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The 3 most critical supplements you could take?

The 3 most critical supplements you could take?

Posted by Henry Maitland on 1st Sep 2016

Choosing the 3 most important supplements that a person can take is a challenge. Indeed it requires us to move away from the incredible array of specific and unique benefits that many supplements have and instead look at a much broader view of health.

What are the supplements that can be taken to address the major systems of the body, supplements that could be said to be foundational to our health and wellness and from which almost anyone could benefit.

Whenever we’re discussing supplements I feel it’s worth mentioning that food comes first. I know that this may sound obvious however I also know that many people will choose to take high quality organic supplementation without addressing basic dietary and life style considerations. At Evolution Organics we are here to help you get the best from the supplements you take and making sure you have a great diet is a big part of the health & wellness picture.

Increasingly we hear more about organic foods and the possible benefits of ‘going organic’ and making sure we have high quality foods in our diets.  

There are so many reasons to eat organic such as:

  • Higher levels of available nutrition
  • Potential a better balance of nutritional profile (eggs are a good example of this)
  • Higher ‘life energy’ in the food
  • Supporting organic farms that support ecological/soil regeneration
  • Supporting farms that look after bees!
  • Spending money in the local economy
  • Reduced pesticide / herbicide contamination ( reduced overall toxic load)
  • Less or no air miles on food

I’m totally in line with eating organic and have been for most of my life. I love the relationship I have with our local farms and food producers and deeply enjoy the whole experience of finding, buying and eating local organic foods. If you have eating organic sorted then you may be ready for the  next step.  I would seriously recommend reading the metabolic typing diet by William Wolcott and Trisha Fahey, we sell it here at the Evolution Organics shop. It’s a very logical and enlightening way of looking simply at what we require as individuals for optimal health to achieve ideal weight, enjoy high energy and robust health and prevent and reverse disease.

Life style changes are also very important in supporting the optimal effects from high quality organic and natural supplementation, these changes might include going to bed early (10pm – 6am seems to be for many an optimal cycle), drinking enough fresh clean water to stay optimally hydrated daily and regular exercise.

If your life style is not as healthy as it could be and your diet has perhaps more processed food than it should then high quality organic supplements will help to level the playing field. These less than optimal lifestyle choices may mean that you will only be getting part of the benefit of the high quality organic supplements that you buy.

Pressure on the gut from toxins in foods, refined carbohydrates and sugars, bad quality fats and gut inflammation may mean you will be challenged to absorb nutrients effectively. Vitamins and minerals are consumed in physiological processes to help balance against the less than optimal foods and life style choices and the effect of the supplements will be diminished. We use vital vitamins and minerals in attack and defend rather than repair and recovery!

My Top 3 key supplements for optimal health 

Omega 3, Krill Oil or Fish Oil 

An animal based oil such as a fish or krill oil can have a staggering number of benefits, many of which are associated to the major systems and functions of our bodies.

Other plant based oils such as flax and hemp oils are without doubt excellent and have their own unique benefits. The power of plant oils should not be underestimated and brands such as Panaseeda and Pukka offer a wide variety of the highest quality oils. For vegans and vegetarians these oils can offer essential fatty acids that may not be prevalent in the diet.

Fish oil contains two omega-3s that are particularly important: EPA and DHA. The body can use EPA and or DHA to help reduce inflammation and improve retina function among many other benefits listed above. The apparent difficulty is that to get the true benefit of these omega fats we would need to eat a lot of fish daily and this is when supplements are so beneficial.

Krill might have the edge over fish oils for one key reason. Krill are at the correct end of the food chain, they are not eating larger fish that may have absorbed heavy metals or other toxins. It’s worth remembering that when fish oils are well sourced, they will be tested for heavy metals and other contaminants so completely safe and very beneficial.

It’s because of the power of healthy oils optimizing your health that I would recommend marine oil or plant based oil as one of your top 3 supplements for foundational optimal health.

Probiotics for optimal gut health

A high quality probiotic goes into my top 3 essential supplements as gut health is foundational to optimal health. However it’s only going to be effective if you have a healthy enough gut environment for the bacteria to flourish in and this goes back to having a good basic diet and life style. One essential key to optimising your gut health and encouraging good bacteria is cutting out or limiting refined sugar.

Healthy gut bacteria can of course be obtained from foods such as organic goat’s milk yogurt (my favourite source) and also from other fermented food sources such as kefir, miso, and sauerkrauts.

Gut flora or bacteria consist of microorganisms that live in the digestive tract. Did you know that the human body consists of about 100 trillion cells and caries more than 10 times as many microorganisms in the intestines?! The metabolic activities carried out by these little guys are numerous and in a sense resemble the work of an organ and have very wide ranging effects and benefits.

Producing vitamins such as biotin, Vitamin K and Vitamin B12So what does all this mean? Well, it’s safe to assume that we will all benefit from making sure we look after our guts and work on that balance of good to bad bacteria. After all, if we get out of balance for a sustained period of time painful gas, bloating and toxicity might be the least of our worries. Long term gut imbalance can lead to serious disease in part as a result of both vitamin and mineral deficiencies and long term toxicity.   

A protein supplement or an antioxidant

Choosing the last of the 3 key supplements for optimal health is difficult as I am torn between suggesting a powerful antioxidant and a high quality protein. I guess this is where it comes down to personal preference, life style and how well you do with your diet.

If you are eating for your metabolic type and so getting the correct balance of protein at every meal I would suggest that your number 3 top supplement should be a high quality antioxidant such as Altrient Liposomal Vitamin C. There are many different high quality antioxidants and they have different benefits such as

  • Protect your bodies DNA
  • Protect the health of your heart
  • Save your site and build the health of our eyes
  • Vibrant skin health
  • Anti ageing

Antioxidants and the profound benefits that they can have for our health is recognised the world over.  It’s because an antioxidant supplements work to improve the health of the whole body in a foundational way potentially reducing DNA damage in all cells that I would place antioxidant in my top 3 essential supplements.

Over the last 15 years of looking at peoples diets I have come to see that the majority of people under eat protein, usually by a staggering margin. It’s when these people increase their protein consumption and reduce their carbohydrate intake that they experience higher levels of health and optimize their weight.

Proteins are made up of amino acids and it’s these building blocks that our bodies critically need for growth and repair. Ensuring that you’re getting an appropriate amount of protein every day is critical to your overall health and wellbeing particularly if you exercise on a regular basis or perhaps if you are vegan or vegetarian. It’s this foundational necessity for protein as a basic building block for optimal health and wellness and the fact protein is often lacking in peoples diets that for me puts protein in my top 3 essential supplements.

It’s impossible for me to tell you how much protein you need as it varies from person to person and it’s for this reason that you need to know your metabolic type. Evolution Organics sells a wide range of the highest quality Organic and natural protein supplements that will be highly effective in ensuring a base of amino acids in your body to fulfil your needs.

Conclusion

My 3 top supplements for optimal health are a high quality marine or plant based oil, a probiotic and either a protein or a powerful antioxidant depending on your diet. These are the supplemental foundations from which you can build a powerful level of health and wellbeing as they all work to restore the body at a deeper level.