Why You Don’t Need Supplements to Heal Your Body
Your body can do it on its own.
We have all been in this situation. There is a shelf full of supplements in our kitchen that promise to make our lives better and solve all the health problems. We cling to them as to the last ray of hope, just to get our expectations crashed when it turns out that they are not the answer to healing our chronic illness.
I was there, stuck in misconceptions about what I needed to start healing. I have tried everything from A to Z, and it just did not deliver the results that I wanted. Yes, some supplements were more promising than others, but overall — it was not the answer that I expected to receive. Here I want to share my experience and conclusions about using supplements smartly, not to harm ourselves.
I wasted hundreds of euros for nothing.
You see it everywhere — supplements marketed as a quick fix. You need just this one new supplement, and all your health problems will magically dissolve within three months-time. I also bought in this for quite a while. Instead of addressing my diet and lifestyle, I hyper-focused on supplementing. I have taken:
· Zinc, quercetin, omega-3 capsules, ashwagandha, Vitamin D, Inositol as additional body support;
· Shatavari powder, Licorice powder, Maca root powder, Reishi mushroom for their medicinal properties;
· Milk thistle, spirulina, shilajit, NAC for the liver.
I have gone through the same loops trying out various detox teas for kidneys, liver, digestion, etc. I just did not want to believe that my body could do it on its own without an army of supplementation — but it was a weak belief in myself that spoke to me, not the facts.
Until I realized that all of this is actually hindering my healing progress because it is just another burden for the liver to deal with.
Ironically, my lab results just looked worse, not better. And they showed elevated liver enzymes, too. That was a wake-up call that I was doing something wrong. Finally, my intuition led me to the answer, and I stopped taking them.
Less is more. The ultimate misconception is that it is a specific pill, supplement, or tea that heals the body, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. It is the body that heals the body. It is the mind that cures the mind. And the rest is just an extra help that could aid in certain situations but should not be treated as the baseline for healing.
How did we get here?
Even respectable health coaches tell you that you cannot detox your body without taking special supplements to bind toxins, such as charcoal, shilajit, spirulina, etc. And without this supplementation, you are just intoxicating your body.
It ignores a straightforward fact — if you have a fiber-rich diet full of antioxidants, you are already doing the job quite well.
In some troublesome cases, that may be valid, but not for an average person who is just trying to improve their health without a recent heavy metal exposure to something extremely harmful.
It is not surprising because we live in a world that is heavily focused on pills as a healing agent. In reality, pharmaceuticals are not healing the body; they are masking the symptoms or acting as a temporary band-aid to get through a health crisis. They certainly have their place and time. However, you should know that our bodies are designed to heal themselves, and each one of us has access to use it to our benefit to a certain degree. Of course, natural healing is not an all-mighty tool — it has its limitations; however, it is the opportunities that we are heavily underestimating in our contemporary world.
What to do instead?
Start with addressing the core fundamentals of your lifestyle — food, water, and physical activity. Food is the core building block for your body, which determines a lot. Choose “materials” that will feed your cells for the long run, not just serve as a temporary sensory pleasure. To determine what to eat precisely for your body, learn how to listen to yourself and work with a nutritionist.
Smart supplementation certainly has its purpose. However, it is essential to pay attention to 3 things — added ingredients to your supplements, if they are organic or not, and the quality certifications. Some of the added ingredients to capsules might seem not to be harmful to you but take into account that it is extra work for the liver to process that. Some of these ingredients might even be allergic. Similarly, if it is a herbal supplement, it matters a lot whether it is organically grown or not because you do not want to have an unnecessary heavy metal exposure.
Therefore, make sure that you choose the best of the best, or better not at all!
And do not take ten supplements at once — focus on something that you believe gives the most significant benefit, and ditch the rest!
Life after supplements
Since I realized my pitfall, I have adjusted the approach accordingly and saw accelerated progress. Just in 2 months, I could mitigate all the toxicity that excessive supplementation did to my body for around half a year. Also, I am not focusing on teas too much and often like to switch them.
I hope that my shared experience will be useful for you and help you heal faster without making the same mistakes!