A Hot Take on Supplements, Adaptogens, and Herbs
Are They Really the Cure?
I used to be the supplement queen, adding all kinds of adaptogens and mushrooms to my morning potions. 🍄 When I traveled to Italy and France in 2021, I packed over ten bottles in my suitcase—mainly out of fear that eating gluten, dairy, and sugar would make me break out, as I discuss in some of my other articles.
Supplements, adaptogens, and herbs have become buzzwords in the holistic health space. They can lure you into thinking there’s a simple, quick fix for mysterious, chronic health symptoms.
In my humble opinion, I’ve come to see them, in most cases, as overpriced fillers—not always necessary for optimal health. They lead us to believe we’re accelerating our healing or that we need them, when in reality, we’re probably just throwing money down the drain.
Supplements can come in the form of tablets, capsules, or powders and are usually composed mainly of vitamins or minerals. Adaptogens and herbs can also be considered supplements, as they’re additions to your daily food intake (hence, supplementing).
Adaptogens are herbs or herbal compounds, typically in powder or tincture form. They’re called adaptogens because they help the body adapt to daily stress and maintain homeostasis—think ashwagandha.
Herbs are plants that we can ingest and cook with. Each herb has unique properties and affinities that can support the body in various ways. They also add flavour to our dishes when cooking and baking.
The Hot Take 🔥
With the overwhelming amount of health and wellness information and Instagram ads (I might puke if I see another Cymbiotika ad), we’re often bombarded with messages that evoke a sense of fear and create a perceived need for these products.
The holistic industry profits from our lack of understanding and our desire for survival of the fittest, bodily perfection, heightened stamina, and performance.
We can obtain these vitamins and minerals by eating whole, nutritious foods and drinking mineral water, which are essential for our survival and optimal function. Nature has beautifully wrapped these nutrients in food—we don’t necessarily need to extract and isolate them.
If you think you may not be absorbing certain vitamins and minerals from food, you’re likely not absorbing an isolated version of the same thing either. If you're not absorbing it through food, it’s probably an absorption issue. This topic is nuanced and complex. The takeaway is to avoid using supplements as a band-aid approach to health and well-being.
I’m not saying that supplements, herbs, and adaptogens can’t be supportive—in fact, they absolutely can. One way they are supportive is by helping the body reduce its ‘toxic load’ and aiding us through the healing process.
Through the lens of GNM (German New Medicine), our bodies initiate a two-phase process whenever we experience conflict-shock: the conflict-active phase and the healing phase. During the healing phase, we experience heat, inflammation, fevers, night sweats and bacteria that aid in the breakdown of tissue that is no longer needed. This is when we see most symptoms and typically feel ill or run down. Imagine the healing phase as the repair and restoration that occurs after an intense workout or training session as the body returns to its baseline. By taking care of ourselves and living biologically, we naturally support the healing process, potentially minimizing both the time it takes to heal and the intensity of the healing simply by being healthier overall.
Supplements, herbs, and adaptogens aren’t the healing—they can potentially support the healing that already occurs innately and naturally. Your beliefs also play a significant role in this process. In other words, your supplements aren’t the reason you’re no longer bloated.
I personally went cold turkey and stopped taking all supplements about two years ago, integrating only what I intuitively feel called to with deeper awareness and understanding. I believe the health space often views supplements as a necessity (I certainly did at one point) rather than as supportive. I don’t take magnesium, yet I sleep soundly and have excellent digestion. 💩 And don’t get me wrong, I love a beautifully brewed cuppa tea with linden, rose, peppermint, and ginger.
We’ve become a society that takes whatever is advertised to us, driven by fearmongering. Taking things mindlessly or seeking a quick fix isn’t the answer. It’s more about intention and understanding than reliance. If we’re going to ingest supplements, herbs, or adaptogens, we need to be informed and aware of the beauty, complexity, and effects of what we’re working with. I say “working with” because I prefer not to use the word “use.” I learned this perspective back in 2019 when I began studying Western herbalism through CommonWealth Holistic Herbalism.
I am consistently recognizing my own tendencies toward black-and-white thinking rather than being able to sit in the gray areas. I won’t say I am anti-supplements and herbs, but I certainly disagree with the majority of the holistic wellness industry and those brands that use the latest influencer to promote products that are just like the next. We often think they’re better simply because they come wrapped in a bow with a cherry on top and are endorsed by someone Instagram famous—whatever the hell that means! 🍒
My offering to you is to start paying attention to why you’re taking something. Are you doing it out of fear? FOMO? Misunderstanding or mindlessness? Or because some influencer claimed it cured X, Y, and Z for them?
Your beliefs about these products are often more powerful than the products themselves. Have you ever heard of the placebo effect? Yes, it still applies to natural products.
Back in the day, we ate from the land, knew where our food came from, trusted our bodies more, and lived with less fear-inducing information and distraction. This allowed us to live in greater biological harmony, reducing the need to supplement as we absorbed what we needed from the foods we ate.
Simple Ways to Return to Living More Biologically with Food:
Limit screen time while eating.
Say a prayer before meals or express gratitude for your food, the person who cooked it, and where it came from.
Create dishes that require slower cooking times and your presence.
Eat more whole, nutrient-dense foods.
Avoid difficult conversations at the table.
Take a few deep breaths before eating.
Chew food thoroughly.
Eat protein-rich meals earlier in the day.
Have caffeine only after your first meal.
Disclaimer: This article is not medical advice and should not be taken as such. Always consult a healthcare professional for medical concerns.
In health,
Abigail