Supplements Can’t Outdo A Crappy Lifestyle

Today is the time for a little tough love.

Supplements can’t outdo a crappy lifestyle. Share on X

Often times when patients come in to our clinic for the first appointment, there are things we can optimize. From sleep hygiene tips like putting down our phones and computers an hour before bedtime, to blood sugar balancing tips like making sure you’re getting enough fat and protein with each meal, there’s plenty that can be done.

Sometimes too when we’re low on nutrients (think iron deficiency in women) or our bodies are using things up too quickly (think vitamin C when we’re sick), our tanks need to be replenished and refilled so our body has access to all that it needs.

This is all absolutely reasonable and I often like to use supplements to get people feeling better, quicker.

The problem however, is when patients come in and want a supplement that will do all of the work for them.

GUESS WHAT, I can throw supplements at you all day and all night, but if there are big issues in your life or things that you need to change, we’re not going to meet our goals, and that’s not an issue with our medicine.

We don’t want to mask symptoms and barely keep them at bay if you’re going to refuse to work on the real problems behind your health concerns.

Here are some of the most common band-aids that patients come to me about:

Maxed Out Anxiety and Stress Relief

If you’re in a job you hate or a relationship you don’t feel supported in, or if you’ve signed yourself up for a million and one things to do, we have to get these things sorted out! We can absolutely provide you with support during this time because often these aren’t quick or easy things to change or deal with…but you’ll likely feel a lot better knowing that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and the big problem is on its way out.

Daily Probiotics

I’m not a proponent of people needing to take supplemental probiotics on a daily basis. If you need probiotics everyday to have your digestive tract feel good, there’s probably an underlying issue we need to deal with. There are a whole host of things for us to consider, from food sensitivities to dysbiosis with a variety in between, but sorting it out short term will help you feel better long term.

Greens supplements

When you refuse to eat more vegetables and want a powder that’ll do the trick for you, we’re in for a bit of a discussion. In the short term a good greens supplement can provide additional nutrients and vitamins but we have to rearrange your lifestyle (and maybe your taste buds!) because there are so many benefits to eating real actual vegetables.

Sleep Support

If you won’t even give yourself enough time for restful sleep, or you’re going to argue with me when you won’t follow proper sleep hygiene tips, this is a pretty big deal. Sleep is important for weight maintenance, for immune system support and obviously to provide you with energy levels and mood balance for the next day. Sleep is one area that I honestly demand be at the top of your priority list! It’s that important!

Weight loss supplements

There are definitely medical conditions, medications and other causes of weight gain that I can absolutely help you deal with but for those patients who aren’t willing to change obvious issues with eating or lifestyle habits, they’re in for a bit of a rude awakening! For the most part, I won’t even specifically treat weight loss as a goal until we’re addressed sleep, energy levels, exercise, good diet, etc. Once those things are sorted out, weight often becomes a non-issue!

Energy support

If you’re busy eating too much sugar or binging on coffee and carbs all day long to help maintain energy levels without focusing on sleep or diet above, it’s going to be hard to mask your non-optimal lifestyle. I promise I won’t make you give up your coffee cold turkey and will absolutely get your energy levels increased while we work on slowly decreasing coffee or treats to make it a sometimes rather than a necessity.

Birth Control from your Medical Doctor

If you’re wanting to avoid pregnancy and decide that the pill is the best fit for your lifestyle and goals, that is totally okay. However if you’re hoping to manage acne, PMS or irregular periods by adding in hormones to mask these symptoms, you’re only prolonging the issues that we’ll inevitably have to deal with when you want to come off of them in the future! As Naturopathic Doctors we can absolutely help you deal with all of your hormonal concerns without having to choose synthetic hormones right from the get-go. So many women I see in practice wouldn’t have chosen additional hormones if they knew there were other options available. Let us go through those other options together.

Naturopathic Medicine Can Help!

I can help you deal with all of these things, but a big part of being a naturopathic doctor is helping to enable patients to get better and do part of the work for yourself. I’m but a guide on your journey and can absolutely provide you with tools, tricks and tips to help get you feeling your best, but you also play a huge role in all of this. I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE in your ability to get things done and would be thrilled to help you with the process. Click here to contact me so we can chat about things further.