Supplementation is a part of modern living. 

The media inundates us with information and claims trying to convince us that their product is the right one for us.  More often than not, supplements become an impulse purchase and after taking them for a time, having not met our needs, end up in the cabinet or the trash.  It’s not an unusual occurrence for a patient to come into my office carrying a large grocery bag full to the brim of the supplements they have accumulated asking for guidance on what to do with their previous purchases.  Often, nearly all of it has little to no therapeutic value for them.    

The goal of my medical practice is to empower patients and clients to understand their body’s needs and align their knowhow and habits to meet those needs.  HEALTH EXPRESSES when the body’s needs are met.  In the PRESENCE OF HEALTH, DISEASE FADES.  In modern American life, intelligent supplementation plays an important role in meeting those needs.  

Why do I need to take supplements?

USDA tracking of nutrient and mineral content in foods is clear.  21st CENTURY FOOD CONTAINS 1/50TH OF THE NUTRIENT AND MINERAL CONTENT of foods from the early 20th century.  

The prevalence of industrial and technological techniques in food cultivation grow food faster and prettier, and provide for longer shelf life, but beyond fiber and glucose (sugar) are largely absent of substance (the nutrition labels on products are all theoretical, not actual).  The slow, often seasonal, uptake of nutrients and minerals into fruits and vegetables from fertile soil and biologically rich fertilizers is only present in fresh (or freshly frozen) organic foods; and even then, due to the absence of rich soil cultivation, rarely meet our body’s physiologic and neurologic needs. 

The obesity, behavioral, addiction, and metabolic epidemics (70% of Americans are overweight and need a constant supply of stimulants to get through their day) are directly linked to this unmet need.  Food in America has become a product designed to elicit momentary pleasure, a passing escape from stress; yet, ONCE THE PLEASURE HAS PASSED, CELLULAR, EMOTIONAL, AND BEHAVIORAL STATES OF WANTING AND LACK REMAIN.  No matter how much you eat, if your food is empty, you will be left with physical fullness and biochemical emptiness.

Our food supply isn’t going to change.  If we want to experience health, we have to meet the dynamic chemical needs of our body through intelligent eating and supplementation.  Yes, what I’m going to teach you is how to become a discerning chemist; the outcome of this overtime is to experience progressively enhanced health.

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If we want to experience health, we have to meet the dynamic chemical needs of our body through intelligent eating and supplementation.

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Why aren’t my supplements working?

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Context, proper application, and quality of sourcing and formulation is the key!

CONTEXT

Most of the evidence supporting the therapeutic efficacy of supplementation is drawn from the 3000 years of cumulatively documented, real world, clinical application of botanicals in Natural Medicine.  However, our modern lab (as opposed to real world clinical) research isolates biological compounds independent of the dynamic context of the human body.  This doesn’t mean that scientific claims are exaggerated or wrong, they’re correct within the isolated lab context.  The internal environment (or terrain) of our bodies is however much more complex and dynamic than what can be determined in a lab.  This is why understanding the REAL WORLD CLINICAL APPLICATION of nutrients, minerals and herbs is essential for health.  

Understanding where you are on the spectrum of health and disease.  Interpreting blood work and the degree of function or dysfunction of your body all provides context.  APPLYING THE RIGHT FOODS, SUPPLEMENTS AND THERAPIES BASED ON THAT CONTEXT IS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE HEALTHY OUTCOMES.   

Imagine that you are walking in a city you don’t know, looking to get to a particular destination (that you only vaguely know).  If you don’t know where you are, how can you know the right steps to take to get to where you want to go?  Blindly moving and turning right or left based upon habit, assumption or impulse will most likely cost you valuable time and lead to no where.  THIS IS WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU TAKE SUPPLEMENTS WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING CONTEXT. 

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APPLICATION

Is this the right supplement to meet my body’s needs?  Is the state of my digestive system capable of absorbing these nutrients?  Am I taking it at the right dosage and at the right time (with meals, before or after meals, on an empty stomach, upon waking or before going to sleep)?  HEALTH IS ALWAYS DEPENDENT ON THE DETAILS.  For health to be maintained, your work with a doctor of functional, natural, or integrative medicine needs to be educational and empowering.  After having done your work with a discerning doctor, you will understand how WHAT YOU PUT IN AND ON YOUR BODY PRODUCES HEALTH OR FEEDS DISEASE. 

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QUALITY

Just as with cars, clothing, and houses, what’s most important is the quality of the materials used and how those materials are put together contextually.  For supplements, botanical raw materials are sourced and then delineated into low, moderate, or high quality.  They are then bought by supplement manufacturers who compound and package the sourced ingredients and supply them to a wholesaler who sells to a retailer who markets to you.  

Most retail supplements are made up of the lowest quality ingredients (this includes those added to food products).  Moderate grade may be found online and some direct to market producers (a very few are excellent in their sourcing and formulation) who are interested in building a longterm consumer relationship rather than simply hooking the impulse buyer.  Most of the top grade is bought by specialized nutraceutical companies (or pharmaceutical companies for drug research) who then often combine the raw ingredients into expertly designed therapeutic formulations.  These are then provided to doctors who properly prescribe them to patients and clients.  Cost per unit for quality is higher, but the cost over time is significantly lower as THERAPEUTIC OUTCOMES ARE ACHIEVED, DISEASE IS AVOIDED, and clients stop wasting money on impulse purchases or therapies that don’t work.

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THERE IS NO GREATER COST THAN THE COST ENDURED WHEN HEALTH IS LOST.  I strongly encourage you to seek understanding of the context, application and quality of anything you put in or on your body.  BE DISCERNING.  And most important of all, BE HEALTHY.

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There is no greater cost than the cost endured when health is lost.