Monday, May 5, 2014

A Brief Debrief on Supplements



Miracle pills, fat loss accelerators, testosterone boosters, supplements. I can't tell you how often I've read a riveting article on some game-changing pill or powder; the contents of which are "guaranteed" to be effective, "or your money back." All too often, however, these supplements turn out to be nothing more than a flashy farce.

Something which I've found to be uncannily true in life is the following: the greatest hope lies in the light, the greatest fear lies in the dark, and the greatest truth lies in the twilight. You could apply this phrase to anything in life really, and in terms of supplements, this phrase means that the truth about supplements usually lies at the mean on a spectrum between miracle and disaster. Some people (cough...Dr. Oz...cough!) like to peddle the latest life enhancing product as if it's God's gift to humanity. Others like to spout curses, and claim that the latest supplement to hit the shelves is literally the demonic in capsule form.


In reality, however, most supplements--based on my experience, the experience of countless others, and actual scientific research--are either neutral or minimally to moderately beneficial. They're usually neutral if you don't have your lifestyle and habits and check, and they're usually minimally to moderately beneficial if you've already gotten all your bases covered (i.e.-your diet, your activity, your sleep, your stress levels, etc.).

The only people (usually) who have any business looking into any kind of performance/health enhancing supplement are the people (usually) who already are doing everything, or mostly everything right in the gym, in the kitchen, in bed (I don't mean what you think I mean!), and in life generally.

As you think on what I've said above, consider this as well: healthy is not about that one thing you do or eat; healthy is about everything you do and eat and everything you don't do and don't eat.

Supplements can be helpful additions to your daily regimen, but they can never replace smart dieting and lifestyle habits.

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