When Do Supplements Actually Make Sense?

I hate a supplement stack that has good marketing from the wellness industry. It's clickbait - and you fall for it every time. But that doesn't mean all supplements are bad. So, when does it make sense to add them in? How do I know my body is ready for the additional support? Listen to find out. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, hey, welcome back to Healthy Period. If you listened to my last episode, you already know how I feel about supplements. They're not magic, they're not shortcuts. You should not be swapping out your medications for supplements and calling that healing. It's not a replacement for foundational health. But that doesn't mean that supplements are useless. There is so much clickbait on the internet about supplements you've never heard of to magically fix symptoms that you've had for 10 years. And that clickbait does you such a disservice and enables you to think that you don't have to do the work to reverse your symptoms. But you can't heal in the environment that got you sick. So your lifestyle needs to change if you want to truly fix your symptoms and reverse chronic disease. But today I want to talk about when do supplements actually make sense, how to use them strategically, not reactively, because the goal is to not take supplements forever. The goal is to help your body get to a place where it doesn't need so much support. Now, from a nutritional therapy lens, supplements are meant to fill specific nutrient gaps, support healing while foundations are being repaired, and reduce stress on overwhelmed systems. But they work best when your digestion is functioning, your blood sugar is regulated, your cortisol isn't constantly elevated, and your sleep is protected. So if those things are not in place for you, your body is not going to be able to absorb the supplement you're taking. So you're just making expensive pee. So this is why so many women say to me that they've tried everything and nothing works. It's not that the supplement doesn't work, it's that your body, the terrain, wasn't ready for it. So there are times where you're doing everything quote unquote right. You're eating enough protein, you're lifting weights, you're sleeping consistently, and your symptoms still linger. That's when supplements could be helpful. So some examples. If you have heavy menstrual bleeding, postpartum or perimenopause transitions, gut damage or leaky gut from stress, toxic load, mold exposure, medications, and chronic inflammation. This is why you can't just take a supplement an influencer on your Instagram recommends, or something your friend swears by. There's just so much nuance that just slapping a supplement on the problem isn't gonna fix. And I get this all the time in my DMs, which goes along with getting advice from influencers or from friends is here's my symptom. What supplement do I take? Okay, we have to stop doing that because in theory, bloating means a digestive enzyme, fatigue means adrenal support, anxiety means magnesium, PMS is a hormone blend, but your symptoms aren't going to tell the whole story. So, for example, fatigue could be iron, B12, blood sugar, sleep, inflammation. Bloating could be low stomach acid, dysbiosis, stress, or bioflow. PMS could be estrogen clearance, low progesterone, or cortisol. So taking supplements without understanding the why leads to supplement overload, worsening symptoms, and wasted money. So here's where lab testing can be incredibly useful when we use it correctly. I look at labs for my clients all of the time, but we're not doing it to chase numbers, we're doing it to confirm a pattern. So some examples: ferritin for fatigue and hair loss, vitamin D for immune and hormone support, facet insulin for metabolic health, a full thyroid panel, hormone panels, the functional interpretation matters. And normal is not the same as optimal. You have heard me say this before. Normal labs are a wider range and just telling you that you aren't sick enough for medication. Optimal lab ranges are narrower and when someone is healthy and minimal symptoms, when things are running optimally or thriving, this is where we want to see those lab ranges. Labs should guide your supplementation. And the supplementation should come after we understand the why behind the lab results. Why is your ferritin extremely low? Why is your immune system attacking your thyroid? Why is your T3 and T4 low? Why is your progesterone low? Why is your insulin sky high? You should be asking why until you can't ask why anymore. If you can still ask why, you haven't found the root, lab results are not the root. I'm gonna say that again. Lab results are not the root. They show us what is off, so we have a so we have a roadmap to find the root. So if you don't have the roadmap, why are you just gonna throw a supplement on it? So maybe you have years of nutrient depletion, right? So if you've been on the pill for years, mold exposure, living in fight or flight your whole life, then supplementing might make sense. Some common examples that I see that can be helpful are like heavy periods, fatigue, and dizziness. We might want to look at iron and ferritin. A B12 or B complex might be helpful for energy, brain fog, and nervous system support. Magnesium, glycinate is helpful for sleep, stress, and constipation. We have some gut support ideas, right? Digestive enzymes or HCL for low stomach acid, probiotics. We want to look at the targeted strains, not just random blends here, or L-glutamine, which is for gut lining repair, after we address the inflammation. And as far as inflammation goes, I love an omega-3 for hormone balance, pain, and mood. And for hormone-specific support, if you have PMOS or insulin resistance, inocitol is great. Um, DIM for estrogen metabolism support, dim is very specific. So do not just throw dim on it. This is not medical advice. And stress and sleep, we might want to use an adaptogen when stress is the primary driver. We might want to use melatonin short term for circadian rhythm support. But again, we should be asking why your body needs the extra support. Supplement while you're working on supporting that system. Okay, and here's the other thing: quality matters a lot. Not all supplements are created equal. What I want you to look for are bioavailable forms, third-party tested, minimal fillers, and professional grade brands. Cheap supplements don't absorb, they irritate the gut, and they create more symptoms. So this is another reason why less is more. So here are some of my non-negotiable don'ts. Do not self-diagnose, do not take supplements indefinitely without reassessment, don't stack supplements without a plan, and don't ignore negative reactions. Your body is always going to give you feedback. The reason you supplement is not to get rid of symptoms so that you can continue to live your life in hustle culture and ignore what your body is telling you. You have hair loss, fatigue, chronic bloating, period issues, because you might live in hustle culture, you might have been on the pill for a decade, you might have lived or worked in mold, you might be a good host for Candida or H. pylori. I love supplements as a tool. We can grab those tools. It's a lever we can pull when our bodies need extra support. But I don't love them as a swap for medications because you want to be cleaner or the quick fix for a symptom you've had for a decade. And as women who we're already gaslit, we're already dismissed, we're already made to feel like we're always doing something wrong, and our bodies are damaged goods, I really think that this is a conversation that needs to be had, even if you unfollow me or leave me some kind of hate comment. I really hope you hear this message and feel empowered to do some deeper digging into your symptoms, what they mean, and how the supplements can support you. That's the key word. They're support. It's not a cure. So if you're doing the foundational work and you still feel stuck or you're overwhelmed by supplements and don't know what you actually need, I want you to DM me on Instagram the word free 50 because I'm actually giving away three free 50-minute consultations this week. It is June 24th. So over the next week, I'm giving away three free 50 minute consultations this week only, and we'll talk about what you've tried, what's not working, and what your next step game plan should be. Your body doesn't need more pills, it actually needs a strategy. So thanks for listening, and I'll see you in the next one.