Supplements — When They Help (and When They’re Just Expensive)

Let’s talk about supplements.

Walk into any store or scroll online for five minutes and you’ll be told you need powders, gummies, capsules, and potions for everything from stress to gut health to “detoxing your mitochondria.” It’s enough to make a person wonder if breakfast should come with a side of 14 pills.

Here’s my honest take: supplements can be helpful… but they are not magic. And many people are spending a lot of money on things they don’t actually need.

The foundation will always be the boring basics: real food, movement, sleep, and stress management. No supplement can out-run ultra-processed food, five hours of sleep, and constant exhaustion.

That said, targeted supplements can absolutely make sense when there’s a clear reason. For example:

• Low vitamin D? Supplementing is reasonable.
• Iron deficiency? That can change energy dramatically.
• Magnesium for sleep or muscle tension? Often helpful.
• Omega-3s if you don’t eat fish? Great support.

The key word is targeted.

What I don’t love is the “throw the whole shelf at it” approach — especially when no one has checked labs, symptoms, or root causes. More isn’t always better. Sometimes more is just more expensive (and occasionally more upsetting to your stomach).

A good functional approach is simple:

Food first. Labs second. Supplements last — and only the ones that truly fit.

If you feel overwhelmed by conflicting advice or you have a cabinet full of half-used bottles, you’re not alone. Sometimes the best health reset starts with simplifying, not adding.

Because the goal isn’t to take the most supplements.

The goal is to feel well.