often times they are *too* many or not the right form (folic acid vs folate). Folic acid can actually increase anxiety in some. Especially if you have MTHFR or auto-immune disease. Most women need B vitamins but we want the right approach and amount. In general, I see great results with this liposomal methylated Vitamin B.
When the body is in a chronic stress state, or trapped in fight or flight, just throwing supplements at the situation isn’t going to work because the body is not going to be in a place to receive them. FIRST, we need to shift the body into a place of energy, resilience and balance—adrenals come first.
Adrenal balance holds the keys to everything—thyroid, energy, mental health, sleep, immune response. If your adrenals are off, all the best supplements in the world won’t make that much of a difference.
Especially when we get into more specialized nutrition—such as detox or mold—if your adrenals aren’t strong first, these robust protocols can backfire.
When the body is stressed, it’s ‘burn rate’ is higher—meaning, your body will use up nutrients, minerals and vitamins faster than when the body is in an energetic, balanced state. We have to address stress first, or your body will just use up supplements. We want to identify your unique stressors to calm the body—and no stress isn’t just a long day at work, the news or traffic. We want to go deep!
When you balance the body’s stress response, often other puzzle pieces fall into place—yes, even heavy metals, detox, parasites, etc.
Vitamin D supplements, especially in high amounts or when taken for an extended period of time, can lower potassium one of the body’s key stress minerals. When potassium is low, adrenals and thyroid are stressed. Throwing Vitamin D at the situation will only stress the body more—first we want to balance adrenals and energy…often this alone will normalize Vitamin D, or not, and then we can reassess!
Iron can be a very useful but often harsh mineral. Instead of first supplementing with iron, we want to ask why is your iron low. There can be many reasons which we can typically figure out by testing your minerals and metabolic state because everything is interconnected. We don’t just want to look at iron alone, we want to see the relationship between everything.
High tissue calcium blocks iron absorption—if calcium is high, supplementing with iron won’t do much. (I see high calcium is most of my clients—example pictured above!)
High tissue calcium prevents the body from loosing weight or achieving a balanced metabolic state. Frustrated by stubborn weight loss? There absolutely could be a reason. All the peptides, gym workouts or tracking what you are eating won’t help you achieved balanced weight when calcium is high.
Heavy metals, even in small amounts in some people, will also prevent weight loss.
The best way to assess this is with an HTMA test, cost effective and totally eye opening, done from the comforts of your home!
Methylated Vitamin B that works really well for people (and me!).
Food first, always.
In this go-go-go, takeout culture, many people want a vitamin over a real meal. This is hard as a practitioner, because people would rather take a vitamin than build a nutrient dense meal or get into bed earlier.
Your body absorbs nutrients best from food because their vitamins, minerals and co-factors for absorption are fully intact, the way nature intended.
Digestion starts with the brain and hands. Picking out your food, smelling your food, chopping, stirring, being involved in the food process is key to digestion, absorption and energy.
Fun fact: the rhythmic motion of chopping, stirring, creating food actually re-wires your brain and can decrease anxiety and overwhelm. Cooking is therapy.
Here’s a quick nutrient guide:
Potassium: dates, tart cherry juice, golden raisins, scallops, goji berries
Sodium: pickles, Celtic sea salt, Quinton Hypertonic
Magnesium: dark chocolate, nuts + seeds, leafy greens, prunes, figs
Iron: grass-fed beef or lamb, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, black sesame
Vitamin C: bell peppers, kiwi, mango, tart cherry juice, leafy greens, broccoli
Selenium: Brazil nuts, egg yolks
Iodine: seaweed, kelp flakes
Sulfur (key for liver/hormone balance): cruciferous vegetables, broccoli sprouts, onions
*You can see how these foods aren’t anything wild but pretty practical to eat daily!
Hair pills can often make things worse—because the insanely high amount of vitamins crammed in can actually overwhelm and overstimulate the body and cause more stress. Stress is the root cause of hair falling out in the first place. Don’t fall prey to fancy marketing.
Biotin, often in hair pills, can cause acne—and can increase anxiety in some or feel like your thoughts and heart is racing.
Hair falling out or brittle nails is caused by weakened adrenals, high cortisol output (aka stress) or nutrient deficiency. Focusing on adrenals and real food is the first foundation to beauty.
Supplements shouldn’t be a hard and fast, forever thing—they should ebb and flow with your unique season of life and unique needs. Even during pregnancy, supplements should change from trimester to trimester, I love helping moms with this and it sets you up for postpartum success too!
There are absolutely times when a more robust supplement plan is needed, under the guidance of a skilled practitioner. This should not be a long term approach, but is often very necessary to kickstart healing.
Helpful? Let me know in the comments!
xx
Caroline
…and if this sounds like the approach you have been looking for, reach out! Your symptoms are worth playing detective. How you feel matters!
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