Hey there!

Yesterday I received a comment from someone who was frustrated over the fact that she was "taking just about every supplement on the shelf" and she spends "hundreds of dollars every month trying to be symptom free. But I fail miserably."

Unfortunately, her experience is very common.

And I wanted to share a couple of thoughts with you because you've probably experienced something similar.

The biggest mistake when it comes to supplements is thinking that they are actually a source of nutrition.

They are not.

I'm going to use two examples to illustrate this.

Vitamin C Supplements Are Not Vitamin C

Many of us think of vitamin C as ascorbic acid.

Ascorbic acid is the main ingredient in vitamin C supplements.

But that's not the full picture.

You see, vitamin C in nature - in your food - is actually a complex made of:

• Ascorbic Acid
• Bioflavonoids
• Rutin
• Factor K
• Factor J
• Factor P
• Tyrosinase
• Ascorbinogen

So, when you take a supplement that has only ascorbic acid, you're not getting the full spectrum.

This doesn't mean that ascorbic acid doesn't provide benefits. On the contrary, it has plenty of therapeutic benefits and Linus Pauling even won a Nobel Prize in the 1940s for his groundbreaking worth with ascorbic acid.

But your body still needs the entire vitamin C complex.

That is why supplements can work for one person but not another.

That is why a healthy diet is still a must, even when you take supplements.

Fiber Supplements Are Not Complete

Fiber comes in two forms:

• soluble
• insoluble

Fiber supplements generally have one or the other.

But in food you get both.

Why? Because your body needs both and nature has brilliantly made sure that whole food gives you everything you need.

Just like with vitamin C, this doesn't mean that someone can't see benefit from a fiber supplement.

But at the core, most of these supplements are not complete the way food is.

So you can still end up struggling with constipation, bloating and other digestive issues.

Plus, your gut needs fiber from whole food to feed and propagate healthy bacteria.

So, TLDR

Supplements are not food.

The only way to balance your hormones and experience lasting health is with the same boring advice: eat whole foods :)

I know it's not sexy. It's not easy. It's not flashy.

But let's not forget that as new supplements continue to show up on the market, our health is only declining. Clearly, we are not struggling from a supplement deficiency.

So, if you've been spending tons of money on products, take a moment to evaluate your habits.

👉 Use this recipe collection to start making your own delicious, hormone-friendly meals or take advantage of the self care and healthy eating resources in my shop to get started with your holistic care plan.

Once you have a foundation, you will find that you won't need an army of supplements. Maybe just one or two essentials.

Cheers!

Germaine Satia - Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, CYT-200