How To Choose The Right Supplements For You
At any given time there exists a wide range of supplements that you can choose from for a variety of health concerns. There is always new information about which nutrients you need to stay healthy and age gracefully. What we “need” seems to change from month to month and it is hard to decide what to choose. You end up with a cupboard full of expensive, unused supplements, possibly feeling no better than you did before you bought all those bottles. So, how do you know which supplements are right for you?
Choosing which supplements to take truly depends on your unique body and your needs as an individual. There are, however, four key supplements that are pillars to optimal health the rest, depending on your personal health history, your family’s health history, and your personal health goals. Below is a general overview that will help you determine which supplements may be right for you.
Four Key Supplements For Good Health
Although each person has a very different set of health concerns, health history, and genetics, there are four key supplements that everybody can benefit from. These four key supplements are a multivitamin-mineral, fish oil, probiotics, and anti-oxidants.
A general multivitamin-mineral provides the key building blocks to many of our body’s functions. It provides a boost of good nutrients to an already healthy diet. This type of supplement replenishes what even good quality fruits and vegetables may be lacking.
Adding fish oil to your supplement regimen provides the food your cells are crave. It provides healthy oils to help your heart, skin, and brain function appropriately. Fish oils can optimize cholesterol levels, stabilize mood and brain function, alleviate dry skin and acne, and prevent heart disease.
Supplementation of probiotics builds up good “gut bugs” or a healthy amount of beneficial flora in the colon. Probiotics, or good bacteria, decrease the incidence of colon cancer, provide a small amount of B12 for the body, reduce flare ups of IBS, and promote more nutrient uptake from our food.
Increasing anti-oxidant intake helps protect our cells from damage caused by pollution and stress. In a world filled with different types of pollution, as well as the free radical damage caused by emotional stress, additional antioxidant supplementation is a must for healthy aging. Antioxidants help rid the body of excessive toxins and free radicals, preventing further cell damage. A general antioxidant will be high in Vitamins A, C, and E, Selenium, and/or plant based antioxidants such as pycnogenol.
These four key supplements address nutrition, basic cellular health, and intestinal health. By addressing these systems, you are targeting key areas of the body that are essential to preventative health maintenance.
Genetics Do Play A Role
By focusing on four key supplements only, however, we neglect the necessary individualism that an effective supplement protocol requires. One large question to address when considering an appropriate supplement regimen is, what is my family’s medical history? Any additions to a supplement protocol should take into account the likelihood of health conditions you may encounter based on those your first degree (parents, siblings, children) relatives may have had.
The largest concerns would be heart disease, and certain types of cancers such as breast and colon cancer. However, your family’s health history may also include thyroid conditions, arthritis, allergies, etc… If you have yet to follow a similar health path as that of your parents, a simple addition of a basic supplement to prevent any decline in health would be appropriate. If your parent had arthritis, for example, you may consider adding a supplement of tumeric to decrease any potential joint inflammation. Paying attention to the health of your immediate family members is one way to choose supplements to prevent occurrence of certain health conditions.
Shannon Sinsheimer, N.D. is a Naturopathic Doctor in Rancho Mirage. She can be reached at 760-309-8620.