Do I Really Need to Take Supplements?

Even if you eat a perfect organic, whole-foods diet, the answer is probably yes.

- By Emily A. Kane

Q A lot of regular medical doctors seem to think that supplements just produce “expensive urine.” I think drugs are way worse, but it’s still confusing. Thoughts?

The best idea, always, is to value and preserve your health to the best of your ability. Top priority, every day. If COVID-19 has shown us anything, it’s that people who are generally well tend to have milder disease, which is why maintaining optimum health is so important.

So, what are some strategies for staying healthy? A targeted regimen of dietary supplements tops the list. That’s mostly because our food—even when organic—doesn’t have the vitamin and mineral content as it did before our air, water, and soil became saturated with man-made chemicals. Our planet is beleaguered with the stuff—and so are our guts and immune systems!

Vitamin C for Tissue Repair & Much More

One example of a critical nutrient that requires supplementation is vitamin C. Humans are incapable of internally producing vitamin C (ascorbic acid), which is used by the body for tissue repair, wound healing, adrenal health, and collagen integrity. Unless you drink fresh-squeezed orange juice or use a lot of lemon/lime in your water or cooking, you probably aren’t getting a beneficial amount of vitamin C from your diet.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin C is 65 mg per day. This is the minimum stored in our fat cells, so it can be tricky for overweight people to achieve optimal blood levels of 60–80 ng/mL.