Episode 60: Stop buying supplements on Facebook…and what to do instead!
Nothing drives me crazy more than hearing about women who are throwing their hard earned moula away on a supplement that they bought that promised to fix their hormones, digestion, give them a detox, make them sleep like babies and unpack the dishwasher… that just isn’t delivering what was promised!
In this episode of The Hormone Hub, I spill the beans on what you’re really buying, so you can make an informed choice about what’s going to give you the best results.
While it’s easy to be tempted by clever marketing and the idea of a “magic pill” when you’re juggling fatigue, mood swings, hot flashes, and joint pain, among others…. There are a few things to consider before you whip out the Visa.
1. Clean up your diet and lifestyle first
You cannot out-supplement a shabby diet and lifestyle!
Just like you can’t out-exercise a bad diet, nor will any supplement take the place of good nutrition and lifestyle habits.
I talk about the non-negotiables when it comes to nutrition, lifestyle and stress management that you need to action BEFORE you look at supplements.
While fancy marketing and celebrities sound too good to be true… it likely is! So don’t shoot the messenger!
2. Know what you’re taking and WHY
Is this what you need at this stage in your hormonal transition?
A perimenopausal woman with crazy heavy periods and migraines needs very different support to a post menopausal woman with anxiety and hot flushes… Yet it blows my mind that so many “hormone” supplements don’t distinguish between the two.
3. Is it in a therapeutic dose and in the right form?
If it has a hundred ingredients… that sounds impressive, but reality is it’s a minute amount in each capsule… is it enough? Unlikely!
And if your digestion is off… you do NOT need an abrasive “gut” supplement. If fibre is like a broom for your bum, bentonite clay is like sandpaper…just saying.
I’m not saying that all supplements are bad. In fact I firmly believe they can give your body the support it needs when it’s in the right dose and the right form.
I share some of my fav nutrients that I use with my clients…AND I give you the form and the doses you need, that’s actually going to make a real difference.
If you do need supplement advice I highly recommend you see an accredited practitioner , or reach out to us… this is our jam!
Links and Resources
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And, if you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a rating and a review? Thanks!
Transcript
Hello, hello, and welcome back to The Hormone Hub. It is your host here, Kylie Pinwill, and this week there has been a theme. Okay. Now I hate seeing women throwing away their hard-earned moolah on, you know, things that just aren’t gonna cut it for them. Okay? Now, today we’re specifically talking supplements and supplements that you might find on Facebook.
I know my newsfeed is flooded with them. You know, things that promise to fix your hormones, your digestion, give you a detox, make you sleep like babies, unpack the dishwasher, you know. Well, it may as well, but yeah, so today I wanna just have a chat about that whole kind of big, messy, realm that is supplements.
Alright. So there’s no doubt that hormonal shifts can lead to, you know, huge number of annoying [00:01:00] symptoms, health concerns, you know, things like fatigue, mood swings, hot flushes, joint pains, you know, There’s a lot going on, and while it is very easy to be tempted by clever marketing and you know, the ideal of a magic pill, and you know, of course they always have a thousand testimonials, which you know, oddly all look the same.
Just saying, I want to spill the beans on what is really going on. So at least you’re able to make an informed choice about what you’re buying. And I think that’s really important, you know, know what you’re getting yourself in for. Okay, so first up, you know, I know you’re wondering do I use supplements with my clients?
And the answer is for the most part, yes I do. And I’ll what I use, I’ll get to that in a second. But you know, we do a, a detailed health history of our clients. We go in, we do a hormone assessment, we have a look, you know, we talk to them about what’s going on. We have a look at their blood tests, [00:02:00] and then that way we’re able to steer them in the right direction.
Okay, so I’ll, I’ll jump into that, you know, in a second, but what I do with my clients is we get the basics right first. Okay? So no pill, no supplement, no powder is going to fix things if you are not getting the basics right. Okay, so first up, we need to clean up your diet and lifestyle first. You cannot out-supplement a shabby diet and lifestyle, you know, as nice as that would be, just like we can’t out exercise a bad diet.
We can’t out supplement one either. So let’s cover that all first. So as our bodies and our hormones change and it becomes more important to focus on nutrient dense foods that are gonna support your overall health and wellbeing. Okay, so some of the, the best foods for nutritional support would be number one, your leafy greens.
So things like spinach, kale, rocket, broccoli, all your Asian greens, [00:03:00] collard greens, so these are all rich in nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin C, folate. They also contain antioxidants that can help reduce inflammation, and support heart health, and you know, fiber that supports your digestive system as well.
Number two berries, beautiful blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, you know, whatever’s in season, you know, there’s no magic berry, okay? But the reason berries get such a good wrap is they’re high in antioxidants, which helps reduce inflammation, helps support brain health. They’re also, you know, low, not that we talk calories, but they are low in calories.
They’re high in fiber, which, you know, makes them a great choice for snacks and things like that. Uh, number three, great thing to have in your diet, fatty fish. So fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, they’re all rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for heart health, brain function. They also help reduce [00:04:00] inflammation and support joint health.
Nuts and seeds, perfect snack. Almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, you know, all high in healthy fats. They’re high in fiber, they’re high in protein, so you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck. And again, they’re looking at reducing that inflammation, you know, supporting brain health. And they do help reduce or lower the risk of chronic diseases, so things like heart disease, diabetes, as well.
Protein is really important at, you know, this stage of life. Protein helps control our blood sugar, it helps fill us up, you know, and, you know, maintain our muscle mass as well. So again, you know, we get protein from the nuts and seeds. We get protein from the fatty fish, red meats, lean cuts of, you know, red meats important for iron as well.
Chicken, you know where I’m going with this, don’t you? Whole foods. And then, you know, don’t forget our grains. You know, I think the whole paleo movement sort of [00:05:00] put the fear of God into us about, you know, whole grains. But when we look at things like brown rice, quinoa, oats, again, they’re high in fiber, which is gonna help support our digestion, and, you know, lower our risk of chronic disease. Great source of B vitamins and minerals like magnesium. And Selenium too, which is, you know, really important for our thyroid health. So yeah, so they’re, they’re the sort of foods we should be eating most of the time. Okay. Now it’s important to know, you know, or focus on a varied diet that includes a mix of nutrient dense foods. So every single food, in all sorts of different colors has something to offer. So it gives us vitamins, it gives us minerals, it gives us the nutrients that our body needs, and our body works best with food. All right, so the things that we should stay away from, and, you know, this isn’t rocket science.
We all know this. Processed foods. So our packaged foods, [00:06:00] fast foods, frozen meals, you know, these are often high in sodium, added sugars, you know, unhealthy fats. These contribute to inflammation, and increase our risk of chronic disease. So heart disease, diabetes. So again, you know, focus on whole nutrient dense food.
Sugary drinks. So soft drinks, sodas, energy drinks, sweetened coffee, tea, so all your ice teas and things like that. So the single biggest thing you can do for your health, honestly, is give up sugary drinks and instead opt for water, herbal tea, you know, unsweetened drinks. So you can add in your own flavors, add in some citrus, add in berries, add in cucumber, you know, rather than having a sweetened drink, reducing our intake of alcohol can absolutely 100%, you know, improve our health as well.
So my golden rule of thumb with my clients is one to [00:07:00] two drinks, one to two days a week. Okay? So, you know, you can still live, but you know, it’s really not doing this any favors. You know, something we need to sort of look at as, and this is something that I don’t talk about all the time, is, you know, sedentary lifestyle.
So we need to be moving our bodies. Now we don’t need to be doing necessarily bootcamp every day of the week, but as long as we are moving, and if you are sort of, have fallen off the exercise wagon. It’s been a while. Start with 10 minutes, you know, 10 minutes. Up. Get yourself around the block. If you can do half an hour, great.
If you can do an hour, even better. So we do need to move. Alright, so things to avoid smoking, that’s a no-brainer. I’m not even gonna talk about it. We all know that. And the, one of the biggest sort of lifestyle things is learning to manage our stress. Okay. So stress. When we have sort of chronically elevated cortisol, if [00:08:00] we are just, you know, pushing through, if we’re tired all the time, you know, we need to focus on that, that stress management. So things like, deep breathing exercises, regular exercise, mindfulness, meditation, you know, it’s all gonna help reduce our stress. Okay. So all of these things are gonna help support our overall health and wellbeing and are far more valuable and impactful than trying to chase down the right supplement.
Okay? So get those basics down first. And if you need some support, you know, you know, that’s, that’s what we do.
Okay, so what do I use with my clients in terms of supplements? Alright, so many women turn to, you know, over-the-counter supplements, all those supplements that fill up our newsfeeds on, on social media.
And what I actually use with my clients is practitioner only brands. Okay? So these give a range of benefits that [00:09:00] really you do not get, you know, when you’re looking at over the counter things. Now the reason I use them is, you know, they’re formulated using high quality ingredients. There’s been extensive research and they’ve been tested at a therapeutic dose.
Okay? So these products are designed to deliver targeted doses of those key nutrients. So what you are taking, you know, are you getting what you need and what you are taking is actually going to make a difference to you. So in contrast, a lot of these, you know, retail brands, the over-the-counter supplements, the off Facebook things. They often contain lower quality ingredients, they contain fillers, they contain additives, you know, which at the end of the day can be detrimental to your overall health and wellbeing. In addition, you know, dosages of key nutrients, you know, it just might not be enough. You know, it’s got a sprinkling of things in there.
So think about it, if a product sounds really impressive, and you look at the ingredients and [00:10:00] there’s a hundred ingredients, and those a hundred ingredients are jammed into a tiny capsule, how much of each ingredient is there actually? You know, and is it what you need? Okay. And the other sort of advantage of a practitioner only supplement is, or, you know, using these brands is you’re under the guidance of a health professional.
You know, so someone who is going to support you by recommending the right supplements for what you need, okay? Rather than you wasting money and effort on something that’s not right for you. And also a practitioner will, you know, let you know how long you need to be taking these for. So sometimes you might need a supplement for a short while just to sort of give you some support where you need it, give you a boost.
And then others are great for maintenance. But it’s important to know, you know, what are you taking? Why are you taking it? And yeah, so when we are sort of buying things from the pharmacy, [00:11:00] buying it from the, you know, the supermarket or buying it off Facebook, they’re often marketed directly, you know, with no guidance, no support from a healthcare professional.
So this is why, you know, everyone’s confused, frustrated when you’re trying to select the right products and determine the appropriate doses as well. So your practitioner brands, you know, they might be, you know, more expensive in the short term, but you know, I 100% believe that the higher cost is kind of aligned with higher quality and greater effectiveness as well.
And they’re more often they’re targeted specialized formulas that are going to address a specific health concern. Okay? So, you know, a perimenopause woman with heavy periods and, you know, Pain and cramps and migraines has very different needs to a postmenopausal woman who is anxious and hot and sweaty and can’t [00:12:00] sleep.
Okay? So we’ve got two different things, but a lot of these products are just, oh, it’s a hormone product. You know, you are all getting the same thing, which is not what you need. Okay? So while you are over the counter products, you’re on Facebook, products might be more readily available and less expensive, they are often lacking quality and effectiveness of those practitioner supplement brands. So work with an accredited practitioner, select high quality supplements and you know, and that’s going to get you there faster. Okay, so what do I use with my clients? Okay, so I do have a few favorites.
Okay. And you know, I’m gonna start off with magnesium.
Alright. So magnesium is probably my overall favorite. I take it daily, religiously, and most of my clients would end up on a good quality magnesium. Okay, so magnesium, why are we taking it? It’s going to play a role in muscle and nerve function. It’s going to promote a healthy stress response, and it can even help with your [00:14:00] bowel movements by relaxing those muscles in your digestive tract.
Okay? So we wanna have a look at, ideally somewhere between 300 to 600 milligrams a day, you know? And quite often in a formulation that has magnesium plus a hundred other things. You know, you’re lucky to get a hundred. We wanna have co-factors in there. So specifically for women, you know, in their forties and fifties, taurine is a beautiful co-factor that sits really lovely alongside magnesium. We need three grams a day, you know, to get the benefits of that. It’s gonna help with our mood, it’s gonna help with nervous system support, so they’re two that go beautifully together and I think a really good sort of, Day to day, you know, keep your mood healthy, keep your nervous system supported, keep that stress response supported.
Alright, so the next supplement that I really love is digestive enzymes. Okay? So [00:15:00] digestive enzymes are proteins that break down food into, you know, like smaller molecule molecules so your body can actually absorb it, you know, absorb the nutrients from your food. So what happens as we age, our body definitely produces fewer digestive enzymes.
And then this sort of then leads to things like bloating, gas, indigestion, so when we sort of add in these in digestive enzymes, they can help support our bodies’ natural digestive process. And again, you need to be taking enough of them and the right form for it to actually make a difference.
And just while we’re on digestive health, one of my favorite, favorite products that I use, you know, with a lot of my clients who come in who might have constipation, they might have bloating, they might have loose bowels or diarrhea, they might have IBS kind of type symptoms.
And you know, it’s probably 80% of my clients, to be honest, have some form of digestive issue. [00:16:00] When we think digestive supplements, we all sort of, the first thing that everybody kind of thinks of is probiotics, but it’s actually not. What we need is, which I think is more important, is our prebiotics. So prebiotic fiber is, you know, it basically keeps our digestive system healthy. It helps keep our good gut bugs happy because it, it offers food for them, and it helps to promote sort of regular bowel movements. So, you know, easy to pass, well formed. You sit on the toilet, boom, there you go, you know, and a couple of times a day.
So, like I said, it feeds our good gut bugs. It create, creates a healthy environment for our gut bacteria. And, you know, we want our fiber, you know, ideally from food a hundred percent. But sometimes if you’ve had constipation, you know, long term you, you need some help. So things like Metamucil, Benefiber are [00:17:00] just so wrong because, you know, we don’t want something that’s gonna inflame your digestive system. So, you know, Benefiber has wheat, Metamucil, it has food coloring in it, it has, you know, thickeners in it. It’s just awful. So what we want instead is sort of, I guess, a cleaner product. And I love guar gum for my clients and also acacia fiber.
And you know, there are a few products that have, that’s all they have in it is guar gum and acacia Fiber together. Mix it in water, drink it twice a day and you know, you, you will be pooing at least once a day. You know? And if you are not pooing, at least once a day, ladies, we need to work on that. One thing when it comes to digestive help that I is a massive, big no-no is bentonite clay.
Okay? It’s like running sandpaper through your intestines, okay? It’s abrasive and awful, and if you have [00:18:00] already got in digestive issues going on, you know, it’s just gonna potentially make things worse. So I do not recommend going anywhere near anything with Bentonite Clay. Another supplement that I love is, you know, or nutrients rather than supplements, is Zinc, iron, and Vitamin Bs.
So if you think these are these nutrients, they’re found in food, so we should always get it from food first, and they’re needed by every single cell in our body. We need them to make our hormones. We need them to make our neurotransmitters. We need it to support our metabolism, you know, it’s a hundred percent essential for our thyroid to work properly, and that’s like the little center for our metabolism.
Helps support our stomach acid and that whole digestive process, you know, so it’s really important to, you know, like bring those in with food and then if we need, if we’re, you know, a little bit deficient, you know, certainly [00:19:00] it’s worth supplementing with those. Vitamin D is another favorite of mine.
Okay, so when we have our blood tests, the normal level for vitamin D is anything over 50, but if you have any form of autoimmune conditions, if you have any bone loss or osteopenia, Osteoporosis. We want your level to be up over 120. Okay, so regular, the otherwise healthy people, over a hundred for vitamin D.
Anyone with autoimmune or any sort of bone loss over 120. Now what you buy over the counter with vitamin D is a maintenance dose. Okay, so it’s not going to in be effective enough to increase our vitamin D levels. So again, this is where, you know, a health practitioner can guide you on, you know, that sort of initial dose to boost you, to get your levels up and [00:20:00] quite quickly too.
And then, you know, determine do you need a maintenance dose? Okay to keep them up there. Alright, so that’s then they’re just a few of my favorites and I think I’ll just mention one more that is worth it. So, L-theanine. So this is an amino acid that’s found in green tea, so think of it as our happy amino. So it helps reduce our stress, it helps promote relaxation. And it’s also very useful for improving our quality of sleep. Okay, so green tea is, you know, where you’d find it in foods. It’s also, you know, in good magnesium supplements that also happen to have taurine, you know, will also have a therapeutic dose of L-theanine if you need some support for, you know, stress, you know, relaxing, sleeping, you know, all of those things as well.
So it is important, and I think it’s worth mentioning that, you know, speak to your healthcare provider before you take any [00:21:00] supplements. Now, doctors are are not trained on supplements, so you know, I’m just saying, they’re not. So, you know, get some professional advice and because we also wanna make sure that it’s safe for you and it’s gonna be effective, particularly if you’ve got any underlying medical conditions or if you are taking any medications.
For instance, if you are taking any form of medication, you don’t wanna take a detox powder. Okay. Particularly within two hours of taking your medication and you know, no one is ever telling, you know, clients this, so you need to sort of give that, that gap in between your medication because if you are taking liver supplements and detox supplements, you don’t want those, you know, you don’t want that metabolized by your liver faster or you don’t want your medication metabolized by your liver before it has its, you know, chance to go in and do its job.
So, yeah, so [00:22:00] really be careful with any greens powders, detox powders. Also probably the highest or the biggest risk of interactions with, medications would be with herbs more so than with nutrients, particularly with antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. So, yeah, so it is important to get, you know, advice from a health practitioner.
So if you do need some help and some support, you are more than welcome to reach out. This is what we do. And I hope this is helpful for you. So you know, just remember, look at diet and lifestyle first, then, you know, look at what you might be taking, why you are taking it. And then also look at the form and the dosage.
Are you, you know, is it going to make a difference? Well, I hope that’s helpful and I will see you in the next episode.