14 April 2015
As someone who regularly advises a natural-is-better approach to diets it may seem odd for me to recommend supplements, as what could be more unnatural than eating your food in pill or powder form? Processed, often made in a laboratory, and taking what would naturally be trace nutrients in foods containing many different compounds, in isolation?
Ultimately, supplements should be treated with a great degree of scepticism, and many are pretty suspect. People have a tendency to want something new sexy and cool to give them an edge, this may work for many things in life – but not usually food. If something is new to the diet then we will not know the long-term effects on health, or if it causes problems for a small percentage of the population. Often it is not the supplement itself that gives me pause – but other additives that are put in with it, usually for flavouring. The supplement itself may do you good, but the aspartame it is sweetened with is associated with all manner of diseases.
In addition to these problems, many supplements (and other ‘health’ products) use bad science to justify their claims, or use inferior products compared to those used in the research, so often the supplements may not even give the results they claim.
However, to label all supplements as bad because of the pitfalls of some leaves you missing out on some really good stuff. Some supplements can even make your diet more naturally balanced, such as those recommended for general health below. And let’s be fair, unless you are eating an unusually natural diet (such as paleo), the potential health issues of supplements pale in comparison to the known problems with processed foods. It amazes me how many people will turn their nose up at supplements, then go eat crisps, chocolates and coke.
So yes supplements should be treated with caution, especially as many have not been around long enough for long-term health benefits to be fully known. However as a starting point when looking to improve yourself, the following are all relatively well researched, with noticeable health/fitness benefits that can easily justify the cost. They are shown to be safe, have little risk of side effects and provide potential benefits over time.
Recommended for almost everyone for general health:
Omega 3
The world’s most researched nutrient, with all positive results, Omega 3 is a very important nutrient that makes up a large portion of your brain and can affect every cell in your body. Benefits of getting more Omega 3 include better brain function, skin, athletic performance, improved hormonal balance, fat loss, and reduction in seemingly all chronic diseases. For example, diabetes, heart disease and stroke, arthritis, age related blindness, dementia and more.
So it is brilliant, but can you not get what you need from food? Yes you can, but people don’t. Natural sources of Omega 3 (such as many meats) are not really sources any more due to modern farming methods – so nowadays it is very difficult to get optimal amounts. You may in fact eat loads of oily fish, with all your beef grass fed and an all-natural organic diet with no processed foods, and as such get all you need from diet alone. However as much as it is important to get plenty from diet, pretty much everyone in the UK could benefit from getting more Omega 3 so supplementing is very useful, especially considering the relatively low cost for such a large gain. To get a naturally optimal balance of omega 3 and 6 it is often useful to take a supplement. Fish oils are the best source for supplements, as Omega 3 is a macronutrient (healthy fat), there is no real risk of overdosing, the trick is to get a balance of omega 3 and 6. There tends to be plenty of 6 in the modern diet so a healthy balance tends to just mean more 3.
Vitamin D
Another nutrient that modern man gets significantly less of than our ancestors, Vitamin D is synthesized with sunlight by the human body. However due to clothes, cars and spending large amounts of time indoors, people do not expose their skin to sunlight as much, resulting in less than optimal vitamin D levels.
Supplementing vitamin D with a tablet can help your immune system, bones, mental health and reduce risk of many diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Getting more vitamin D from sunlight is also great – though avoid getting sunburn (obviously).
Zinc and magnesium
Probably the two most common mineral deficiencies in the exercising population, (and likely the non-exercising population too), taking these will improve general health, sleep, muscle function and optimize testosterone, in turn improving fat loss and muscle gain.
Going over the recommended dose can lead to vomiting, this correct dose will be stated on the packet, generally try not to exceed 25mg per day. Some multivitamins may contain some of these minerals.
Protein supplements
As most people would benefit from getting more protein in their diet, Protein powders can be brilliant for this, particularly for those looking to increase musculature. They are however not complete foods e.g. no fibre. Do not fall into trap of replacing actual protein in meals. I’d rarely recommend people take more than one portion of protein from a supplement per day, with the majority of protein coming from vitamin and mineral rich meat, fish etc.
Whey
Fast digesting and highly bio available (the body can utilize it well). Good immediately after a workout.
Casein
A slow digesting protein, bodybuilders often take this before bed to improve recovery.
Keep a lookout for more supplements coming our way.