COMMUNITY: Supplements with benefits (Part I)

Editor's note: Part I of a two-part series by Adam Rees, founder of GRIT GYM in Iowa City. Rees attended Wartburg and worked under nationally recognized strength coach Matt McGettigan at ISU. Next week: Rees will write about magnesium, protein powder, CoQ10, multivitamins, resvertol and curcumin

There is no doubt that in today's world supplement use has its benefits when used correctly to enhance an already solid nutritional regimen and active lifestyle.

The idea that “diet should give us everything we need” is sadly untrue. Our produce is grown in depleted soil, picked well before it ripens, shipped thousands of miles and then sprayed with ethylene gas (or even worse painted) to make it look edible and purchasable.

Even if we eat five cups of vegetables and five cups of fruit every day, we still could benefit from certain supplementation. Keep in mind, noone can supplement or exercise their way out of poor nutrition and most supplements are pointless and many can be dangerous.

This is a list of supplements proven to work or aid daily life, not replace anything.

Fish oil

• Anti-inflammatory
• Helps improve mood
• Helps lower triglycerides
• Modestly lowers blood pressure
• Improves circulation and heart health
• Absolutely necessary for everyone, this should almost be. Sadly not all fish oils are created equal. There can be high levels of multiple toxins such as mercury for instance.

Probiotic

• An imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the gut causes fat gain, irritability, poor health, etc.
• Probiotics promote good bacteria and gut health leading to better use of food and improved health.
• Every single person can benefit from ingesting a probiotic.
• Natural probiotics are good to ingest as well, which would come from fermented foods such as sauerkraut, pickles, greek yogurt (most yogurts are simply sugar ridden deserts, don't eat them), kimchi and, my personal favorite, Kombucha.

Vitamin D

(At least 2,000 iu per day)

• Improves mood
• Levels predict success at weight loss
• Those with higher levels have less risk of death from all causes
• Improves physical performance in older adults
• Absolutely necessary for bone health
• May have cancer preventative properties

The RDA of Vitamin D3 is 600 iu and this is drastically undershooting most people's needs, especially if you have dark skin. It's encouraged to get tested, but the test alone will cost as much as two years worth of Vitamin D3 supplementation, just take it.

By the way, you can take Vitamin D2, but Vitamin D3 gets absorbed around 500 percent better.

Greens drink

• Alkalinity may be the most important component to healing, recovery and overall health. The further we get into an acidic state the more the body has to rob bones of calcium and muscle of glutamine to buffer this in order to bring us back to balance.
• It's simple: more greens means that we keep more bone and more muscle.
• Ingesting a greens drink is a great way to add some extra green to your life, especially from sources that most diets don't include on a daily basis, such as alfalf. I know, I just salivated a little bit, too.

For more of Rees' advice go to www.GRITGYM.com/resources and adamrees.blogspot.com. Email Rees at adam@gritgym.com Adam Rees