Thoughts on Supplements

Supplements only help if there's something in the diet that needs supplementation. For example, many of my clients (especially females), have a hard time eating enough protein. So for them, I may suggest a protein powder or drink. It's just food in a more convenient form — ditto for people with busy mornings.

Another example is the importance of Vitamin B for vegetarians/vegans. It would be best to get Vit. B from a variety of real foods, but sometimes life doesn't make this easy to achieve consistently.

There is a big difference between supplements that are *concentrated doses of micronutrients* (like a vitamin or mineral) vs. products that have a *proprietary blend* of potentially wacky stuff. You've probably seen products with names like 'HydroMaxiSuperCuTT Shredder 3000'. Most supplements that purport to aid performance will (at best) drain your wallet and (at worst) drain your fluids—while you sit on the toilet excreting them.

An easy way to remember this; "Supplements are like nails, and your real foods are like the wood used to build a boat. It doesn't matter if you use golden nails; a boat built of junk wood will be useless."

Bottom line: The use of some supplements is okay, but a majority of your nutrition should come from whole real foods with minimized processing.