There is a place in your nutrition and weight loss plan for supplements but most people have vitamins and minerals in the wrong place. Many people and health care providers put way too much faith in them and that is why we must address this topic. Keep reading to hear the 3 Big Reasons We Don’t Push Supplements here at COOR Wellness.
Imagine this, you need a new car to get you to and from work. You don’t need anything fancy. You don’t need high clearance or four-wheel drive. A simple and reliable vehicle to get you to and from work will be great.
Next, you visit a car lot and you find the right car within your budget. Your problem is solved. However, after you select your new car the helpful people at the car lot convince you that you need a bunch of additional features that won’t get you to work safer or faster. You leave the lot paying 20% more than what you budgeted and will get to work at the same rate. That’s not cool, is it?
This scene is a lot like what chiropractic patients experience. They see their chiropractor who tells them, or worse yet uses tricks, to convince them that they will feel better by purchasing vitamins that are questionable. We recently had a patient come in who was spending $500 a month on supplements and felt no difference in their symptoms.
Financial Gain
Recently in a chiropractic forum, Dr. Christianson asked his peers what was the biggest motivation behind supplement sales. By far, the biggest answer was financial gain. Patient outcomes were second. That says a lot, doesn’t it?
Every non-government or community subsidized clinic needs to have the money coming in be more than the money going out. Otherwise, the public would have poor access to quality healthcare. However, positive outcomes and results always need to be the most important goal. Find a clinic that focuses on outcomes.
Questionable Products
Currently, there is limited monitoring of the supplement industry. This means you may be thinking you are buying Magnesium but there is no guarantee that is what you are getting. A small few companies partner with labs that ensure quality but they are hard to come by and rarely can you buy those products over the counter at an affordable price. To read more about this, check out this article titled Dietary Supplements: Regulatory Challenges and Research Resources.
Correct Focus
Supplements take us away from where our focus needs to be, and that is on good nutrition decision making. People who are in the older generation have seen the availability and prevalence of vitamins and supplement increase at a similar rate to obesity. We see people making, us included, silly nutrition choices. Portion sizes that are too big. Eating too fast and too often. Unless you are only eating vegetables and lean meats these choices are not helping. To see the results of good decision making, check out Shannon’s story.
What’s Next?
We’re hosting a Pre-Holiday Eating class Monday, October 15th at 6 pm and will create a free small private group for the attendees to help them stay accountable through the holidays this fall. The free class will cover 3 strategies to improve your eating over the holidays. Our goal is to help you with weight loss during the season where it is most challenging. You can RSVP by clicking HERE.