September 18, 2025 • 27 mins
Today, Chris explores how to make informed decisions about supplements by following a clear framework for determining if they're right for you. This practical guide helps navigate the confusing world of supplementation by asking key questions about necessity, effectiveness, and safety.
You’ll learn:
- Why whole foods should always be your foundation
- How restricted diets (vegan, dairy-free, fasting) change supplement needs
- The importance of legality and third-party testing (NSF Certified, Informed Choice)
- How to evaluate if a supplement is truly effective and necessary
- The role of genetics in determining supplement needs
- Why cost vs. food quality matters more than you think
- How to test and track results to prove if supplements work
👉 Listen in before you add another pill to your routine.
See the Decision Tree infographic here: www.theenduranceedge.com/how-to-choose-the-right-supplements
🥗💪🏃♀️ The 28-Day Nutrition Gut Reset is designed for active people and athletes who want better digestion, steadier energy, and stronger recovery heading into the new year. You’ll get expert guidance, simple structure, and live support three times per week. We start January 1st. Enrollment is limited and closes January 5th. Learn more at theenduranceedge.com/reset.
🎧 Thanks for tuning in to the Find Your Edge Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, subscribe, and leave us a review — it helps more athletes like you find the show. 💪✨
📚 Download our free resources:
- 🥗 Guide to High Performance Healthy Eating
- 🏊♀️ 6 Steps to Triathlon Success: Free Guide
- 💧 Hydration Guide for Athletes
- 🏃♂️ Runner's Fueling & Hydration Cheat Sheet
🌐 Find us here: TheEnduranceEdge.com
🏆 Race with us: Humans of Steel Olympic & Sprint Triathlon at Harris Lake, NC
💊 Purchase Safe Supplements here (you'll be prompted to create an account)
⭐ Explore our Favorites Things & Partners
📲 Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chris (01:01):
Hey, y'all, and welcome back to the Find your Edge
podcast.
I am your host, kris Newport,and today is a fun one.
I mean, when is it not a funone?
But, honestly, this is allabout supplements Should you
take them, why and more?
And this was inspired by ourLongevity Nutrition Coaching
Group.
(01:21):
In one of our accountabilitycalls, somebody asked about some
specific products that they'restarting to see in their
Instagram feed or their socialmedia feeds, and it's kind of
like well, what do you thinkabout that?
So I figured this was a goodopportunity to educate folks on
whether you should take asupplement and what are some of
the questions that you need toask yourself.
(01:42):
So if you're watching this onYouTube, you'll be able to see
the decision tree, and if you'reonly listening to it, it will
be in the show notes and you canlink over to our blog post,
which will have this in there aswell, but I'm going to walk you
through this, so hopefully itwill make sense whether you're
listening or watching.
So, number one big shocker onthis question, y'all, are you
(02:03):
eating a well-balanced diet?
So a diet that includes avariety of minimally processed
whole foods provides many of thenutrients your body needs, in
other words, the nutrition thatyou get from real food is better
recognized, if you will, byyour body in order to be able to
(02:23):
extract the nutrition that youneed.
So if you're not eating awell-balanced diet, or if, for
some reason, you cannot eat awell-balanced diet, then
certainly there may be a greaterneed for supplementing or for
making some tweaks to your dietso we could go down the rabbit
hole of our food system and thenutrient balance of our soil,
(02:49):
and certainly those arequestions that we should be
asking ourselves.
Where is your food coming from?
But for the purposes of thispodcast, let's just think of are
you getting enough protein?
Are you hitting your fruits andvegetables?
And are you tracking what'sgoing on inside your body with a
regular physical and gettingyour labs to actually see what
is your nutritional status?
(03:10):
Okay, also, consider if you'reeating some sort of a restricted
diet.
Then this may be a greater needfor getting some type of
supplement.
Let me give you some examples.
If you are vegan, you'redefinitely going to be missing
out on some crucial nutrientsthings like zinc, things like
(03:31):
B12, etc.
If you are eliminating anytypes of food groups whether you
have an allergy or somethinglike celiac disease.
You may be missing out on a fewnutrients as well.
If there is no dairy in yourdiet, are you getting enough
vitamin D and other sources, forexample?
So if you are eliminatinganything, then certainly the
(03:54):
diet could potentially use someadditional balancing.
Another example is if you're onan intermittent fasting diet Now
I know that that's kind of abroad term.
Anytime I say intermittentfasting, it's kind of like
asking somebody if they wearshoes, like okay, well, are
these high heel shoes, are theserunning shoes, are these hiking
(04:15):
shoes?
Like, what are we doing withthese types of shoes?
So intermittent fasting is nodifferent in my mind in terms of
the number of flavors that youcould have.
If you're thinking ofintermittent fasting during
Ramadan, that's very differentthan if you did a four-hour
eating window during the day oran eight-hour eating window.
So it all depends on what yourwindow looks like.
Are you doing alternate dayfasting?
(04:37):
Are you doing something thatyou just found on the internet
and probably is not potentiallynot well-research researched?
We do have some separatepodcasts specifically on
intermittent fasting if you wantto listen to those.
But the point being is that ifyou are on a more restricted
dietary plan like intermittentfasting, especially if you're
(04:59):
doing something like alternateday fasting, then the need for a
better balanced diet, or Ishould say better balanced
nutrient inclusion, is going tobe greater.
So those are the things that wewant to consider when it comes
to eating food versus consumingsupplements.
All right.
(05:19):
Second one to think about andmaybe you even think about this
first, honestly is is it legal?
So if the product is free ofsubstances banned by either your
particular sport and that'sreally mostly relevant if you're
in the NCAA or if you're aprofessional athlete, so there's
some great resources.
Ncaaorg or WADA or WorldAnti-Doping Association also has
(05:45):
a list of banned substances forparticular sports.
But even if you're notcompeting at the collegiate or
professional level, why wouldyou want to have banned
substances in your product?
So if it's not legal, don'ttake it.
That's kind of a duh.
But if it is legal, thencertainly it could be something
(06:09):
that to go into your decisionAll right.
Next one up, and this is relatedto its legality Is it third
party tested?
So, first of all, let'sconsider this.
Y'all, you and me, we're goingto go into business together.
We are going to start asupplement company tomorrow.
We're going to take some jars,slap some cool labels on it and
(06:30):
we're going to fill it with abunch of different powders and
then say here you go Instagramworld or here you go world,
let's see what you think of this.
That's literally what it takesto be able to put out a
supplement.
It is not nearly as regularouslytested as something like a food
product, so companies can gothe extra step and get their
(06:55):
products certified or tested bya third party company.
The two companies or the twocertifications that I like to
see are things like NSFcertification or informed choice
, so those are more rigoroustesting protocols to see.
Is the product actually what itsays it is?
(07:18):
So if it has one gram ofvitamin C, does it actually have
one gram of vitamin C, forexample?
And then also, does it have anybanned substances from it?
So up to 15% of supplementstested have had some sort of
product like a drug, becauseperhaps they're created on the
(07:39):
same lines as actualpharmaceutical drugs.
Kind of scary when you thinkabout it.
So if it's third-party tested,you wanna sort by that
certification.
So anytime, I'm looking forproducts for our clients
oftentimes, and we useFullscript, which is a company
(08:00):
that holds a lot of professionalsupplement brands, and then
there's a filtering process, andthat's one of the first things
that I'm doing is sorting it byNSF certified and there's some
other certifications that we usefor the professional lines of
supplements to be able todetermine am I willing to give
this to a client?
Because if I'm willing to giveit to a client, then I should
(08:21):
also be willing to give it tosomebody in my family.
That's how important I findthat this is.
So if it is not tested by somesort of a third-party company, I
would suggest not taking it.
So you are putting your healthat too high of a risk if it's
not tested.
So make sure to look for thosespecific labels.
(08:45):
Okay, the next couple are themore interesting ones.
Is it effective?
And then is it necessary?
So, first and foremost, is iteffective?
Is there evidence that theproduct does what it claims to
do?
That also leads me back to whatare the supplements that you're
(09:08):
taking, and a few questions Ihave for you regarding that one,
do you know what it is and howmuch it is?
So I just use this case ofvitamin C.
If you say I take vitamin C,then I'm going to ask you how
much, and then some people arelike, uh, I don't know, let me
(09:31):
go get the bottle.
You know it's the brand withthe blue label.
All of that sort of meansnothing to me, so I want to know
exactly what you're taking fromthe brand and the actual amount
.
Other things that I see that arecommonly taken is proprietary
blends.
Now I get it for thesecompanies that want to have,
(09:54):
want to sort of corner themarket.
When they create a proprietaryblend it's harder to copy
because I just told you you andI are going into business
together.
We're creating a supplementline, so that's how companies
try to prevent other companiesfrom copying their product.
If they are leaving out theactual amount that's on the
bottle, it's harder to replicatesomewhere else.
(10:18):
But when you look into theevidence, that's typically
what's being studied is how muchare you actually consuming?
Sometimes the research willlook at the amount per kilogram
of body weight.
Sometimes they will look at aspecific amount that's given
irregardless of gender or bodyweight, and then they're looking
(10:42):
at that.
So if it's not telling me whatis actually in the product in
the amounts that I can see inthe evidence, I certainly don't
want to take it, because,especially with the products
that have just laundry lists ofthings and then it's like 0.5
milligrams.
It's like, well, that's hardlyeven effective just in and of
(11:03):
itself.
So when you look at a label andyou see that it has a laundry
list of things and it says a lotof proprietary blends, I would
get very skeptical, if it's eveneffective, which begs the
question same kind of thing thatI was just asking you what are
you taking Exactly?
How much are you taking it?
(11:24):
When are you taking it?
That's another important one.
And then, most importantly, whyare you taking it?
So many people are like, oh well, I heard that this is helpful.
Or they're just walking alongthe grocery store shelves and
they're like, oh, that lookslike a pretty label and I think
(11:44):
I'm supposed to take an omega-3or a CoQ10 or whatever.
And then they just grab it andthrow it in their cart and then
they start taking it withoutknowing whether it's third-party
testing, without even knowingwhy they're taking it, whether
it's effective and in the dosethat is appropriate.
Is it actually evidence-basedand is it actually effective at
(12:05):
that particular dose?
If you have questions, this issomething that we, as sports
dieticians, totally nerd out on.
Like this is one of my favoritethings is actually looking at
what is the effective dose forthe proposed need or for the
(12:27):
proposed claim.
Are you taking X amount for aperformance gain?
Are you taking this becauseyour B12 is low?
Are you taking this becausethere's some other sort of
nutritional imbalance or tryingto prevent something?
So what exactly is it thatyou're taking it for, and is
(12:49):
there enough evidence behind itto support the opportunity to
take it and then that goes alongwith?
Is it actually necessary?
So this kind of ties into acouple of different things.
What is the cost that you arewilling to spend on supplements
(13:11):
on a regular basis, whether itbe that you buy your supplements
on a quarterly basis or whetheryou buy them on a monthly basis
, because I know there's a lotof different products, certainly
products that we recommend,like, for example, magnesium.
Magnesium is an easy one, justbecause we have so many people
to take it.
They are heavy sweaterstypically and there are some
(13:34):
genetic links that point totheir necessity, and it's
generally relatively benign andit's certainly effective.
So, using magnesium as anexample, you can buy them in
these massive bottles of like360 capsules.
So if you know that that'sgoing to last you for six months
(13:57):
, or if you're taking one a dayroughly a year, great.
Then factor that in to what youare willing to spend on your
supplements.
No-transcript what quantity ofsupplements.
(14:30):
So this particular gentleman wassharing that he takes 111 pills
per day.
I obviously find that that isan extreme case.
And to what end is my questionTo you at least?
Would you rather consume a pillor would you rather have food?
(14:50):
What is the value that ties into what is important to you?
So cost can be a big thing.
If you're doing 111 pills perday, you're probably spending at
least a dollar per pill, if notmore, because certain
supplements obviously are muchmore expensive than others.
For example, vitamin C cheap.
(15:11):
You can generally find thatpretty easily, pretty cheaply,
maybe even less than a cent perpill, depending on what the
actual dose is.
And then looking at somethinglike CoQ10, a very effectively
absorbed version of CoQ10, whichis very specific antioxidant
(15:33):
that ties into heart health andcan be depleted if you're on
things like statins.
And just quick medicaldisclaimer this is just for
educational purposes, not formedical advice, but that would
be a reason for someone to takeadditional CoQ10 if they're on
some sort of statin that's goingto deplete that.
Ubiquinol is a verywell-absorbed version and
(15:56):
typically the dose is somewherebetween 100 to 200 milligrams
per day.
The cost of ubiquinol is moreexpensive than certainly the
example that I just gave you forvitamin C Other things that
might be more expensive.
Glutathione is one that can bemore expensive.
Your omega-3s might be moreexpensive.
(16:16):
Some of your single nutrientsare less expensive.
So it's all in, what is it worthto you and how much are you
willing to spend on yoursupplements?
And then I would question youwould you be willing to spend
more on food than you would onsupplements if you were going to
(16:39):
get a higher quality of food?
Who?
You know how he treats hisanimals and you purchase his
grass-fed beef and hisfarm-raised eggs and chickens
and his beautiful bok choy thathe is growing on his land, and
(17:01):
you know that they take care ofthe land and it's not
necessarily certified organic.
But you've had a conversation,you know who this person is, you
know that you can trust themand you can know that they're
taking care of the earth.
Is it better for you to spendmore money on something like
that, knowing that you'regetting better nutrient
absorption, or do you want tospend money on, maybe, a lower
(17:23):
quality of dietary plan and onsupplements, and I can't answer
that for you.
That's something that you needto determine.
On supplements, and I can'tanswer that for you.
That's something that you needto determine.
Okay, another one that's notnecessarily on this decision
tree but certainly comes intoplay with the lens that we like
to use in our practice, thatbeing the genetic lens.
(17:46):
It's one of our favorite thingsthat we like to do in our
Longevity Nutrition CoachingProgram is look at your genes
and basically give you thetextbook to seeing what
combination of your genes ismore important to be taking or
avoiding in some cases, certainsupplements.
(18:06):
So let me give you someexamples.
Any of our folks that needadditional support with what's
called methylation so it's kindof like that process, that sort
of relay runner of creating newDNA some of us need some
additional support in thatprocess.
So there are specific nutrientsthat are involved in
methylation, in particular,things like B12 and things like
(18:31):
folate.
But we want to make sure we'renot getting them from the things
like the store shelf folic acid, which is the synthetic version
, versus something like amethylated folate, which is
going to be much more optimallyabsorbed.
Similar with B12, making surewe're getting a methylated
version of B12, rather thansomething that you would get off
(18:54):
the regular store shelf, whichis typically cyanocobalamin,
which is very stable and it'saffordable for companies, but
also it's from a molecule ofcyanide and, in my opinion, we
don't need any of that.
So may as well get eithermethylated cobalamin or
something like anadenosylcobalamin.
Those are some of the otheroptions when it comes to getting
(19:16):
appropriate supplementationbased on your genetics.
Other things that we look at asit relates to genetics is how
are you at absorbing vitamin D?
How are you absorbing vitamin C?
How are you at absorbing, again, the ones that I just mentioned
, b12 and folate, which tiesinto also methylation.
(19:36):
What is your propensity forinflammation?
What is your propensity foroxidative stress?
What is your propensity fordetoxification?
So there are certainsupplements that are ideal for
certain situations, inparticular genetic SNPs, that
are ideal for certain situations, in particular genetic SNPs,
and there are certain situationswhere certain things are not
(19:57):
ideal.
One of the things that's comingto mind is anyone with a
particular comped genetic SNPmay do well with things like
caffeine and things likequercetin and EGCG, which we
think of with green tea, andanother genetic snip does really
poorly with those particularsubstances.
(20:19):
So those are the things that wekeep in mind when it comes to a
supplement, whether it beanything from a multivitamin, to
single nutrients, to to evenherbal things.
Something else I want you to beaware of, and perhaps caution
you with, is overdoing it oncertain things.
(20:41):
Now, yes, there are somewater-soluble vitamins, and if
you don't use a lot of it, thenyou're going to excrete it via
something like your urine oryour stool.
There are fat-soluble vitaminsthat can be more problematic.
Those are your AED and Ks andmore so specifically, I think of
E and A as the more problematicones.
(21:03):
Yes, you can have vitamin Dtoxicity.
Any of those can be toxic, butfrom specific nutrients that you
get from supplements.
There are different types ofthose nutrients.
So I'll give you an examplevitamin E or tocopherols.
There are different types ofthem and typically a supplement
is just going to have one typeof them rather than having the
(21:26):
whole selection of differenttypes of vitamin E, and that is
the better way to go so thatyou're not overdoing it on one
particular type of, inparticular, fat-soluble vitamin.
So that's one tip there, andthen overdoing it from, let's
say, you're doing a multivitaminand you're also doing something
(21:47):
like an AG1 or a Nutrafol.
I am not supported by any ofthose, but those are common ones
that I hear from folks that ohyeah, you know, I saw this
inrafol.
I am not supported by any ofthose, but those are common ones
that I hear from folks that ohyeah, you know, I saw this in a
commercial, I saw this inInstagram, I saw this on my
favorite podcast of like.
I should be taking this rightand not everybody.
Again, not everybody should betaking the same thing that's
based on your goals, based onyour needs, based on if there's
(22:10):
any nutrient imbalances, basedon if there's any other medical
conditions or medications orthings that you're trying to
achieve.
So some of the things that wedon't consider are are you
getting something from, say?
I'll use the case of B vitamins?
Generally speaking, it'sprobably not going to be that
big of a deal, but consider thatyou might have some in your
(22:31):
multi.
You might also have someone insomething, in some sort of like
greens product maybe, that youtake, and then you also get it
from your energy drink.
And then we start to wonder whywe're having particular issues,
especially when it comes tosynthetic versions of those may
create certain symptoms that arenot ideal, and you don't even
(22:52):
know it because you're gettingit from so many different angles
.
So overdoing it in oneparticular bucket is not a great
thing.
And then also considering thatthere might be crossover.
So if you're getting atherapeutic dose from one
particular supplement and thenyou're also adding to it with
(23:12):
something else whether it besomething that you just buy off
the grocery store shelves orsomething that comes in another
product that is fortified in aparticular way so there can be
some potential dangerous issuesthat go on with overdoing it or
getting too much crossover fromdifferent products that you're
(23:33):
consuming.
And then the last piece I wantto mention is how do you know if
they're working?
How are you going to prove itto me that all of these things
are either effective and ornecessary.
The way that I like to do it isto test and not guess.
So, for example, if someone hasa nutrient deficiency let's say
(23:57):
they're low on B12, how are wegoing to determine whether this
particular dose and type of B12is effective?
You certainly want to test,luckily, something like B12 and
folate.
Those are relatively cheap todo.
Same thing with B12, same thingwith iron and ferritin and
those types of things.
It gets a little pricier whenyou get into some more specific
(24:19):
micronutrient testing.
The other thing that I like todo to test and not guess whether
a certain supplement strategyand nutrition strategy and
lifestyle strategy are allworking is gut testing and
micronutrient testing.
So, for example, if you'redoing gut testing and we put you
on a particular strategy of,let's say, prebiotics or
butyrate or a certain type ofprobiotic, because they're all
(24:43):
strain specific and dosespecific, rather than just being
like, oh well, I saw this on myInstagram feed so I figured I
would take it and again gothrough that decision tree Is it
legal, is it third-party tested, is it effective, is it
necessary?
And then what's your tippingpoint for cost and could you get
(25:04):
this from a well-balanced diet?
Anyhow, if you're looking atthings like gut testing and then
we put you on a specificstrategy or we look at
micronutrient testing to correctsome of those things, then how
are we going to know if that'sworking?
You retest and that's one ofthose things that I really like
(25:24):
to push, especially in ourlongevity nutrition coaching
program, is keeping up with yourown personal trends.
Is keeping up with your ownpersonal trends, because so many
times we're only looking atjust a little tiny snapshot of
what's happening with you inthis moment when it comes to
your laboratory results, what'sgoing on over a longer period of
(25:45):
time, and then also takingnotes of things like I started
Ironman training during thistime.
I stopped Ironman trainingduring this time.
I had a death in the family andso was under more stress, or I
wasn't sleeping, I had a move, Iwas in a house with a lot of
mold, I was in a job that I wasunhappy in.
There's so many differentthings that can come into play
(26:09):
as it relates to what isactually going on inside of you.
So definitely keep track of yourlabs, supplement wisely
according to what youspecifically need, if it's
effective, if it's necessary andalso if your genetics need it.
So I'm curious what are some ofthe supplements that maybe you
(26:31):
don't know anything about butyou're taking anyway?
Or, if you go through yoursupplement drawer and actually
determine what is the amountthat I'm taking, is this
something that's effective?
Shoot me a DM Head over toInstagram at theenduranceedgecom
.
I'm so curious.
What is it that you're taking?
What is it that maybe you don'teven know is effective or isn't
(26:52):
effective?
What are your questions aboutsupplements?
I want to know so that I can doany follow-up podcast episodes
for you guys.
Check you over there and I willsee you next time.
Thanks for listening.
Hey, y'all, and welcome back to the Find your Edge
podcast.
I am your host, kris Newport,and today is a fun one.
I mean, when is it not a funone?
But, honestly, this is allabout supplements Should you
take them, why and more?
And this was inspired by ourLongevity Nutrition Coaching
Group.
(01:21):
In one of our accountabilitycalls, somebody asked about some
specific products that they'restarting to see in their
Instagram feed or their socialmedia feeds, and it's kind of
like well, what do you thinkabout that?
So I figured this was a goodopportunity to educate folks on
whether you should take asupplement and what are some of
the questions that you need toask yourself.
(01:42):
So if you're watching this onYouTube, you'll be able to see
the decision tree, and if you'reonly listening to it, it will
be in the show notes and you canlink over to our blog post,
which will have this in there aswell, but I'm going to walk you
through this, so hopefully itwill make sense whether you're
listening or watching.
So, number one big shocker onthis question, y'all, are you
(02:03):
eating a well-balanced diet?
So a diet that includes avariety of minimally processed
whole foods provides many of thenutrients your body needs, in
other words, the nutrition thatyou get from real food is better
recognized, if you will, byyour body in order to be able to
(02:23):
extract the nutrition that youneed.
So if you're not eating awell-balanced diet, or if, for
some reason, you cannot eat awell-balanced diet, then
certainly there may be a greaterneed for supplementing or for
making some tweaks to your dietso we could go down the rabbit
hole of our food system and thenutrient balance of our soil,
(02:49):
and certainly those arequestions that we should be
asking ourselves.
Where is your food coming from?
But for the purposes of thispodcast, let's just think of are
you getting enough protein?
Are you hitting your fruits andvegetables?
And are you tracking what'sgoing on inside your body with a
regular physical and gettingyour labs to actually see what
is your nutritional status?
(03:10):
Okay, also, consider if you'reeating some sort of a restricted
diet.
Then this may be a greater needfor getting some type of
supplement.
Let me give you some examples.
If you are vegan, you'redefinitely going to be missing
out on some crucial nutrientsthings like zinc, things like
(03:31):
B12, etc.
If you are eliminating anytypes of food groups whether you
have an allergy or somethinglike celiac disease.
You may be missing out on a fewnutrients as well.
If there is no dairy in yourdiet, are you getting enough
vitamin D and other sources, forexample?
So if you are eliminatinganything, then certainly the
(03:54):
diet could potentially use someadditional balancing.
Another example is if you're onan intermittent fasting diet Now
I know that that's kind of abroad term.
Anytime I say intermittentfasting, it's kind of like
asking somebody if they wearshoes, like okay, well, are
these high heel shoes, are theserunning shoes, are these hiking
(04:15):
shoes?
Like, what are we doing withthese types of shoes?
So intermittent fasting is nodifferent in my mind in terms of
the number of flavors that youcould have.
If you're thinking ofintermittent fasting during
Ramadan, that's very differentthan if you did a four-hour
eating window during the day oran eight-hour eating window.
So it all depends on what yourwindow looks like.
Are you doing alternate dayfasting?
(04:37):
Are you doing something thatyou just found on the internet
and probably is not potentiallynot well-research researched?
We do have some separatepodcasts specifically on
intermittent fasting if you wantto listen to those.
But the point being is that ifyou are on a more restricted
dietary plan like intermittentfasting, especially if you're
(04:59):
doing something like alternateday fasting, then the need for a
better balanced diet, or Ishould say better balanced
nutrient inclusion, is going tobe greater.
So those are the things that wewant to consider when it comes
to eating food versus consumingsupplements.
All right.
(05:19):
Second one to think about andmaybe you even think about this
first, honestly is is it legal?
So if the product is free ofsubstances banned by either your
particular sport and that'sreally mostly relevant if you're
in the NCAA or if you're aprofessional athlete, so there's
some great resources.
Ncaaorg or WADA or WorldAnti-Doping Association also has
(05:45):
a list of banned substances forparticular sports.
But even if you're notcompeting at the collegiate or
professional level, why wouldyou want to have banned
substances in your product?
So if it's not legal, don'ttake it.
That's kind of a duh.
But if it is legal, thencertainly it could be something
(06:09):
that to go into your decisionAll right.
Next one up, and this is relatedto its legality Is it third
party tested?
So, first of all, let'sconsider this.
Y'all, you and me, we're goingto go into business together.
We are going to start asupplement company tomorrow.
We're going to take some jars,slap some cool labels on it and
(06:30):
we're going to fill it with abunch of different powders and
then say here you go Instagramworld or here you go world,
let's see what you think of this.
That's literally what it takesto be able to put out a
supplement.
It is not nearly as regularouslytested as something like a food
product, so companies can gothe extra step and get their
(06:55):
products certified or tested bya third party company.
The two companies or the twocertifications that I like to
see are things like NSFcertification or informed choice
, so those are more rigoroustesting protocols to see.
Is the product actually what itsays it is?
(07:18):
So if it has one gram ofvitamin C, does it actually have
one gram of vitamin C, forexample?
And then also, does it have anybanned substances from it?
So up to 15% of supplementstested have had some sort of
product like a drug, becauseperhaps they're created on the
(07:39):
same lines as actualpharmaceutical drugs.
Kind of scary when you thinkabout it.
So if it's third-party tested,you wanna sort by that
certification.
So anytime, I'm looking forproducts for our clients
oftentimes, and we useFullscript, which is a company
(08:00):
that holds a lot of professionalsupplement brands, and then
there's a filtering process, andthat's one of the first things
that I'm doing is sorting it byNSF certified and there's some
other certifications that we usefor the professional lines of
supplements to be able todetermine am I willing to give
this to a client?
Because if I'm willing to giveit to a client, then I should
(08:21):
also be willing to give it tosomebody in my family.
That's how important I findthat this is.
So if it is not tested by somesort of a third-party company, I
would suggest not taking it.
So you are putting your healthat too high of a risk if it's
not tested.
So make sure to look for thosespecific labels.
(08:45):
Okay, the next couple are themore interesting ones.
Is it effective?
And then is it necessary?
So, first and foremost, is iteffective?
Is there evidence that theproduct does what it claims to
do?
That also leads me back to whatare the supplements that you're
(09:08):
taking, and a few questions Ihave for you regarding that one,
do you know what it is and howmuch it is?
So I just use this case ofvitamin C.
If you say I take vitamin C,then I'm going to ask you how
much, and then some people arelike, uh, I don't know, let me
(09:31):
go get the bottle.
You know it's the brand withthe blue label.
All of that sort of meansnothing to me, so I want to know
exactly what you're taking fromthe brand and the actual amount
.
Other things that I see that arecommonly taken is proprietary
blends.
Now I get it for thesecompanies that want to have,
(09:54):
want to sort of corner themarket.
When they create a proprietaryblend it's harder to copy
because I just told you you andI are going into business
together.
We're creating a supplementline, so that's how companies
try to prevent other companiesfrom copying their product.
If they are leaving out theactual amount that's on the
bottle, it's harder to replicatesomewhere else.
(10:18):
But when you look into theevidence, that's typically
what's being studied is how muchare you actually consuming?
Sometimes the research willlook at the amount per kilogram
of body weight.
Sometimes they will look at aspecific amount that's given
irregardless of gender or bodyweight, and then they're looking
(10:42):
at that.
So if it's not telling me whatis actually in the product in
the amounts that I can see inthe evidence, I certainly don't
want to take it, because,especially with the products
that have just laundry lists ofthings and then it's like 0.5
milligrams.
It's like, well, that's hardlyeven effective just in and of
(11:03):
itself.
So when you look at a label andyou see that it has a laundry
list of things and it says a lotof proprietary blends, I would
get very skeptical, if it's eveneffective, which begs the
question same kind of thing thatI was just asking you what are
you taking Exactly?
How much are you taking it?
(11:24):
When are you taking it?
That's another important one.
And then, most importantly, whyare you taking it?
So many people are like, oh well, I heard that this is helpful.
Or they're just walking alongthe grocery store shelves and
they're like, oh, that lookslike a pretty label and I think
(11:44):
I'm supposed to take an omega-3or a CoQ10 or whatever.
And then they just grab it andthrow it in their cart and then
they start taking it withoutknowing whether it's third-party
testing, without even knowingwhy they're taking it, whether
it's effective and in the dosethat is appropriate.
Is it actually evidence-basedand is it actually effective at
(12:05):
that particular dose?
If you have questions, this issomething that we, as sports
dieticians, totally nerd out on.
Like this is one of my favoritethings is actually looking at
what is the effective dose forthe proposed need or for the
(12:27):
proposed claim.
Are you taking X amount for aperformance gain?
Are you taking this becauseyour B12 is low?
Are you taking this becausethere's some other sort of
nutritional imbalance or tryingto prevent something?
So what exactly is it thatyou're taking it for, and is
(12:49):
there enough evidence behind itto support the opportunity to
take it and then that goes alongwith?
Is it actually necessary?
So this kind of ties into acouple of different things.
What is the cost that you arewilling to spend on supplements
(13:11):
on a regular basis, whether itbe that you buy your supplements
on a quarterly basis or whetheryou buy them on a monthly basis
, because I know there's a lotof different products, certainly
products that we recommend,like, for example, magnesium.
Magnesium is an easy one, justbecause we have so many people
to take it.
They are heavy sweaterstypically and there are some
(13:34):
genetic links that point totheir necessity, and it's
generally relatively benign andit's certainly effective.
So, using magnesium as anexample, you can buy them in
these massive bottles of like360 capsules.
So if you know that that'sgoing to last you for six months
(13:57):
, or if you're taking one a dayroughly a year, great.
Then factor that in to what youare willing to spend on your
supplements.
No-transcript what quantity ofsupplements.
(14:30):
So this particular gentleman wassharing that he takes 111 pills
per day.
I obviously find that that isan extreme case.
And to what end is my questionTo you at least?
Would you rather consume a pillor would you rather have food?
(14:50):
What is the value that ties into what is important to you?
So cost can be a big thing.
If you're doing 111 pills perday, you're probably spending at
least a dollar per pill, if notmore, because certain
supplements obviously are muchmore expensive than others.
For example, vitamin C cheap.
(15:11):
You can generally find thatpretty easily, pretty cheaply,
maybe even less than a cent perpill, depending on what the
actual dose is.
And then looking at somethinglike CoQ10, a very effectively
absorbed version of CoQ10, whichis very specific antioxidant
(15:33):
that ties into heart health andcan be depleted if you're on
things like statins.
And just quick medicaldisclaimer this is just for
educational purposes, not formedical advice, but that would
be a reason for someone to takeadditional CoQ10 if they're on
some sort of statin that's goingto deplete that.
Ubiquinol is a verywell-absorbed version and
(15:56):
typically the dose is somewherebetween 100 to 200 milligrams
per day.
The cost of ubiquinol is moreexpensive than certainly the
example that I just gave you forvitamin C Other things that
might be more expensive.
Glutathione is one that can bemore expensive.
Your omega-3s might be moreexpensive.
(16:16):
Some of your single nutrientsare less expensive.
So it's all in, what is it worthto you and how much are you
willing to spend on yoursupplements?
And then I would question youwould you be willing to spend
more on food than you would onsupplements if you were going to
(16:39):
get a higher quality of food?
Who?
You know how he treats hisanimals and you purchase his
grass-fed beef and hisfarm-raised eggs and chickens
and his beautiful bok choy thathe is growing on his land, and
(17:01):
you know that they take care ofthe land and it's not
necessarily certified organic.
But you've had a conversation,you know who this person is, you
know that you can trust themand you can know that they're
taking care of the earth.
Is it better for you to spendmore money on something like
that, knowing that you'regetting better nutrient
absorption, or do you want tospend money on, maybe, a lower
(17:23):
quality of dietary plan and onsupplements, and I can't answer
that for you.
That's something that you needto determine.
On supplements, and I can'tanswer that for you.
That's something that you needto determine.
Okay, another one that's notnecessarily on this decision
tree but certainly comes intoplay with the lens that we like
to use in our practice, thatbeing the genetic lens.
(17:46):
It's one of our favorite thingsthat we like to do in our
Longevity Nutrition CoachingProgram is look at your genes
and basically give you thetextbook to seeing what
combination of your genes ismore important to be taking or
avoiding in some cases, certainsupplements.
(18:06):
So let me give you someexamples.
Any of our folks that needadditional support with what's
called methylation so it's kindof like that process, that sort
of relay runner of creating newDNA some of us need some
additional support in thatprocess.
So there are specific nutrientsthat are involved in
methylation, in particular,things like B12 and things like
(18:31):
folate.
But we want to make sure we'renot getting them from the things
like the store shelf folic acid, which is the synthetic version
, versus something like amethylated folate, which is
going to be much more optimallyabsorbed.
Similar with B12, making surewe're getting a methylated
version of B12, rather thansomething that you would get off
(18:54):
the regular store shelf, whichis typically cyanocobalamin,
which is very stable and it'saffordable for companies, but
also it's from a molecule ofcyanide and, in my opinion, we
don't need any of that.
So may as well get eithermethylated cobalamin or
something like anadenosylcobalamin.
Those are some of the otheroptions when it comes to getting
(19:16):
appropriate supplementationbased on your genetics.
Other things that we look at asit relates to genetics is how
are you at absorbing vitamin D?
How are you absorbing vitamin C?
How are you at absorbing, again, the ones that I just mentioned
, b12 and folate, which tiesinto also methylation.
(19:36):
What is your propensity forinflammation?
What is your propensity foroxidative stress?
What is your propensity fordetoxification?
So there are certainsupplements that are ideal for
certain situations, inparticular genetic SNPs, that
are ideal for certain situations, in particular genetic SNPs,
and there are certain situationswhere certain things are not
(19:57):
ideal.
One of the things that's comingto mind is anyone with a
particular comped genetic SNPmay do well with things like
caffeine and things likequercetin and EGCG, which we
think of with green tea, andanother genetic snip does really
poorly with those particularsubstances.
(20:19):
So those are the things that wekeep in mind when it comes to a
supplement, whether it beanything from a multivitamin, to
single nutrients, to to evenherbal things.
Something else I want you to beaware of, and perhaps caution
you with, is overdoing it oncertain things.
(20:41):
Now, yes, there are somewater-soluble vitamins, and if
you don't use a lot of it, thenyou're going to excrete it via
something like your urine oryour stool.
There are fat-soluble vitaminsthat can be more problematic.
Those are your AED and Ks andmore so specifically, I think of
E and A as the more problematicones.
(21:03):
Yes, you can have vitamin Dtoxicity.
Any of those can be toxic, butfrom specific nutrients that you
get from supplements.
There are different types ofthose nutrients.
So I'll give you an examplevitamin E or tocopherols.
There are different types ofthem and typically a supplement
is just going to have one typeof them rather than having the
(21:26):
whole selection of differenttypes of vitamin E, and that is
the better way to go so thatyou're not overdoing it on one
particular type of, inparticular, fat-soluble vitamin.
So that's one tip there, andthen overdoing it from, let's
say, you're doing a multivitaminand you're also doing something
(21:47):
like an AG1 or a Nutrafol.
I am not supported by any ofthose, but those are common ones
that I hear from folks that ohyeah, you know, I saw this
inrafol.
I am not supported by any ofthose, but those are common ones
that I hear from folks that ohyeah, you know, I saw this in a
commercial, I saw this inInstagram, I saw this on my
favorite podcast of like.
I should be taking this rightand not everybody.
Again, not everybody should betaking the same thing that's
based on your goals, based onyour needs, based on if there's
(22:10):
any nutrient imbalances, basedon if there's any other medical
conditions or medications orthings that you're trying to
achieve.
So some of the things that wedon't consider are are you
getting something from, say?
I'll use the case of B vitamins?
Generally speaking, it'sprobably not going to be that
big of a deal, but consider thatyou might have some in your
(22:31):
multi.
You might also have someone insomething, in some sort of like
greens product maybe, that youtake, and then you also get it
from your energy drink.
And then we start to wonder whywe're having particular issues,
especially when it comes tosynthetic versions of those may
create certain symptoms that arenot ideal, and you don't even
(22:52):
know it because you're gettingit from so many different angles
.
So overdoing it in oneparticular bucket is not a great
thing.
And then also considering thatthere might be crossover.
So if you're getting atherapeutic dose from one
particular supplement and thenyou're also adding to it with
(23:12):
something else whether it besomething that you just buy off
the grocery store shelves orsomething that comes in another
product that is fortified in aparticular way so there can be
some potential dangerous issuesthat go on with overdoing it or
getting too much crossover fromdifferent products that you're
(23:33):
consuming.
And then the last piece I wantto mention is how do you know if
they're working?
How are you going to prove itto me that all of these things
are either effective and ornecessary.
The way that I like to do it isto test and not guess.
So, for example, if someone hasa nutrient deficiency let's say
(23:57):
they're low on B12, how are wegoing to determine whether this
particular dose and type of B12is effective?
You certainly want to test,luckily, something like B12 and
folate.
Those are relatively cheap todo.
Same thing with B12, same thingwith iron and ferritin and
those types of things.
It gets a little pricier whenyou get into some more specific
(24:19):
micronutrient testing.
The other thing that I like todo to test and not guess whether
a certain supplement strategyand nutrition strategy and
lifestyle strategy are allworking is gut testing and
micronutrient testing.
So, for example, if you'redoing gut testing and we put you
on a particular strategy of,let's say, prebiotics or
butyrate or a certain type ofprobiotic, because they're all
(24:43):
strain specific and dosespecific, rather than just being
like, oh well, I saw this on myInstagram feed so I figured I
would take it and again gothrough that decision tree Is it
legal, is it third-party tested, is it effective, is it
necessary?
And then what's your tippingpoint for cost and could you get
(25:04):
this from a well-balanced diet?
Anyhow, if you're looking atthings like gut testing and then
we put you on a specificstrategy or we look at
micronutrient testing to correctsome of those things, then how
are we going to know if that'sworking?
You retest and that's one ofthose things that I really like
(25:24):
to push, especially in ourlongevity nutrition coaching
program, is keeping up with yourown personal trends.
Is keeping up with your ownpersonal trends, because so many
times we're only looking atjust a little tiny snapshot of
what's happening with you inthis moment when it comes to
your laboratory results, what'sgoing on over a longer period of
(25:45):
time, and then also takingnotes of things like I started
Ironman training during thistime.
I stopped Ironman trainingduring this time.
I had a death in the family andso was under more stress, or I
wasn't sleeping, I had a move, Iwas in a house with a lot of
mold, I was in a job that I wasunhappy in.
There's so many differentthings that can come into play
(26:09):
as it relates to what isactually going on inside of you.
So definitely keep track of yourlabs, supplement wisely
according to what youspecifically need, if it's
effective, if it's necessary andalso if your genetics need it.
So I'm curious what are some ofthe supplements that maybe you
(26:31):
don't know anything about butyou're taking anyway?
Or, if you go through yoursupplement drawer and actually
determine what is the amountthat I'm taking, is this
something that's effective?
Shoot me a DM Head over toInstagram at theenduranceedgecom
.
I'm so curious.
What is it that you're taking?
What is it that maybe you don'teven know is effective or isn't
(26:52):
effective?
What are your questions aboutsupplements?
I want to know so that I can doany follow-up podcast episodes
for you guys.
Check you over there and I willsee you next time.
Thanks for listening.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.