Why do you Supplement?

**Nutritional Supplements**

…should be personalised to the individual, according to full nutritional analysis of their food diary, lifestyle factors and clinical assessment.

Did you get told by a practitioner to take a vitamin D supplement this year? Did they also tell you that vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and requires supplementation in a liquid emulsion form to optimise its absorption? Or did they tell you to buy one from the high street or supermarket? If the latter then the chances are you are not absorbing it or enough of it to make a difference. Additionally, cheaper high street brands often contain unsuitable ‘filler’ ingredients that affect gut function. A supermarket brand may be a cheaper option than a well established supplement brand, but if you’re not absorbing it then it is literally money flushed straight down the drain.

**Vitamin D supplementation**

*The gut bacteria may sequester vitamin D, iron and magnesium as a fuel source. Therefore, clinical supervision of supplementation in people with gut problems is optimum.*

Fix Your Gut with The Gut Coach Nutritionist

Nutritional supplements are the domain of the Nutritional Therapist (NT), who spends 4-7 years in academic studies of nutritional science, biochemistry, evidence based medicine, personalised nutrition and clinical practice all based on the Functional Medicine Model. A significant amount of time is dedicated in clinic to checking drug and nutrient interactions, known as ‘DNI’s’, to ensure safe practice when recommending supplements. I make a clinical assessment based on a client’s food diary, lifestyle factors, medications and medical history and use the latest scientific research to work out which type of supplement would be most suitable.

For example, oral iron supplementation may be notoriously difficult to achieve without causing constipation and bloating because it is taken up in the intestines by methane producing gut bacteria. GPs commonly prescribe high doses of iron sulphate or fumarate, both are forms of iron which have less bioavailability in the body. The combination of the high dose and poorly absorbable form of iron provides a significant fuel source for the methane producing gut bacteria, contributing to or causing gastrointestinal (GI) side effects. However, there are forms of iron and dosage regimes that can mitigate this issue and can be recommended by an NT.

**Anti-nutrients**

***The polyphenolic plant compounds in tea and coffee reduce iron absorption.***

There are specific anti-nutrients affecting iron absorption, such as drinking tea and coffee while eating. The polyphenolic plant compounds in tea and coffee reduce iron absorption and therefore consumption should be kept 1-2 hours away from eating. Removing tea and coffee from meal times is a journey and difficult to achieve overnight. I coach my clients to remove beverages from mealtimes, as promoting iron absorption is a more suitable option than paying for a supplement that may cause unpleasant GI symptoms. Increasing dietary intake is important too and will be factored into their nutritional plan.

Supplements can provide a wonderful addition to the diet and really support someone in their gut health journey when suffering. In clinical practice I aim to address nutritional deficiencies or sub-optimal levels of nutrients using diet and lifestyle modifications as my primary tools. If the client does demonstrate low levels of a nutrient, upon nutritional analysis of their food diary or testing, I may need to guide them to increase the nutrient into their diet and promote its absorption first, depending on which vitamin or mineral is in question. At times, supplementation may be necessary.

**Diet & Lifestyle Adjustments…**

…are the primary tools of a Nutritional Therapist (BANT)

When it comes to magnesium we could predict that most people have low levels of this mineral due to mineral depletions in soil and from our highly stressed lifestyles increasing the requirement for magnesium in the stress response. Known as ‘Mother Nature’s tranquilliser’ magnesium can be a wonderful supplement for many purposes including muscular-skeletal pain reduction and promoting efficient sleep cycles.

There are many forms of magnesium- citrate, malate, glycinate to name a few; which one should you take to support muscle function? When should you take it? How should you take it? Which factors reduce its absorption and which promote it? If you don’t know all of the answers then you might not be getting the best out of your supplement. Just because others have had significant benefit taking a magnesium glycinate supplement to promote sleep does not mean that you will too.