If it wasn’t you who has said it, you have definitely heard it before, “I don’t take supplements because I get everything I need through my diet”. Whenever I hear this I shake my head and ask can you think of the last time there were just 3 consecutive days in a row you got the recommended amount of fiber in your diet? Not including any necessary vitamins or minerals, but just fiber, and do you have any way of confirming that, because most people don’t know what they are looking at when reading a label.

Although no study has EVER confirmed we get all the vitamins and minerals we need through food, some still believe they have all they need in their diet when clearly looking at them, their physique, skin, and body composition could definitely be improved in a few areas. If you consider yourself one of those individuals, I HIGHLY encourage you to ask yourself this: do you strive to achieve your maximum level of nutrition or standard level of nutrition? Sure our hair isn’t falling out and we don’t have a grayish tint to our skin, so we assume we are doing just fine. But the real question is, if you feel you ARE getting everything you need through food, what if someone proposed to you that you could reach an even higher level of health and performance by taking supplements? Wouldn’t you want to try it? I find that many turn down the opportunity of taking supplements without any true reason to back it up, but they will take their prescription drugs the doctor gave them religiously. Funny how there have been many studies of people suffering or even dying from taking prescription drugs, but not one study has proven someone dying from taking supplements. Consider this; zoo animals are given extra vitamin supplements to increase their changes of survival in an environment that is not ideal for them…doesn’t that sound like us in this environment WE live in?? If zoo animals are given supplements and they don’t have processed food, fast food, junk food, trans fats in their diets, why wouldn’t we take them?

Our society seemed to create standards that make the weak, tired, and overweight look acceptable and normal, but it’s time we rely on standards that make the strong, lean, and energetic look “the norm”, and anything less than that unacceptable.

Why take the chance and assume you are getting all your nutrients in the food you eat? You could calculate the nutrition breakdown of food all you wanted, but many times we forget to take into account where our food came from, how it was prepared, how well we digested it, and how nutrient rich was the soil upon which our food was grown? Was the soil eroded and stripped of necessary elements? If magnesium wasn’t in the soil, why would it be in the food?

On another note, we need to consider our society today and our crutch for convenience foods, and the amount of processing certain foods undergo to make it what it is when we find it on the shelf. The more a food is processed and stripped away from it’s original state, the less nutrients that particular food will contain once it gets to your mouth. With millions of mouths to feed in America and the greed of those in charge of our food supply who are more concerned with making another dollar rather than the health of their fellow Americans, our food supply is becoming less and less reliable, it is time to take matters into our own hands.

Where do you start??

Start with a good quality vitamin enzyme complex and mineral trace element complex. I order my vitamins from a reputable company online that tailors my vitamins specifically for my needs and goal and sends it within 48 hours. The website to learn more and take a health survey to see what your needs are go to operationfitnessvitamins.com. Fill out the free survey and don’t forget to put in “Kristen” as the promocode upon checkout for a 5% discount.

In addition to a complete multivitamin, add 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid in powder form (which is vitamin C) to a whey protein isolate shake before and after your training with 1-2 tablespoons of a rich Omega 3 oil such as Flax or Udo’s oil. Add 400 IU of Vitamin E , and 1 teaspoon of L-Glutamine pre and post workout. This is my workout “Elixer” that will get you started to see not only an increase in your energy, but supply your body with the the supplies it needs to perform at an optimal level. Think of your body as a gas tank running on half a tank. You can function and get around, but you could be performing at an even higher level you didn’t realize by topping up your gas tank with the necessary supplements. This is a good basis and from there you can additionally supplement your diet with various antioxidants, minerals, and supplements depending on your needs and your goals. Timing is everything, the best time to take supplements is before and after your workouts to best maximize absorption. Remember, it is only a matter of time until you crash in the gym if you are not supplementing your workouts with proper nutrition, and pre/post workout shakes are the best way to maximize your results and enhance the way you look and feel.

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For additional informaiton or personalized nutrition coaching, please contact Kristen Bell, Registered Dietitian at www.kristenbellrd.com or 310-525-9570.