If you walk into any health food store you will find a supplement for everything and you will be promised results, guaranteed! There is always a new craze and always will be but I am guessing that many of you out there have spent tons of money and don’t feel any better or look any different? Are you persuaded easily by supplement ads that promise weight loss, anti-aging or just general wellness?   If so, read on…

This blog article is not about bashing supplements but it is about giving you insight on when and how supplements should be used.  We use supplements in our office however, the supplements are used after running detailed lab work.  What you need to understand is that typically when you are feeling tired, have trouble sleeping, suffer from skin reactions, headaches, night sweats, and constant infections or just want to loose weight it is because something in your body is not in balance.  This is where people go wrong.  They usually walk into a store or see an ad on TV and they begin to self diagnose and self treat.  When you ask the clerk for some guidance they walk you over to the aisle for what they “think” may help you based upon what they know about the supplements themselves but what they don’t have is the information that is pertinent to you.  What you need to remember is that everyone is different and requires different supplements for treatment.

In our practice we believe that supplements are just that, that they supplement what is needed or lacking at the time until we get your body back into balance. As I mentioned above the body goes astray when it’s out of balance and the way it goes out of balance is through poor food choices, lack of water, lack of sleep and stress just to name a few.  So, these are the strategies that we begin to work on within our practice and help you by setting up a lifestyle plan.

So many times people need supplementation because they are lacking nutrients due to poor food choices.  If your diet (we define diet as a food plan…not a food restriction) consists of processed foods, sugar, caffeine and alcohol then it may be a good idea to begin slowly removing these items from your diet and begin eating more live foods:  organic meats, poultry, fish, fruits and veggies.  Remember supplements are meant to supplement temporarily not be a permanent fix or a quick fix for that matter.  Getting healthy and staying healthy takes times. If you would like more information about supplements or have comments please feel free to contact us or visit us on the web at www.replenishingsoul.com

Lori Metroka

Nutrition & Wellness Specialist