Supplements. Are they really necessary? page

[jrodan]

I have only just started out eating primal, but about the supplements (Damage Control Master Formula, vital omegas) are they really necessary?
I mean, isn't one of the reasons to eat primal to feel good, and to be able to live well without all these pills? I understand that it would have benefits, because the food we have now doesn't contain as much vitamins and such, but for someone who is just starting out, is it something I should take?

[primalrob]

you're thinking about it the right way. they're not entirely necessary if you are eating the right foods, but they can help, which is why they're called supplements. it can be difficult, either by availability or cost, to get the best quality and variety of primal foods, so enter the supplements to round out those missing parts. it doesn't really matter if you're just starting out; whenever you can get to the best balance is best.
i suggest reading through mark's articles on supplementing, and decide what will work best for you. if it helps at all, i take a daily multi, vitamin d (when i don't get enough sun), magnesium, k2, and occasionally fish oil (though i prefer to just eat fish).

[Drumroll]

Necessary? No. Grok certainly never had access to them.

Helpful in the right cicumstances for people who can't always eat the optimal diet that they would like? Very much, yes.

I suggest using chronometer.com to track your diet for a few days (don't obsess over the calories, you're just going to be looking at the micronutrients here) and see where you fall a bit low and decide from there what (if any), supplements you might like to use.

[onalark]

Here's what I supplement:

Vitamin D
Folate

Vit-D because I just don't get enough sun. I work indoors. I work a lot. I often get sidetracked by emergencies which make it impossible to go for walks. And I hate getting sick. (I accredit the fact that my husband currently has a cold and I don't to my well-maintained Vitamin D levels.)

Folate because I'm incubating my larva, and I hear they need folate, and because folate folate folate. Everyone wants pregnant women to take folate. :P Are you pregnant? HAVE YOU HAD YOUR FOLATE??? Literally, it's like the first question they ask you.

I work to get seafood and liver in my diet during the week, so I don't worry about Omega-3s, or iodine, or any other junk. I don't eat bad fats, so I don't worry about Omega-6. If you're eating primal regularly, and you're getting your offal, you shouldn't have a reason to supplement, unless it just makes you feel better to do so!

[Paleobird]

Hah! "incubating my larva", nice one, Steph.
Huzzah for new primal Groklings!

[Nocona]

I do a multi, Vit. D, fish oil and Magnesium. The Magnesium completely cured my migraines forever.

[UniqueTII]

I stopped taking most of my suppliments for two reasons:
1. I took the above advice a couple of weeks ago and started tracking my nutrition and found out I was doing extremely well at covering all of my bases, even at <2000cal/day.
2. I'd rather spend that extra money on more high-quality food than on suppliments. I was taking a cheaper variety (Nature Made) and many of the ingredients were not easily absorbable, ie magnesium oxide and elemental calcium.

I still take chelated magnesium due to leg cramps and slow digestion, iodine if I don't get enough seameat, vitamin d if I don't get enough sun, which is almost never now, probiotics, and fish oil. The end goal is to get rid of these through better nutrition as well.

[ilovedogs]

I can't seem to find chronometer.com any chance of a link?

[codered5]

Yeah I only supplement fish oil and vit D. Fish oil bc its way to expensive to get high quality sea food and eat it enough to help balance omega 3s vs omega 6s in your diet the way grok would have and vit D bc we just aren't outside all the time like Grok was and I have been tested on the lower end of normal a couple of years ago for vit D levels. I do not believe multi-vitamins are worth the money, most are just talc holding a bunch of crap together that is not even broken down by the body.

[RitaRose]

At times I supplement a little more, like when I'm on a trip and have less control over my food or when I'm having trouble eating right, but I usually take magnesium for migraines and selenium because I have a crap ton of fillings in my mouth from decades ago. Right now I'm also taking a B-complex and 5-HTP because of head injuries, but it's definitely not something I want to take long term. I live in the desert, so growing my own nutrient rich food is close to impossible. But I keep trying.

I think how much supplementation you take, and whether you do at all, is going to depend on your specific issues, how much your body has healed and the quality of the food you're able to get. But I would do my best to get the majority of nutrients from good food and just fill in any gaps with a little supplementation.