Holiday in France. Sun, calm, joie de vivre. The perfect picture, right?
Until day 3. By then we’d collectively turned into the cast of a reality-TV family meltdown, but without the humour. The adults were snapping at each other, the kids were walking mood swings, and me? I was the Queen of Grumpy. Day 4 brought the insight: our supplements were back in the Netherlands. On the kitchen counter. Well, f*ck. 😣
Pills are for sick people, and other nonsense I believed
I was that person: “Taking pills is for losers. I just eat healthily!” Nice story. It just isn’t true anymore. Sorry. Here are the facts:
- Dutch vegetables contain fewer nutrients than decades ago
- 9 out of 10 Dutch people get too little vitamin D, even in summer
- Magnesium deficiency is common, partly due to stress and caffeine
But I’m sure you eat that generous daily portion of vegetables you’d need to get the same nutrition grandma got from a single carrot. Right? No judgement, I had to learn some expensive lessons here first too. Once I’d dug into studies like these, I went wild on supplements. I had a whole drawer full of this and that. Every new biohacking blog sent me off researching again, and often ended in an online shopping spree. I seriously had more supplements than herbs in my kitchen cupboard. But just taking a bit of everything isn’t all that smart.
Not all supplements are equal (and cheap is often expensive)
Here comes the eye-opener: those random, cheap synthetic supplements from the chemist, your own cobbled-together bio-hacks, often work far less well than you think. And sometimes against you.
What’s going on:
Many cheap supplements use isolated, synthetic forms of vitamins. Sometimes that doesn’t matter, but sometimes it does: your body often absorbs the natural, “whole-food” form better and uses it more efficiently, because the cofactors your body needs to do something with it come along with it. An isolated vitamin in a megadose misses that context. Part of it then simply isn’t absorbed: expensive pee.
On top of that, separate vitamins and minerals compete for absorption. This isn’t marketing, it’s well-known nutrition science: too much zinc inhibits the absorption of copper, calcium and magnesium compete, and iron can affect the absorption of other substances. Throw in a handful of separate jars without a plan and you sometimes work against that balance.
And be careful with fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K): you don’t just pee those out, you store them. In normal doses that’s fine, but in high synthetic megadoses they can build up to unwanted levels. So more isn’t always better here.
In short: it’s not about swallowing as much as possible, but about the right form, in the right ratio, that your body can actually use.
The system that changed my life (and my mood)
Wellness Made Simple: thoughtfully designed for your body
VMG+ Superfood Powder. Forget separate pills, this is smarter:
- Liposomal form, which can improve the absorption of a number of nutrients
- Essential oils that support absorption
- 70+ whole-food ingredients that complement each other instead of competing
Real food in concentrated form. My daily green power drink: every afternoon a green smoothie with VMG+. Vegetables, fibre, minerals, vitamins, pre- and probiotics in one. Your body will love you.
EO Mega+ Liquid Sachets. Those omega-3 capsules in the shop? That oil could be years old. 😝 And fresh omegas really matter here:
Omega-3 fatty acids are prone to oxidation. Old or poorly stored fish oil can go rancid, and oxidised fatty acids do little for your body and can even work against you. So freshness, absorption and quality matter; otherwise you’re paying for something that barely helps you. The fresh EO Mega+ sachets, on the other hand:
- Airtight-packed, so minimal oxidation
- Liquid, for good absorption
- Wild orange essential oil makes it tasty
- Olive oil from Lesbos added for extra polyphenols, which help protect the omegas from oxidation
My hack: every other day I mix a sachet of EO Mega into my VMG+ drink. Believe me, you have to taste this, it becomes so good. Plus: the fats help you absorb your fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) better. Pure synergy.
PB Assist+ Probiotics. I take a sachet every evening before bed. Why in the evening? At night your body is in rest-and-recover mode, your gut movement is a bit slower, and that gives the probiotics more time to attach to your gut wall. A large part of your “happy chemicals” like serotonin is made in your gut, and a healthy microbiome is your ally in that. My neurospicy minions and me? A lot less irritable since this routine. I noticed a difference within a few days.
“Do I really need all those supplements?”
Listen. You give your phone an update every night. Your car gets the best petrol. Your hair an expensive treatment. But your body, that biochemical masterpiece, has to make do with depleted vegetables and a bit of hope?
Your body works 24/7 for you. Isn’t €4.50 a day the least you can give back? That takeaway coffee is more expensive (and bad for you too).
The JOMO effect (how I became a believer)
My kitchen cupboards now hold herbs. The random supplements went in the bin. That grumpy holiday was my wake-up call. From now on my supplements come with me. I always have a sachet in my bag. In. Every. Bag.
Paranoia? No. Simply: I’ve learned that my body works miracles for me every day, and that deserves good care. Not because I’m weak, but because I know the difference between surviving and LIVING often lies in that daily support. And because I now have supplements I can easily drink, that taste good and that actually do what they promise.
I’m worth it. You’re worth it. Full stop. Let’s go! 🚀
Love, Tanja
Ready to give your body the VIP treatment? Grab the Wellness Made Simple system or take the GOOD. assessment. No blah blah, just results.
P.S. Yes, I’m now that person who lugs her supplements everywhere. And you know what? I’m also that person with energy, focus and a positive mindset. Coincidence? I think not.