Best Supplements To Take For Overall Health

There are so many types of supplements out there. There’s vitamins and minerals, herbs and botanicals, omega-3’s, probiotics, amino acids, specialty supplements like coQ10 (and many more), and last but not least sports nutrition and weight management supplements.

So which ones are actually best to take for our overall health? For this article we are going to dive into the very best supplements you should take on a daily basis to help with your overall health and well being. 

Let’s dive in.

Multivitamin

A multivitamin may be the most important one. Why is this? Well, most Americans don’t follow a great diet. Because of this, they predispose themselves to many diseases and health issues.

Multivitamins don’t cost that much, and they are a sure fire way to make sure you don’t have any micronutrient deficiencies. 

Let’s just put it this way, even if you take too much of a micronutrient, in most cases that’s better than lacking in certain ones. 

For example, deficiencies in vitamins such as vitamin D or B12 can lead to many things including bone weakness, depression, and increased risk of chronic diseases. 

Things To Keep In Mind When Looking For a Multivitamin

Not every multivitamin is built the same. You need to keep a couple things in mind when looking for a good multivitamin. These things include:

Vitamins and Minerals

You need to make sure the vitamins and minerals within the multivitamin are good enough for your daily needs. Check the percentage of the recommended dietary allowance for each nutrient to ensure that you're getting a significant portion of what your body requires. It’s important to note that 100% daily value isn’t always the best. This is because we often get vitamins and minerals through our diet. 

Bioavailability 

Bioavailability is your body's ability to absorb nutrients. If your body can’t absorb the multivitamin, you’re wasting your money. There are many factors that go into the biovailabity of multivitamins including the form of the nutrient, the time of day it's taken, and what it's taken with. 

Consider Your Specific Needs

Everyone is different. Some people have allergens. Other people follow certain diets (like vegan for example). You need to make sure that the multivitamin you choose checks all the boxes of what you need.

Beware of additives and fillers

Above we discussed bioavailability. One of the things that decreases the bioavailability of your multivitamin is additives and fillers. That's only the beginning. Some additives or fillers could give you health issues and they have absolutely no nutritional value. 

You may be wondering why some companies use them within their supplements. There are a couple of different reasons.

The first one is taste.  Some fillers or additives will make the texture more appealing or even improve taste. 

The second reason is for binding reasons. Sometimes it's hard to keep capsules from falling apart, fillers could help make sure they don’t  

Lastly, some companies use fillers as flow agents, which helps with the manufacturing process. 

Inferior Sources Of Nutrients 

Synthetic ingredients are being pushed more and more because of their economical impact. With that being said, they aren’t as effective as natural ingredients. 

Synthetic vitamins are harder for the body to process (they don’t recognize them), and according to some sources they have some potential health risks. 

It’s sometimes hard to spot synthetic vitamins because the labeling for them often says natural, when in reality that couldn’t be further from the truth.

If you’re looking for a way to differentiate synthetic and actual natural vitamins you need to look on the label for 100% natural. If it states this on the bottle, it's a sign that it’s more likely to contain actual vitamins. 

You could also look for the food source list. For example if it says natural food sources, it’s more likely to also contain real vitamins. 

Discuss It With Your Doctor

Before choosing any multivitamin make sure you talk to your doctor as only they know what other supplements you’re taking and what ingredients may not be the best for you. 

Omega 3’s

Another supplement to take for your overall health is Omega-3 fatty acids. They are considered essential fats, which means they must be obtained through a diet of supplementation since the body can’t produce them on their own. 

Because of what we stated above in regards to the American diet, it’s a must take supplement for most. 

On top of that, vegans often need to take omega 3’s simply because of the fact that they don’t get it through their diet. 

The two types of Omega-3’s are:

• ALA (alpha-linolenic acid): Found in plant sources like flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts.
• EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid): Found in high amounts in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines, and in algae.

What Are The Benefits Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids?

There are a couple of different health benefits that come with taking omega-3 fatty acids.

Heart Health

First things first is heart health. Omega-3’s can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. They do so by lowering blood pressure, reducing triglyceride levels, and slowing down the development of plaque in the arteries. 

Mental Health 

Next is mental health benefits. Much like vitamin D, omega-3’s are linked to decreased rates of depression and may also help against age-related mental diseases like alzheimers.

Reduces Inflammation

Eye Health

Keeping up with our vision, especially as we get older, is very important. Omega-3’s have highly concentrated within the eyes and are essential for keeping your eyes healthy.

Inflammation Reduction

Inflammation is natural, however, chronic inflammation is no good. Chronic inflammation could lead to increased disease risk, lack of good bone health, and more. By taking omega-3’s on a consistent basis you may limit this level of inflammation. 

What To Look For When Choosing an Omega-3 Supplement

Just like looking for a multivitamin, there are certain things you should take into consideration when looking for an omega-3 supplement. Let’s go over what they are. 

EPA/DHA Levels

The first thing is EPA/DHA levels. These are two most important omega-3 fatty acids so you want to make sure the supplement you choose has adequate amounts of them. 

Source

This is important especially if you’re a vegan. As a vegan you should make sure the source of your omega-3 is algae. If you’re not vegan you could get yours from fish. There are some reliable vegan omega-3’s out there, you just need to make sure they have the right amount of EPA/DHA levels. 

Purity and Authenticity

When it comes to supplements in general, not just omega 3-’s, you want to make sure that you choose a product that uses third party testing practices. This will make sure the product is safe. 

Freshness

If you’ve ever consumed a rancid omega-3 supplement, it’s not fun. You need to keep your eyes out for a product that has a recent manufacturing date. Also look out for omega-3’s that have antioxidants simply because of the fact that it helps protect the omegas from oxidation. This ensures they are stable.

Reviews and Reputation

For omega-3’s specifically, you want to look at the reviews. If the company you’re buying from has overwhelming amounts of reviews stating the omegas came leaked or rancid, you probably don’t want to buy from them.

Probiotics

Next up on the list, is probiotics. 

In short, if you didn’t know, probiotics are a mixture of live bacteria that naturally live in your body. They are usually referred to as good bacteria. 

The reason probiotics are on the list of the best supplements to take is because of the same reasons multivitamins and omega-3’s are: the American diet. 

The American diet is so bad that it gets us to the point where our gut health is so poor hat we may need an extra boost to maintain the balance of beneficial bacteria. The typical American diet, often high in sugar, fat, and processed foods, can disrupt the natural balance of our gut microbiota. With that being said, let’s dive into all of the different benefits probiotics have to offer, and then what you should take into consideration when choosing a probiotic supplement. 

Benefits Of Taking a Good Probiotic Supplement

The benefits of probiotics are simple, but help in so many other indirect ways. 

Improved Digestive Health

When your gut is balanced, it leads to improved digestive health. Taking probiotics on regular basis could improve digestive issues like diarrhea and more. 

Immune Function

Probiotics help your body produce antibodies which are a type of white blood cell. They are responsible for identifying and getting rid of foreign objects (bacteria and viruses).

Mental Health Support

Just like Omega-3’s, taking a probiotic on a regular basis could help your mental health. This is because the gut and the brain are connected. When your gut isn’t healthy, it could reflect in your mind. If you don’t take care of your gut it could result in anxiety, depression, stress, and more.

Heart Health

Probiotics could also help your heart. It could help lower LDL cholesterol which is also known as bad cholesterol. On top of that, it could help lower blood pressure. 

Choosing a Probiotic Supplement The Right Way

When you’re looking for a probiotic supplement, consider the following:

Specific Strains

There are different strains of probiotics. Some strains are better than others when it comes to different health issues. Make sure to do your research and make sure the strains in your probiotic supplement are good for you.

CFU Count

Some probiotics claim to be a comprehensive supplement yet only contain a low count of colony-forming units (CFUs). The CFU count indicates the number of viable bacteria in a probiotic. While a higher CFU count may seem beneficial, it's the quality and efficacy of the strains that truly matter.

Survivability

The stomach is an acidic place. This makes it hard for certain things to survive, including probiotics. Look for probiotics with strains that have a good survivability rate. 

Quality and Purity

Just like multivitamins and omega-3’s, quality is king.  Choose a reputable brand that adheres to good manufacturing practices and has their products independently tested for quality and purity. It may take a while to find a good company, but it’s well worth the search.

Expiration Date

Omega-3’s go rancid, and probiotics can get less effective over time. Make sure you pay attention to the expiration date when buying a probiotic as well.

How To Also Incorporate Probiotics Through Diet

Probiotic supplements aren’t the only way you could get probiotics into your diet. You could also get it from the following foods. 

Yogurt

If you’ve ever seen yogurt labels say “live and active cultures” it means there is probiotic content. 

Kefir

Kefir is fermented milk and is a great source of probiotics.

Fermented Vegetables

Lastly, sauerkraut and kimchi are also good sources. 

Comprehensive 3-In-1 Supplement: Trilogy

Now that you know the benefits of multivitamins, omega-3’s, and probiotics. What if I told you that there was one supplement you could take to get all three in at once. That supplement is Trilogy. 

Trilogy checks every box when it comes to each supplement. Its third party tested, has 100% natural ingredients, and is made with bioavailability in mind. 

Let’s talk about each aspect of the 3-in-1 formula to see how they stack up.

Universal Multivitamin

The multivitamin in Trilogy includes ingredients to help hit those nutritional gaps. It has antioxidant properties of Vitamins A, C, and E to the energy-boosting B12, and the bone-strengthening D3, our multivitamin ensures you're covered.

There’s also important minerals like selenium for its immune system properties, magnesium for nerve function, and zinc for metabolism support. 

Omega 3’s - With Your Dietary Preferences In Mind

Above we mentioned how you should consider your dietary preference when choosing an omega-3 supplement. Vibrant Health keeps this in mind with Trilogy by offering two different options; regular and vegan. The regular Trilogy has fish oil and the vegan one is made with algae oil. 

Both alternatives have good amounts of DHA and EPA (which we said was very important earlier).

Probiotics

Trilogy has 20 billion CFU’s with 12 different strains. The probiotic is created for resilience and top notch performance. 

As we stated above, the stomach is a tough place to survive. Because of this Trilogy has bile-resistant strains which are designed to withstand the acidic nature of the digestive system. 

The Synergy Of Trilogy

Taking multivitamins, omega-3’s, and probiotics together with Trilogy increases the health benefits more so than if they were taken separately, or alone. This is because despite their individual benefits, they also benefit each other. Here’s how:

The Omega-3s improve the Strength Of Probiotics

A quality omega-3 like the one in Trilogy could act as a prebiotic for your probiotic. Prebiotics increase the survival rate of your probiotics, which makes their benefits more effective.

Probiotics Help You Absorb The Multivitamin 

Another synergistic affect is how the probiotics help the multivitamin. When you’re stomach is clear of inflammation (on behalf of the probiotic), it allows your body to better absorb the nutrients in the multivitamin. 

Conclusion

Are you interested in taking each of these supplements? 

If so, save you’re self some time and consider ordering Trilogy. This way you won’t have to order three separate products all the time. When you run out of Trilogy, all you have to do is reorder one bottle. 

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