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Writer's pictureAnnika - FNTP, HTMA

Swap Your Supplements for Real Food

SUPPLEMENTS. I’m not a huge fan of 99% of supplements, and here’s why:


Many supplements are synthetic, which is the first problem.


Vitamin C is one of my favorite examples. 99.9% of Vitamin C that you will find in the store is in the form of synthetic Ascorbic Acid.


Synthetic Ascorbic Acid actually blocks/inhibits the reception of real Vitamin C. So when you do eat a real food source of vitamin C such as citrus fruit, your vitamin C supplement is blocking the absorption and depleting you of the real thing.


Here’s some better swaps:


Zinc ➡️ Oysters: see my post on feb 21st for all the oyster/zinc info. But oysters are the BEST whole-foods form of zinc pretty much ever.


Vitamin D ➡️ Sunshine, Raw Dairy, and Eggs: I no longer advise Vitamin D supplements as vitamin D is actually a hormone and depletes many other important vitamins and minerals in the body. The BEST way to get good vitamin D is through the sun, and you can get some through eggs and raw dairy as well.


Also, the body needs adequate magnesium to convert vitamin D from the storage form in your body to the active form. So make sure you’re getting your minerals in!


Vitamin C ➡️ Cherries & Citrus Fruit: I already talked about why I don’t like vitamin C as ascorbic acid supplements. The RDA for vitamin C for adults is 65-90mg. A large orange contains ~80-90mg of vitamin C, meaning you can hit the RDA (which is usually too low, IMO), with one large orange.


Acerola cherries are another phenomenal source of vitamin C. Acerola cherries in a serving 100g, contains about 1500 - 4500mg of vitamin C!


Vitamin A ➡️ Beef Liver: the body requires vitamin A to utilize protein, minerals, and water-soluble vitamins & is a powerful antioxidant. The RDA for vitamin A is 700mcg for women, and a 1oz serving of liver contains ~5000 IU of vitamin A.


Folate ➡️ Liver & Eggs: folic acid, found in most multivitamins and prenatal vitamins, is the synthetic form of folate. Liver from a variety of animals & eggs are a great source, as well as greens cooked into broth. If you can’t get enough folate through your diet, it may be appropriate to supplement with 5-MTFH, not folic acid.


*NONE OF THE ABOVE is medical advice*


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