This post is co-written by Shannon McClurg. Check out her story and how she became a Real Health Navigator here: Shannonhealthwarrior.com
What is Optimal Nutrition? Do I Need Nutritional Supplements?
Don't I Get All The Nutrition I Need For Good Health in The Food I Eat?
Glad you are here. Let's take a look at answering these questions and a few others.
Just a short time ago back in the 60’s I was a young boy in a family of 6. My mom, Margie, became very interested in health foods, preventing disease & illness and taking herbal and nutritional supplements.
Imagine an 8-year old boy finishing lunch expecting a cookie or something interesting only to find placed right in front of him strange looking capsules. And I’m supposed to swallow them. What? Where’s my cookie?
My mom must have seen some strange looks from us kids… like where did these come from, the moon? Or the sky must be falling. Or has an alien taken over my mom.
Little did I know that my ‘health and wellness education’ was just starting.
We heard about how our food was grown using chemicals, toxins and pesticides that contribute to disease and illness. That it also didn’t contain the nutrient levels it once did.
That food we purchased in stores contained chemical toxins of all different sorts labeled as preservatives, additives, artificial flavors & colors, MSG, (monosodium glutamate – a neuro toxin) food dyes and natural flavors.
Mom was reading labels and found long lists of these ingredients and ‘other ingredients’ that you would not want to ingest.
Back to the capsules. After a lengthy stare down I managed to swallow them one at a time, making all sorts of ‘faces’ in the process and occasionally choking and gasping. My acting feat did not deter my mom one bit. I’d hear, oh you’ll get used to it. That was mom.
Fast forward to 2021. Nutritional supplements have grown in scope and variety.
More people are taking them than ever before. But... lacking 3rd party certifications...are they really helping you have optimal health? (more energy, clear mind, better weight, sick less often, less pain.)
How do we know if the nutritional supplements we are buying and putting into our bodies actually contain the ingredients that the label says?
What is a 3rd Party Certification?
A third party certification is when an independent outside organization evaluates / tests a nutritional product for specific quality standards, manufacturing and safety standards and/or performance standards.
The 3rd party testing company is independent from the nutritional company. This is very important. It removes any conflict of interest.
Third party certification is a voluntary action a company can take. It is often costly to the company. Further, negative test results may be made public / shared on the Internet.
For a company to have their products 3rd party tested means they are serious about integrity.
For example, the FDA / OTC certification means what is on the label is in the bottle. The facility making the product also meets the standards required for making over-the-counter medications.
There are also certifications for gluten free, Non-GMO, cruelty free, organic, vegan and more. They are an effective way to give you and I, the buyer, information about what we are purchasing. This information gives you the best decision-making opportunity.
The certifications are usually displayed on the product label. If you are curious about a given product and whether it has 3rd party certifications, check out their website or email customer support. Of course, all that takes time.
Peace of mind. Safety. Purity. Integrity.
Third party certification removes the temptation of the company to cheapen product quality, pull one over on customers, and substitute non-related ingredients to inflate profits at the expense of the customer.
Have you ever experienced ‘no effect’ after purchasing and consuming nutritional products?
Buyer Beware:
Nutritional companies are not required to have any third-party testing performed on their products.
The majority of nutritional supplements found in retail stores do not have third party certifications.
Without 3rd party certifications, the buyer has no guarantee that what is listed on the label is actually in the product.
And, the ingredients listed on the label is no guarantee that the quantities listed on the label are accurate.
My mom had it correct. She was ahead of her time. It was about that time that she started her own, large organic vegetable garden.
Some causes for the decline of nutrient value of food include:
Environmental dilution effects. This is from the extensive use of fertilizers & pesticides.
Genetic dilution effects: As plant geneticists developed their version of improved crop varieties (GMO’s-genetically modified organisms) to give farmers higher yields, they inadvertently caused food nutrient values to decline.
Improper crop rotation - Over the last 50 years the amounts of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin and vitamin C in conventionally grown fresh fruits and vegetables have declined significantly.
We know this thanks to rigorous analysis of USDA nutrient data by biochemist Donald Davis of the University of Texas.
If you are finding your health is in trouble - pain, low energy, stiffness, brain fog, nasuea or any other of a number of unpleasant symptoms OR...
you are a health enthusiast and want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, reach out to us for more information. We have wellness education and resources that work.
Speaking of which, check out Shannon's "What The 'F' is In*lammation" Ebook. It's over 50 pages long. It explains what is cellular inflammation and provides tips and information you can use right away to feel better by reducing your inflammation.
We used the information in her EBook to rebuild our health and so can you.
Email me here with any questions you have, or go to our 'contact' page.
Here's to a NewAge of health and wellness,
Lynn & Patty
