Many people are starting to work with functional health coaches because they want to reclaim their health. Too often they have been to countless doctors seeking answers as to why they are feeling so poorly, but not getting solutions to the causal factors.
Other people may be attempting to heal themselves with a host of different supplements. And when they finally meet with a functional health coach, often the subject of supplements comes up. It is not unusual for clients to list a lot of different supplements that are on their daily “health menu”. And many are quick to want to discuss the latest and greatest vitamin, mineral, or superfood supplement because they are interested in how these products can help them to heal and feel better more quickly.
And while it seems natural to want to run down and purchase supplements as a way to reclaim health, there are drawbacks to doing this without the proper guidance.
Why you should reconsider supplementing on your own:
- Choosing supplements on your own to attempt to correct chronic health issues is not actually helping you to get to the root of the problem…but is actually only chasing and treating symptoms. This is the current Western allopathic model of medicine and it just does not work well. Unfortunately, many naturopathic practitioners follow the same model and are having similar results. If you work with a FDN Practitioner, they can help you to discover what is at the root of the health issues you are dealing with so that you are not just running out to buy the latest and greatest supplement in the hopes that it will make you feel better. They can give you expert guidance on which supplement will actually move your health forward, along with helping you to look at other ways to help you correct dis-ease in your body.
- We were not meant to get our main source of nutrition in tablet or capsule form. Our ancestors didn’t supplement because they didn’t have to! They got the nutrients that they needed from the foods that they ate. We are meant to get our vital nutrients from food as well, but with a large percentage of the standard American diet consisting of packaged and processed food that lack nutrients, we have had to turn to supplements to attempt to nourish our bodies. We must address diet and make changes to what we eat to help supply our bodies with the natural nutrients that it needs.
- Too many synthetic supplements. Many of the supplements on the market today are not natural at all…but are synthetic copies of natural vitamins and minerals. Our bodies are simply not meant or designed to utilize those chemical impersonators and so they are not utilized effectively.
- Unknown and potentially dangerous additives. It is always important to read labels for any food you buy, but have you ever actually read the ingredient list for your supplements? There are plenty of supplements that are full of cheap additives and chemical fillers…all things that can cause more problems with your health than solve. And some supplements contain additives that are downright dangerous, such as MSG and artificial sweeteners that can seriously cause negative consequences on your health when consumed regularly.
- GMO additives. Many supplements use soy and corn as fillers, both crops which are largely genetically modified in the US. Some supplement companies also use genetically modified microorganisms to produce the products that they sell. This is a very common practice, but unfortunately more than 15 years after the release of the first GM crop, there still has not been adequate testing done to make sure that genetically modified organisms are safe to consume.
You no longer have to resort to supplements in an attempt to feel better. To actually improve your health. You will find that working with a FDN Practitioner is a big step toward reclaiming your health in more natural ways while addressing the causal factors. Using functional lab testing, they can help you get to the root of the imbalances and dysfunctions in your body and recommend the supplements that are right for you based on your own individual needs. They will also help you to identify and address other lifestyle and environmental factors that directly impact your health so that you have the guidance, support, and information you need to feeling healthy, happy and whole again.
