The Supplement Pyramid by Jeremy Scott
DISCLAIMER – I work with a few amazing supplement compaines I believe they make quality, legitimate products to help people live healthier lives. I wouldn’t personally associate with them if they didn’t; I care too much about my character, profession and name to do that. The point of this article is not to make you purchase their products, but simply to educate you so you don’t waste your time, effort, and money on supplements that don’t work and you don’t personally need.
Now onto my Supplement Pyramid for YOU!
Supplements, we know about them, but how much do we all really know?
I think of supplements like I used to think of my ROTH IRA before I was educated on finance…yes, supplements are like the finance world, sounds crazy I know stick with me here.
Walking into a supplement store is similar to many of you reviewing your retirement account asset allocations, you know should be investing your just not sure in which (stocks, bonds, funds) or in this case which pills, liquids, and powders to invest your money in.
You understand some of the stocks, the terms, and the results but not everything. Same goes for when you turn over a supplement label when reading it, you understand a few ingredients and claims but not everything.
Making poor choices in your supplement selection and your portfolio selections can cost you hard earned time and money you can’t afford to lose.
Let me be your financial supplement expert for the next few minutes to clear up the confusion and save you a lot of precious time and hard earned money in the process.
There are thousands of supplements out there and more coming just about every week to the market place. It’ a multi-BILLION dollar industry, and sadly it’s filled with HUGE exaggerations selling people dreams not reality.
Let me cut right to the chase and kick you the reality of the supplement game for the average American.
The biggest questions I get daily are:
What supplements do you take?
What supplements should I take?
Do supplements really work?
I am going to say this as we start; I think real food is always the best option; let me repeat that real food is always the best option.
An old quote you should burn into your brain is -“let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” – Hippocrates.
If I had to guess real food makes about around 90-95% of your results and supplements cover the 5-10% gap to get you to your goals. Now this is just me guessing on the % we are all different, but my take is “real food is always king”.
With that said, sadly many Americans don’t know how to eat, or their current diets are void of many of the important micro-nutrients needed for optimal health. So, we have supplements to fill the gaps or cover the holes in their nutrition.
Below is my breakdown for the average person on what supplements they need most, which ones they might need at times, and all the rest they can probably do with out or take as they wish for various benefits if they choose.
Now if you go to your physician and they tell you that you have a certain deficiency or a certain supplement might help you sleep better for example, obviously your needs will change from what I have listed below.
NOTE- Discuss any changes with your primary care physician before starting any new dietary or supplement regimen.
BANG FOR YOUR BUCK SUPPS– we recommend these to all our athletes.
Probiotics –Fish Oils – Vitamin D – Multi-Vitamin
Probiotics –
What are probiotics? They are “good” bacteria that live in your gut.
Most Americans get too much “bad” bacteria built up in their guts, and suffer from poor gut health. This can cause digestive issues and overall poor immune function.
Probiotics can provide your body with a much-needed balance and keep you, and your gut healthy while improving food absorption and overall digestion.
Fish Oils –
What are fish oils good for? We all know inflammation is bad, horrible and nasty for our bodies. Fish Oils help decease the inflammation in your body, which in tern helps us avoid things like arthritis, can prevent heart disease, and other chronic conditions.
Vitamin D –
Why do I need Vitamin D? Many Americans are deficient in Vitamin D; yes even I was about 3 years ago when I went in for blood work (and I live in sunny AZ). I mention that because the majority of our Vitamin D is absorbed through the sun it’s the best natural source of Vitamin D there is. So if I was deficient in sunny Arizona odds are you might be too.
The benefits of enough Vitamin D to name a few are, it supports immune function, and makes our bones healthy and strong. That alone is enough of a reason to get on track with Vitamin D.
Multi-Vitamin –
Why do I need it? Not to get into huge detail, it’s to cover the gaps in your nutrition plan to ensure your getting enough micronutrients to stay healthy. Most Americans are not eating enough quality nutrient dense foods, this helps keep your body functioning filling the holes your diet leaves. – Again nothing replaces quality food remember that!
IF THERE IS A NEED & YOU CAN AFFORD IT – we recommend these to cover the gaps if your current eating won’t support all your maro/micro nutrient goals.
Powder Greens (green supplement) CLICK
Protein Powder (protein shakes) CLICK
Why do I need them? Similar to a quality multi-vitamin most American’s don’t even eat 1 single serving of green veggies per day. That stat is taken from me and the dozens of people I meet each week for consults, many of them don’t eat veggies daily some don’t even eat them weekly. Pending on your green supplement you can get quality micronutrients, fiber, pre-probiotics and other important vitamins and minerals as well in one small scoop. Making this a no-brainer for those of you who don’t eat enough veggies.
Protein Powder –
Why do I need it? Protein is the building blocks of muscle, which is your metabolism. So, if you want to be strong, lean, and sexy you need enough protein daily. If you can eat enough protein daily to reach your macro goals, that’s great, you might rarely need powders. Many people when they travel, or get busy and a majority of women who I work with daily have a hard time getting enough protein in. Powders are a quick healthy effective way to fill the gap and keep your body full of muscle building fat fighting protein.
EVERYTHING ELSE – every other supplement on the market. If you are deficient in something and or want to try something to see if it helps with sleep, focus, relaxation, energy, and performance – those supplements I am placing here.
ALL OTHER SUPPS
All other supplements would fit here; things that are still quality but not a high need for the average person on a budget or someone just staring out in their journey into the supplement world.
I hope this helped shed some light and clear the smoke when you purchase your supplements next. I could write 1,000,000 articles on supplements but for many of you this one covers the ones you need to start.
Education in any area of life is key, congrats on educating yourself today on your supplementation regimen.
If you guys are interested in trying out any of the above supplements you can grab some of them below.
CLICK HERE for supplements we trust.
Greens we love CLICK HERE
Until next time eat well, train hard, & be nice to people!
Jeremy Scott ~Scottsdale Personal Trainer