Supplements: Do I Really Need Them?

I recently saw the above post on the Growing Organic, Eating Organic site on Facebook,  It pretty much sums up my current food philosophy.  The group has a lot of good information on eating healthy food.  You might want to check it out.

I have gotten rid of chemicals in my environment, ditched processed food, and I'm eating a healthy diet that is rich in whole foods, and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant foods.  But, hey, I could still be missing something that might help me maintain my freedom from fibromyalgia pain.  After making all these changes I'm symptom free and I surely do not want that horrible pain and debilitating fatigue to come back.  I wondered if I needed to take supplements.

So I hit the computer and started reading about vitamin and mineral supplements.  Some people recommend taking a lot of pills.  There are companies and websites devoted to explaining which supplements a person needs (and often include a convenient link for buying the products they describe.)  If you take a lot of vitamins and supplements and this has helped you, that is awesome. 

I was hesitant to add a ton of manufactured supplements to my recovery plan. There is no oversight or regulation concerning what goes into these products.  There is no requirement that companies have to disclose what they use for fillers, coatings, and additives to the supplements they make.  After spending two years getting chemicals out of my life and food, I don't want to risk unknown chemicals sneaking back into my body through a processed supplement.

I do take two vitamins.  My routine lab work last fall showed that I had developed a Vitamin D deficiency and that my B 12 level was low.   So I take Vitamin D and B 12 and will continue to do so until my levels return to normal and stay there.  It is important to have yearly lab work done to determine if you have any true vitamin deficiencies or other treatable conditions that will only show up with laboratory analysis.  It is equally important to follow the recommendations of your physician for treating a vitamin deficiency. 

But there are many vitamin pills and mineral supplements that some people recommend for inflammation, pain, fatigue, and other symptoms.  These vitamins and minerals can be absorbed easily through eating whole foods.  Why should I take a pill of concentrated cherry compound with unknown manufactured components when I can just eat cherries every day?  
Why should I take a pill for omega three when I can get it from eating salmon, flaxseed, walnuts, basil, oregano, and spinach?

If you want to know which foods contain which vitamins and nutrients, just get online and google away.  There are lists of foods high in omega three, lists of antioxidant foods, lists of anti-inflammatory foods, lists of foods that help control pain, lists of super foods.
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Word of Caution

Eating healthy food will not help you recover if you don't get rid of the harmful chemicals in your environment and stop eating processed food