I sometimes get asked what supplements I take personally. I often wonder if people ask me these questions to see if I really believe in all this stuff I market. Well, the truth is that I believe in it so much that I spend a ridiculous amount of money per month on supplements for me and my family.
And here's why.
I eat at least one meal in a restaurant nearly every day of my life because of my travels. I realize that restaurant food is not the best in the world, although I do always make good choices and never eat in fast food restaurants, unless you factor in places like Chipotle and such. But "food" from McDonalds and Burger King never touches my lips. When I eat at home, we make very good choices, but it's not always organic, and I do get concerned about the pesticides and other chemicals on my food and how much nutrition is lacking in commercial produce.
I also don't exercise as much as I should, although exercise was once a big part of my life. But being a father, and now a grandfather, a busy businessman, an author, and a pastor have gotten in the way of exercising as much as I would like.
So since I often have to compromise in the areas of diet and exercise, supplements is something where I don't have to cut corners. Yes, I do have to make a financial sacrifice to supplement like I do, but I feel like my health and the health of my loved ones is worth it.
What I Take and Why
My day usually begins around 6:30 am when I get up to read, pray, and meditate before I start the business part of my day. I fire up my Bullit blender and throw in a raw egg, a little almond milk, water and ice, and then pack in a scoop of Ultra Clear Plus (medical food for detoxification), a scoop of Meta Fiber, a half teaspoon of spirulina, and a half scoop of Perfect Protein. Believe it or not, it doesn't taste too bad, although the spirulina powder turns the drink green.
But it doesn't stop there.
Then I open up the cupboard to start popping open bottles, as follows:
- Ultra Potent C powder - half teaspoon
- Celapro (phytochemical blend)
- Concentrated Ultra Prostagen (Prostate support; yes, I'm at that age.)
- D3 5000
- Adreset (Adrenal and HPA support for my morning giddyup!)
- OsteoVantiv (Joint support. Stop laughing at my age, I'm a former athlete. I ache sometimes!)
- CoQ10 ST 100 (more energy, cardio, and antioxidant support)
- Ultra Flora Spectrum (multi-strain probiotic)
- PhytoMulti (micronutrient and phytochemical blend)
- EPA DHA 720 (fish oil)
- Spectrazyme Complete (plant-based enzymes)
Sometimes I wonder if I'm not overdoing it, and I suppose you could make that case. But then I have to look at my health at almost 51 years of age, and I have believe I'm doing something right. In spite of not eating a "pure" diet by some people's standards, and in spite of not getting the exercise I would like, and in spite of a workload and stress level that I wish were a little lighter, I'm still very fit, I'm almost never sick, I'm energetic, and I'm somehow able to manage a crazy schedule without imploding. And when the younger family members or friends come come calling wanting to play some basketball or frisbee or touch football, I can keep up with them!
I have attended the funerals of school mates -- people my age -- who have died of cancer. I have visited hospital rooms where people my age went down with heart attacks and nearly died. I have counseled with people with all kinds of health problems that really come down to nutrition -- what they put in their bodies and what they DON'T put in their bodies. It saddens me to see people suffer so needlessly when they could change a few things about their lifestyles and completely turn around their health. I realize that lifestyle is not the only reason people sometimes get sick, but lifestyle is a BIG part of the picture. In fact, a Surgeon General Report back in the 90s stated that 7 out of 10 leading causes of death in America are preventable because they are diet and lifestyle related. SEVEN OUT OF TEN!
So when I see all the suffering around me, I do believe that my maniacal supplement regime is worth it. If I lived 100 years ago when the environment was much cleaner, the stress levels were not as high, and the food was pure and nutritionally sound, then I probably wouldn't need to supplement at all. But that's not the world we live in now. When you consider that over 6 BILLION pounds of chemical toxins are released out into our environment every year, on top of the immense amount of stress our culture piles upon us, and add the horribly flawed food we are forced to ingest, then we have a health picture that is very different that in times past. Yes, I believe that supplementation can make up for some of that.
Now if only there was a supplement for hair loss that really worked, I would be set! ;-)
