Supplement industry is booming. Many of the trainers are creating their own supplement products and marketing so they can provide what they believe is beneficial to the consumers. However, as you may already know, there are so many of them out there and it is very difficult to find what to take. Some articles even say that supplement doesn't work and other says it's effective. So which is it? The answer is "it depends". Depending on quality of the supplements but most importantly your daily habits.
Although supplementing has incredible benefit and can help with achieving optimal health, however, you will need to understand The 4 Basics for Health as you start taking supplements.
1. Move!
First basic is move. Issues that we see nowadays is people are stiff. Because of lack of physical activity, muscles, tendon, ligament and joints are all getting more stiff to the point people are spending more money and time on pain management with medications, medical appointments, physical therapy, and so on. Primary reason for this is people are not moving as much as they think. Even if you are working out 2-3 times per week, what are rest of 4-5 days looks like? If you are not getting more than 10,000 steps per day, you are not moving enough.
2. Eat Whole Natural Food
Whether you follow vegan, carnivore, keto or any other diet, one thing every diet have in common (or should have in common) is eating whole natural food. Everybody is concerning about eating too much calories, however, if you are eating whole natural food, it is tough to overeat unless the food is overly processed. Potatoes are starch and many people avoid eating it. But have you try eating boiled salted potatoes? It is filling. Steamed broccoli. How many can you eat? Steak? It is not that easy to eat too much of whole food.
3. Drink More Water
People consume way more calories from beverages than from food. Whether is alcohol, soda, juice, or smoothies, these does not replace water. Gallon a day should not be an issue. Smoothies, as much as it is convenient they are processed. If you need more vegetables and fruits in your diet, eat them not drink them.
4. 7-8 Hours Sleep
You may be thinking, "oh I'm fine with 6 hours of sleep". This is as same as guy at the bar saying "I'm fine I'm not drunk, I can drive". Lack of sleep is correlated to obesity, diabetes, dementia, cancer, respiratory disorders, and cardiac disorders. For guys, testosterone level can drop significantly low that it is equivalent to someone who is 10 years older. Women's reproductive organs and hormones will suffer in similar way.
What Does This Has To Do With Supplements?
Why are these things important for taking supplements? It's not just supplements but also medication and vaccine will not work as well as they should be when health is already compromised. Supplement is to support your something that you are lacking in your lifestyle not undoing your bad habits. So if you are wanting get proper benefit out of those things then it is vital to practice the 4 basics.
If you believe this to be a bunch of nonsense, thinking you are surviving well without following the 4 basics and don't have any issues, check yourself in a mirror, blood profile, aches and pains, and think of how things are really going for you and see which of the 4 basics you are missing. By the way, those 4 basics are nothing new and very easy to follow.
Best practice for taking supplement, whether it is multi-vitamin, fish oil, vitamin D, vitamin B complex, creatine, pre-workout and so on, is to practicing those 4 basics I've listed above as you take those supplements.
So if you have already invested in your supplements and does not seem to have an effect to your health, check on your 4 Basics and see what you might be missing and work on improving them before you question what you are taking.
Kota Shimada
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