Supplements are very helpful for achieving and maintaining optimal health. I personally take a variety of supplements daily. Over the years of working as a Naturopathic Practitioner, however, I’ve noticed that many people spend money on supplements that are not helpful or necessary. Keep reading for my list of Top 3 Most Overrated Supplements.
Top 3 Most Overrated Supplements
Multivitamins
Almost every client I meet with tells me that they take a daily multivitamin. They usually say this with a sense of pride assuming that they’ve been doing something healthy for their body. And while I don’t think multivitamins are unhealthy, I do think that the majority of them are a waste of money.
The average multivitamin is tightly compressed and comprised of synthetic vitamins. This allows the manufacturer to offer a wide variety of nutrients in one small tablet. While this sounds appealing, it is too good to be true. A tightly compressed supplement is hard for the body to break down and synthetic vitamins are even harder for the body to absorb. This means the average multivitamin goes right through you without being properly digested.
Protein Powders
For people who want to rapidly grow muscle, protein powders can be very useful when combined with proper exercise. Yet the average person is a not a gym rat, body-builder, or aspiring bikini model. Many people will admit to supplementing with protein powder daily even though they rarely workout. This makes protein powder, for the average person, an expensive and unnecessary source of extra calories.
Furthermore, many protein powders are highly processed and are packed with artificial flavors, colors, and sweeteners. This makes them hard to digest and certainly not a “health food.” For people with a sensitive digestive system, protein powders can cause a range of symptoms including gas, bloating, cramps, and even diarrhea.
Probiotics
Probiotics are beneficial, but many people treat them like a cure-all for digestive health. I like to think of the human body as a garden, and probiotics as a fertilizer. Fertilizer is certainly helpful for growing a beautiful garden, but it’s arguably even more important to pull out the weeds (bad bacteria, yeast overgrowth, and parasites).
That being said I think there are many good probiotic supplements available that cost less than $25. And many people may not need to supplement with probiotics at all if they are regularly consuming kombucha, kefir, kimchi and other fermented foods.
Personally, I believe the best way to affordably provide your body with the proper nutrients is to focus on food-based supplementation. Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables each day is far more beneficial than a multivitamin. If changing your diet is unrealistic, green powders like spirulina and wheatgrass are nutritious, plant-based, and easy-to-absorb. For people wanting to improve their body composition naturally, adding food-based forms of protein like hemp, gelatin, nut butters, and yogurt are often enough extra nutrients to start seeing desired results.
