Everything You Need To Know About Taking Supplements
Let’s talk about supplements – they’re something I get so many questions about from my clients and 28ers and I get it, there’s plenty of confusion surrounding them. So today, I’m here to clear the air and reveal the truth about supplements.
Before I go any further, it’s so important to understand that the purpose of supplements is to supplement a quality, real food diet. They’re not called replacements for a reason, so remember that they’re purely meant to compliment your diet. However, in the busy Western world we live in the reality is that almost all of us simply don’t get all of the nutrients that we need from our normal diets. This is where supplements come in, as they can be an awesome way to top up any of the nutrients we may be lacking. So with all of this in mind, take a look at some of my favourites and their seriously far-reaching benefits.
Magnesium
As one of the biggest nutrition deficiencies in adults, maxing our magnesium intake should be a must. The magic of magnesium ranges from boosting exercise performance, helping you sleep, relieving muscle aches and spasms and migraine prevention (just to name a few).
Probiotics
Basically your guts best friend, probiotics help to balance out bacteria in the gut and can help with weight loss, digestive health and immune function.
Fish oil
A bit of a heart hero, fish oil contains essential nutrients that can help lower blood pressure and lower your risk of heart attack.
Calcium
Calcium is a must for optimal bone health, but our heart, muscles and nerves also need adequate calcium to function properly. Calcium supplements can be especially beneficial for older women.
Vitamin D
AKA the ‘sunshine vitamin’, the benefits of vitamin D range from maintaining healthy bones, supporting the immune system, supporting our lungs and cardio health and studies show it may even boost weight loss. You might benefit from vitamin D supplements if you work indoors or are particularly sun smart.
Protein
Protein is the king of nutrients when it comes to gaining muscle and losing fat and can help reduce hunger and appetite, so why not throw some of my chocolate or vanilla protein in your next morning smoothie.
When it comes to supplements, if you aren’t getting all the nutrients you need there’s no denying that the benefits are few and far between. However, never forget that the source of your nutrients is important, so focus on getting these from real and whole foods where you can. My final two pieces of advice are this – if you’re not sure which ones are right for you I always recommend visiting a healthcare professional. Secondly, don’t waste your money on generic multi vitamins, they might look fancy but they often don’t contain the therapeutic levels we actually need.
Sam Wood is the founder of online training and nutrition program 28 by Sam Wood and Australia’s largest personal training gym ‘The Woodshed’.
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