What are the best supplements...

When it comes to supplements that claim to improve muscle mass, or fat loss, or performance, or any number of other things, consumerism is not your friend.  The shelves of local stores and the online marketplace are just littered with supplements and for each of those supplements you can find a barrage of ads, statements, and articles that claim they're just what you need.  The only problem is that you're not like everybody else, you're barely similar to anyone else, so why would any of these supplements be right for you, right now, for what you want, and most importantly for what you actually need? Those are the deeper questions we most often fail to ask ourselves.  Because of the sheer amount of products, ads, and misinformation out there, we continually take mental shortcuts to cut past the overwhelming amount of information that would otherwise require a lot more care and mental processing. We tend to simply match what we think we need with what we think we are trying to achieve and "beep" tap that credit card one more  time.

Unfortunately, these shotgun decisions and additions in our search for attainment come at cost.  It's a tit-for-tad kind of cost accumulation that is usually hard to account for by any measure other than time.  Over time this over consumption of supplements chips away at the homeostasis of our biological processes and systems and gradually contributes to various malfunctions which show themselves to us as "health issues".  These health issues can present themselves as Digestive Problems, Adrenal Fatigue, Injuries/Inflammation, Metabolic Disorders, etc.

So what are the best supplements? IMO, the best supplements are those that are:

1. complimentary and secondary to your primary health goals (will not aggravate underlying health focus [what is your primary health focus?])
2. highly specific (not extensive mixes/combinations),
3. short/defined duration of use (for a very specific time period [what is that period?] or only when necessary [why is it necessary?])

In that order.

If you do not have any particular health goals, you should seek a professional first to determine what they might be for you.  Even a individual who is/feels totally healthy should have some defined health goals even if those are merely preventative rather than curative.  After all, the idea is to prevent disorders - diseases - disfunctions before they need curing so that you can keep your focus on optimizing instead of recovering.

So the next time you see an ad for that "IT" supplement that's going to make your dreams come true, first, and at least, take the time to go through the criteria above.

Until next time,
BE FIT. BE STRONG. BE BETTER!