Stop buying supplements!

Learn to save by eating the foods that contain your vitamins.

Let’s be honest, synthetic vitamins aren’t the wisest purchase. In most cases, less than 10 percent of vitamins in tablet form get absorbed. Imagine paying $30 bucks for 30 tablets and only receiving $3 worth of the benefits. This is a generality sure. Not all vitamin tablets are created equal but why settle for that end-user role when you can go straight to the producer? In this case, actual produce. Meats and dairy.

SAVE MONEY. “EAT” YOUR VITAMINS
Say you have a potassium (vitamin K) deficiency. Sure you could buy it in tablet form but most are 100mg or less. You need over 4000mg per day to be the most efficient. No one’s going to swallow 40 tablets in one day. However, an arugula salad with mashed avocado, chopped beetroots, and shredded carrots will get you halfway there alone. Can you see the advantage? You’ve killed three birds with one stone. You’re satiated and nourished in the area you need it and you’ve saved money by not having to buy supplements.

So what about absorption? Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin. This means that vitamin K (also A, D, & E) cannot be absorbed properly without a fat source. If you buy it in tablet form, most will grab a glass of water and get the tablet down their throat quickly just to get it over with. No one at these stores is telling you to eat a fat source when you consume vitamin K. If we take the arugula salad example above, avocado is present. This is a fat source from the meal itself. You could also add extra virgin olive oil and a quality meat source for even more of a fat absorption vehicle for these vitamins.

Just one of many examples of how to get the nutrients you need inside your body inexpensively without buying supplements.

NUTRITION AT YOUR WALLET’S EXPENSE
Deep down, we all want to be as healthy as we were in high school. We’re sold a dream through advertising and marketing. Take this pill and look like this in 30 days. It sounds amazing but most of all it sounds easy. In reality, the path to what you really want is the harder path most of the time.

Creating meal plans for the week. Using a site like this to look up nutritional facts about each food. Putting together a budget for your food. Setting up a schedule to put together and cook these meals. Consuming everything you buy without leaving much to waste.

None of this is easy. It takes work and dedication. A lifestyle change. The quick way may leave you broke, lazy, and disappointed. With no results to boot.

Although the hard path requires work. It is up to you to make the journey itself easier as you travel it. How you manage your resources plays a big factor in your ability to sustain the journey.

Set a budget and stick to it. Limit useless purchases that have little viability and simply just waste your money. We’re not advocating a total life ban on supplements. We’re saying choose your supplements wisely.

VITAMINS YOU “SHOULD” BUY
There are a few vitamins that we do not get enough of in our everyday diet.

Vitamin D. It is often referred to as calciferol and it is fat soluble. If you are suffering from bone pain or muscle weakness it is a sign that you are deficient. This vitamin is severely lacking in Western diets. Supplementing is recommended.

Magnesium. A major contributor to vital functions of our body that allows them to run smoothly. The heart, muscles, and bones can malfunction without this mineral. Supplementing is recommended.

Fish Oil. By Western diet standards, this may be our most deficient nutrient. What the fish eats when alive determines its nutritional value when consumed. Omega-3 fatty acids are created when the fish eats algae from the water it inhabits. This mainly comes from wild fish. Farmed-raised fish consume grains and other genetically modified (GMO) foods which produce Omega-6 fatty acids.

Omega-6 fatty acids are abundant in the Western diet. The ratio between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids should be in a 1:1 ratio. However, the ratio for most people eating a Western diet is closer to 40:1 in favor of Omega-6 fatty acids. This causes inflammation and can lead to coronary and pulmonary diseases. Quality fish oil soft gels taken daily can bring this back into balance. A favorite of ours is Alaskan Cod Liver Oil.

Coenzyme Q10. It is marketed as CoQ10 and is found in almost every cell in the body. It is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants fight damaging particles in the body known as free radicals, which damage cells, corrupt DNA, and can cause cell death.

Multivitamin. A supplement should be just that, supplemental. A good multivitamin caps off a good diet filling in the nutritional gaps where needed. We recommend everyone has a good multivitamin in their cabinet but this is more optional based on how robustly nutritious your diet is.

Add these 5 vitamin supplements to your diet and through your vegetables, meats, and dairy sources, eat the rest.