Protein shakes? Multivitamin? Yes and no. Let’s breakdown both sides of the argument:
YES
The soil used to grow plants is not as nutritious as it once was. NPK (Nitrogen-Phosphorous-Potassium) fertilizer is cheaper, more efficient for the farmer and terrible for the consumer. The three letters are the number nutrients used in the soil, at the expense of dozens of other nutrients left out. If that is all the crop has to work with that is all you, the consumer, will have available to digest and absorb. In addition, hard bicarbonate-devoid water and more polluted air and you have yourself a recipe for some empty vegetables and meat.
Protein Shakes can be an easy way to meet your protein requirements, especially if you are always on the move, have trouble getting in enough meals each day or have a low appetite. Consuming one gram per pound of bodyweight is a general rule of thumb for protein requirements (if you weigh 100 pounds, take in 100 grams of protein for example).
High Stress Life? Then there is a good chance you are deficient in multiple vitamins and minerals. Magnesium is a great example, the more physically active you are, or stressful your life is, the more magnesium you burn which has plenty of consequences that are detrimental to your health. Powders and liquid forms of magnesium work great however be careful as it depends on the specific type of magnesium you buy as they all do different things for your health. Magnesium goes to different tissues, take Magnesium Glycinate for instance. This form aids liver & muscle tissue. Magnesium Orotate helps vascular health and Magnesium Threonate is a great GABA inducer (it helps you relax and SLEEP). My personal favorite is Magnesium BiCarbonate. Other good forms are Fumarate and Malate. One more fun fact, you have to test for magnesium in the red blood cell. Standard tests by doctors only get the serum magnesium which accounts for 1% of Magnesium levels in the body. About 66% is found in bone, and 33% found in skeletal or cardiac tissue.
Getting a blood test is the best way to know what you are deficient in, otherwise you are just swinging in the dark, which can be a huge waste of money. Spend the extra money and go with the most thorough, comprehensive tests available. If you do it right the first time, it will save you a ton of time in the long run.
NO
“Shakes are for fakes” is a great quote from Stan Efferding. The vitamins and minerals found in food are in more bioavailable forms. The term “bioavailability” means biological availability and it describes the proportion of a mineral or vitamin in a food, which is available for absorption and utilization in the body. Raw food typically is the best (obviously don’t go slugging down raw chicken), but vegetables in particular are best eaten raw, even if they taste like stale cardboard.
Money you spend on supplements can be put toward higher quality food, from farms you can research and order from directly.
Butcher Box, White Oaks Pasture and US Wellness Meats are a few I’ve tried in the past
Supplement industry is not regulated by the FDA, which means they can put whatever they want in powders, pre-workout, etc. ATP Labs and NutriDyn are two trusted labs that have a great reputation for being clean.
Now you could argue that not of these will kill you in the moment right when you consume it, which is very true. They are more like a snowball and build in your tissues over time and can wreak havoc on the insides of your body, plus Horse Tranquilizers are not my favorite thing to have inside my body!
You are not what you eat, but what you can absorb. 95% of the population suffers from low stomach acid (pH is too basic, not acidic enough). This is what is supposed to breakdown the food you eat, to make it easier to absorb everything your food has to offer. The higher the stomach acid (more acidic), the more gets dissolved at that point of the digestion process, hence the more your body can take in and use to your advantage, otherwise, it just leaves your body if you catch my drift.
If you can’t digest properly, taking more pills, powders and other supplements will not be properly absorbed anyways.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways?
Personally, I think it is impossible to get everything your body needs through food and water nowadays, for all the reasons stated in the first section. Here are some practical steps to take to help give your body and brain the best chance to function every day:
1. Get a Blood Test
Know exactly what the inside looks like, what you’re deficient in, and where t start. 2. If going the food route, do your research on the farms before you get food from them
Call, email, or reach out they would be happy to give you information.
3. If you go the supplement route, do your homework and research on not only the supplements but the track record of the company selling the product. Typically, the best labs get their products tested by a third party.
4. Know your lifestyle and be honest with yourself
Free time seems hard to come by, so save time and make nutrition easy and thoughtless by getting food delivered to your doorstep, either fresh ingredients or pre-cooked meals. The time saved can decrease stress, make eating more business-like, and save time by having portioned out meals. Another positive of this is you will learn how to cook!
5. After everything that was just said, remember they are called supplements for a reason. Even if you do take supplements, they should never become the diet and only source of nutrition. They compliment your current eating habits.
Hope this was helpful, please reach out if you have any questions or comments, and get in touch with our team today to get you moving in the right direction!
