Probably, yes.
Unless you live in a pollution free environment with rich soil and clean spring water, eat a diverse, wholesome and nutrient dense organic, local and seasonal diet, get plenty of sunshine and movement, have a stress free life, and you are in perfect health with a strong digestion and a well balanced microbiome.
While these circumstances are technically possible, in reality they are hard to achieve.
The mismatch between our genetic requirements and our dietary habits, lifestyle and environmental factors has, for most of us, created a nutritional gap that may tough to fill with diet and lifestyle changes alone.
High levels of stress, existing health conditions, toxic exposure, frequent travel, a lifelong diet of refined foods, caffeine or alcohol can contribute to a higher demand for certain nutrients. A compromised digestion or an imbalanced microbiome can interfere with your ability to absorb nutrients. And on the supply side: food these days has less nutritional value as a result of depleted soil, food transportation and storage methods and modern farming practices.
And even if this paints a sad picture (hang on, I will provide some answers!), it is too important to ignore. Nutritional deficiencies are not always immediately obvious. A shortage of nutrients may go under the radar for a long time even as it can have serious implications on long-term health and the risk for developing chronic illness:
In 2015, Bruce Ames, a brilliant U.S. based scientist came up with the Triage theory, in which he proposes that the nutrients that we take in through our diet or otherwise are first directed towards metabolic functions that are critical to short term survival and reproduction. What is left is then used for more longer-term health functions. This essentially means that when there is a shortage of nutrients, even if minor, your long-term health or longevity may suffer.
In his interview with Rhonda Patrick, PhD, Bruce Ames uses Vitamin K as an example to explain this: vitamin K plays an essential role in blood clotting, which is essential to stop the bleeding when you get a cut: an important survival mechanism. Another role of vitamin K involves calcium metabolism: in binding with excess calcium it prevents calcium from hardening the arterial walls thereby it can help to reduce the risk for heart disease. When there is a vitamin K deficiency, the body will first make sure that it is directed towards blood clotting at the expense of its other functions and this may thus affect your risk for cardiovascular disease. While this a simplified example, it does make a point. As Bruce Ames says: the body’s primary objective is survival and reproduction and whether you live beyond your reproductive age is not its immediate concern. But it should be yours.
So while all of this may point at a general need to supplement your diet, there are a few important factors to consider before running to the supplement store:
First of all, you are genetically adapted to get your nutrition through food. There is an obvious difference between the synergistic effects of nutrients as they exist in whole foods and taking a supplement that contains isolated nutrients. They just don’t work the same way.
Your first and foremost goal should therefore be to reduce the nutritional gap as much as possible by striving to eat the best possible diet and the highest quality of nutrient dense food, alongside managing lifestyle factors and optimizing your digestion and microbiome health. (Have a look at how I do that here.)
Once you have built a strong and solid foundation you can then examine your individual deficiencies, which can, in some instances be identified through testing (a standard lab test can throw up some very useful information, or you can go a step further with functional tests such as the Organic Acid Test) and by looking at your unique health history, environment, lifestyle factors, genetics, and current symptoms. This may point at a need for extra support in the area of immune function, digestive health, gut barrier healing, or anti oxidant support. Some of this support can be found by boosting your intake of foods that contain high amounts of the required nutrients and sometimes you may need to do some targeted supplementation.
When choosing a supplement, such as a multivitamin, look for a reputable brand that uses high quality, food based and/or bio-available active ingredients in the right proportion and no unnecessary fillers, artificial flavors, or potential allergens. Unfortunately, many supplements contain cheap, synthetic ingredients that are difficult for the body to absorb, like synthetic folic acid vs folate. Or they contain too much of nutrients that in higher doses can be harmful, like iron, iodine, or calcium. On the flip side, they may contain too little of nutrients that we typically don’t get enough of in our diet, such as vitamin D, magnesium, or vitamin K2. For my clients I either recommend practitioner-grade supplements that meet all my quality criteria or point them to companies like Adapt Naturals, that offer a solid, high quality range of supplements created to meet baseline nutrient needs.
To summarize, to support your long-term health and longevity, prioritize a nutrient dense diet, address all the factors that are influencing your nutrient requirements, use a good quality multivitamin supplement to cover your bases and if possible, work with a qualified nutrition practitioner to identify your unique needs for targeted supplementation.
If you would like some help in figuring if what your body needs, feel free to set up a free nutrition breakthrough session with me here.
Be Well.
