Are You Taking Too Many Supplements? When Does It All Become Just Too Much..._062
Are You Taking Too Many Supplements? When Does It All Become Too Much?
There are SO many options for supplements these days. Take this one in the morning, this one mid-morning, another two at lunch, 5 at dinner time….it's exhausting. I get many messages from people asking what can I add? Someone asked me a question out of left field the other day. What is the limit on supplements, when is enough, enough? And when I received this message I thought “wow someone gets it!” There's definitely a threshold on when it is too much and I wanted to touch upon that today.
There are so many products these days......
Collagen
Green Juice
Mushrooms
Vitamins
Minerals
Everything is out there! You can absolutely get overwhelmed and bombarded. Not to mention the gobs of money you can spend on all of this stuff. And to be honest, half of the time it probably comes out in your pee or doesn’t do anything whatsoever. Recently I heard that pee has become a very expensive thing that we flush down the toilet. Everybody is just peeing out the dollars that they are spending on all of the supplements that they are taking. Your body just doesn’t have the capacity to absorb it all in the time period that you give it. I really couldn't agree more.
I want to dive in on all things supplements and also want to say that I am NOT opposed to supplements and I do take them. They are amazing and have helped me so much. They have helped me get through my day and made me a happier & more wholesome person. I absolutely feel a difference from when I don’t take them vs when I do take them. But it did take me a while to get to this point. I cannot tell you how many bottles of unopened supplements I still have to this day. I used to be that supplement junkie, if it looked good and someone was talking about it then I would buy it.
If you can’t tell if something is helping you, stop taking everything and re-introduce them one at a time. It's very similar to an elimination diet. Give your body a break, let it reset, and then introduce it back into your system. Then you can see if it’s making a difference, positive or negative. So to help all of you bypass that stage in life, I am going to lay out the steps that I want you to take to narrow down your supplement use
1st Step: Make an Inventory of all of the Natural Supplements That You Are Taking
We need to start by listing what you are currently taking. Make a list of every supplement that you take AND make a note if you truly notice a difference when you take them vs when you don’t take them. If you were to say “Dani, I really feel a difference when I take my probiotic vs when I don't take it.” Then that is FINE, if you feel a difference, then great!
For example: If you are taking a probiotic, a b complex, zinc, d-3, digestive enzymes, vitamin c and everything at once, you might not know if any of them are doing anything to help. I would go out on a limb and say all of it isn’t absorbing into your system. Our bodies are not designed to absorb the amount of vitamins and minerals that we take in supplement form all at once. PLUS there are certain vitamins and minerals that will fight for the bodies attention more strongly than another vitamin. And that will actually negate the other vitamins or mineral’s effect on you.
Another Example: Calcium and Magnesium. Many people take calcium to help with bone density and strength. Which is great. BUT if you do not take calcium with other minerals that also help bone density, then your calcium ratio is going to get thrown off and you may end up with weaker bones rather than stronger ones. This is why they advise you to take calcium with magnesium. On the flip side of this, they also tell you that some of your daily magnesium should be taken separately from calcium because the calcium is a little bit stronger and more of it will absorb into your body. But you need both to absorb the calcium. Are you still with me or did you totally zone out? This is complicated and this is a science, that is why it is so easy to just totally overdo it.
2nd Step: Give your Body a 2 Week Reset and Let It Tell You What it Needs (Use the Food Freedom Journal!)
I find that people that are struggling with their health and want to feel better so badly often reach for that next supplement so quickly because they think it's going to be their magic pill. I was 100% one of these people. I just wanted to feel better. The truth is that the answer is inside of you. I don't want to get all woo woo on you but it really is. This is why a lot of times we need to stop taking things, let our bodies rest, and let it talk to us and tell us what the heck it needs.
Try to dig deep and get in tune with your body. Even with my Intuitive eating and Food freedom journey, it wasn't until I gave my body the trust that it deserved from me. I know this sounds crazy because it seems like many different parts of your body are talking to you, but we do have different parts of our brain:
Logical Brain
Emotional Brain
Gut-Brain
Each of these brains has different voices that are talking to us. A lot of times we get so busy wanting to find relief so badly that we drown out that voice and believe that we can think our way through this. Whether that's through another supplement, seeing another doctor, or a holistic healer. When truthfully if you were to just silence yourself and give yourself some time, the answers will come to you.
This is why I created the Food Freedom Journal (it is completely free, go download it!) It gives you the ability to get into your thoughts and connect with them while trying to figure out what is going on. Truthfully you may need some of those supplements. A lot of times I see people who do need a good probiotic or digestive enzyme. But you need a methodology. Work with someone that can help you come up with that program. That's the only way you are going to get it right. If you are just buying things left and right and throwing them into your lifestyle here and there it is not going to work. If you are not consistent then you are just throwing your money away. I hate to break that to you but I’d hate for you to waste your hard-earned money even more.
I am the last person that wants you to throw your money at a pill and hope for the best, even if it is natural. Because truthfully I don’t think there’s much of a difference between pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals if all you do is just throw a pill at something. Yes, one is probably going to kill you and have crazy side effects. BUT unless you're getting down to the root cause of whatever it is that you might be taking your supplement for, there's not really a point to taking the natural supplement either.
Make sure to connect with yourself again
Try to quiet your mind and the voice in your head that is going 1000 miles a minute. Give yourself some grace, give yourself some peace. Go on a walk, a run, let your thoughts and tears come out. This is something that I do that helps me: I put a very emotional playlist on, go for a run, and let my tears come out. You will feel SO much better afterward. Yeah you might be embarrassed but WHO REALLY CARES? Everyone gets emotional and you’ll feel so much better that you won't even think about who sees you.
This will give you the time and space to connect with yourself again. Let’s think about how often we connect with our truth and our true selves. We need to allow all the feelings to come up. So often we don’t want to deal or feel and we keep pushing it down until the lid explodes off of us. We end up exploding at our significant other, our children, or even our animals. This could have all been prevented by just allowing those emotions to come through. This can be done by yourself, quiet your mind and use the food freedom journal. It may say “food freedom” but it can help you work through your emotions as well (even if it’s not related to food.)
You need the time and space to take a step back and analyze what thoughts were running through your head. You may say “wow was I really thinking this right now?” and it may be something that you would never say out loud but you were thinking it. You need to dig deep because some of the thoughts you have about yourself you know that you would NEVER say about your friend or spouse. But every day you are constantly saying them to yourself. Sometimes we don't even realize this until we sit with our thoughts.
This journal is meant to calm that quiet hamster wheel of a brain that we can have at times. And to help sift through all of your thoughts. You don’t have to do anything with them, you don’t have to act just the act of acknowledging them is so powerful.
You may be thinking wow this took a weird turn because first we were talking about supplements now we are talking about calming the mind. BUT it is so true that once you get to know yourself, know your body, and listen to your body, it's so much easier to go through life and figure out what your body needs. To figure out what support it needs such as:
Supplements
Exercise
Wholesome foods
Therapy
Your body will tell you what it needs. Like I said, I used to be the BIGGEST supplement junkie, and I have drastically pulled back. Try by giving your body 2 weeks and then go from there. Truly try to connect with yourself in those 2 weeks and you will notice how in-tune you are with your body and what it’s trying to tell you that it needs.
3rd Step: Reintroduce Natural Supplements One At A Time
If you cannot tell if something is helping you, stop taking everything and re-introduce them one at a time. It's very similar to an elimination diet. Give your body a break, let it reset, and then introduce it back into your system. Then you can see if it’s making a difference, positive or negative.
The Natural Supplements That I Take
The only things I take are probiotics, digestive enzymes (when I feel I need them), magnesium (my favorite supplement), some essential oils to calm my brain, collagen in my coffee. I recently brought chaga, lion's mane, and reishi into my life. I also took my time with adding these supplements into my daily routine, I didn’t just throw them all into my body at once.
A lot of the supplements out there are garbage. It’s so sad because we spend so much money on supplements and half of the things that are out on the market probably do not even contain what is on the bottle. This is a nasty part of the industry that I hate talking about but some companies are trying to dupe people that are just trying to get healthy.
We have to be EXTRA careful with supplements because if they aren’t pure quality ingredients they could do SO MUCH more harm than good. They can just muck up your digestive system with tablets and capsules. If you aren't getting high-quality stuff it will just gum up and sit in your gut causing you more problems.
After the 2 week break, introduce one at a time and see how you feel. Take inventory and see if it makes a difference or not. If you notice your pee changing color, you might just be peeing it all out. DISCLAIMER: If you are taking a B Complex your pee will turn yellow that’s just what happens.
ANYTHING CAN BE OVERDONE
Whether it’s healthy or not it can be overdone. You have to have moderation, you have to listen to your body, and you have to know what it needs. If you are not functioning how a normal healthy person should be functioning then you are overdoing it. Even if you think that number on the scale should be something specific but your tired and/or you don’t have regular periods, then something is wrong. Just because that number on the scale is where you want it to be does not mean you are a healthy person. That does not dictate your value, worth, or the amount of love you should receive. Healthy people glow, they are vibrant, they are energetic, they don’t care what the hell the number on the scale is because they just feel so good and they know that their body is at the optimal level that it should be at.
Listen to the podcast or read this a couple of times if you need a refresher. Take an inventory and once you do, go to instagram and shoot me a DM @detoxingwithdani. Tell me what you are taking and if it’s working. And if you have ANY questions on what you should or shouldn’t be taking send me a DM as well I’d be happy to help. DISCLAIMER: This is not talking about any medications that your doctor has prescribed to you! Just remember that before you start taking supplements out. I truly hope these steps help you eliminate some supplements that aren’t giving you any benefits. Share this with a supplement junkie that you know!
Today we are talking about supplements, and when it all just becomes too much! When is enough enough and how do you even know they are working…
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Note: The opinions and advice from Dani or offered from The Detoxing with Dani Podcast or any of it's guests are not meant to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease. Please consult your doctor first.