Yes, I'm very aware of the negative press about supplements but still feel strongly positive about them. Why? 

First of all there are over 85,000 different supplements. 85,000, are they all useless, poor quality, or even dangerous, as some opponents of the industry and the media make them out to be? Let's take a look at what the 85,000 supplements consist of. First of all I would break it down to different categories:

1. Multiples- of which there are 1000's of different variations,            
2. Individual vitamins- each vitamin can come in several forms also   
3. Individual minerals- again each mineral can have several forms,                                           4. Combination minerals- like a bone support product with maybe calcium, magnesium,                                                  vitamin D, plus possibly several other supportive ingredients.       5. Herbal products- individual and combinations of, dry or liquid extracts 
6. Amino acids- individual and combinations of.
7. Probiotics- individual and combinations of
8. Green powders- can be individual like a wheat grass but usually combinations of many                                    ingredients. Can also be different colored products like red powders,                                      usually from fruits  
9. Protein powders- from various protein sources like whey, and plant protein sources for                                       vegetarians 
10. Enzymes- many possibilities here.
11. Essential fatty acids
12. Homeopathic products


Have I missed something? I'm sure I have, by the way many of these products can also be in powder form, capsules, tablets or liquids. There can also be combinations of many of all these categories. Yikes! Again, 85,000 different products, is it all just a scam as many are led to believe? Are all the negative news articles accurate and presenting the facts? Absolutely! Totally worthless, only prescriptions cure anything! LOL! Actually, only prescriptions are allowed to have medical claims associated with diseases, so the truth is only prescriptions cure! 


One of the main outcomes if there is a problem with a product or a study showing negative results, the entire supplement industry gets smeared. All supplements get collectively judged negatively. On top of this lopsided view, any rebuttal is barely heard. 


Let me add that I am not saying that all supplements are great or even necessary but are all 85,000 useless, poor quality and possibly dangerous? I hardly think so and I believe they should be a part of most people's health program. Here's a link to the amount of deaths attributed to supplements (zero) in 2013, the most recent year available. 


By the way a very important study* that is completely ignored by mainstream medicine found that "if you take supplements daily to age 100, you will live a very long life".  (*Bob's College, a small midwestern university)



I also offer my clients access to Emerson Ecologics products with a 15% discount. They are the premier distributors of professional supplements for health practioners. They have their own quality assurance system that substantiates the quality of participating companies, which you can read about here. 
                                                      
Questions? Email me at elliot@nutritionforlonglife.com to set up a free 15 minute consultation


So Who Really Needs Supplements?

So if you read my ebook, you might have noticed I mentioned the importance of the soil when determining nutrient density. So that's a clue on how I think about supplements, that the lower quality food you eat, the more supplements you might need. If the food you eat is lower quality, minerals are probably very important to you. If the soil is deficient in minerals like most of our soil is, how can a plant have many? Also many pesticides including glycophosphate used in GMO crops inhibits the plant from absorbing minerals. So where do we get the necessary minerals? From the air? I'm not sure but I'm erroring on the side of taking additional supplements. 

On top of soil depletion is our food distribution system. By the time a plant is picked, warehoused and makes it to the market it can be several days. Again, a loss of nutrients. 

As an age group I think seniors probably need more help than most. They tend to eat less, have poorer digestion plus take the most medications of any age group. On the other hand everyone else might need some additional help due to the poor diets we tend to eat, high in processed foods and sugar. Oh, but after reading my ebook, you are leaving that category! Definitely! 

So if you look at all the different categories of supplements isn't there more than likely a category where you might need some additional support? Even though I eat a pretty healthy diet, I recognize there are areas that I could use more support, so I do take supplements.