As a former Chemist in a third-party supplement testing lab, I've had my fair share of different supplements. š
From performance enhancers, mass gainers, nutraceuticals--I enjoyed sampling hundreds of different pills, powders, and gels. Today, I'm diving into the five ingredients to absolutely stay away from for the sake of your health and the health of your family...
The crazy thing is, I was ignorant about what I'm going to share with you today, and I didn't understand the difference between harmful snake oil and high quality stuff. At one point, I was taking a product with sugar beets in it for over a year, and my gut health was suffering as a result (along with my anxiety levels). My sincere desire is that you learn from my mistakes and research. Apply this discernment into your life, and you'll be able to detect garbage, toxic supplements any day of the week. Here we go!
Acesulfame K:
This is just one of many artificial sweeteners like sucralose (Splenda) and aspartame (Nutrasweet). Avoid them all. Some cause migraines and hypertension. We still don't know the long term effects of others. And the one thing no one ever talks about is the damage these chemicals do by suppressing good gut bacteria. IBS, anyone? Look, when it comes to food, if it's synthetic...stay away. You can't go wrong. ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā Beet Sugar:
Added sugars are everywhere. Avoid them. But whenever you see added sugars to the point that you're getting over 4g per serving (one teaspoon), then start questioning the quality of the product. Beet sugar is especially toxic. Sugar beets are GMO and bred for herbicide tolerance. If you don't see an organic label, run! Traces of carcinogenic glyphosate will be in your "health" supplement. ā ā
ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā Artificial Color/Flavor:
Ah yes, lots of hidden problems here. Bottom line: the problem with fake colors is that they are derived from petroleum and are probably carcinogenic as a result. What's worse, they enhance estrogen and have been shown to cause ADHD in kids. ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā
ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā Titanium Dioxide:
Any metal will accumulate in your body over your lifetime. Whether it's aluminum in deodorant or mercury in a vaccine. All metals can cross the blood brain barrier, and titanium is no exception. Approved as a food perservative, titanium dioxide is literally classified as a "possible carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. ā
ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā Cyanocobalamin:
This is the synthetic form of vitamin B12 that contains cyanide. When you see this on any supplement, RUN. The company putting it in there is cheapening the product using synthetic vitamins in order to cut production costs. These vitamins are barely absorbed and actually require tons of energy from your body to process. Kinda defeats the purpose of supplementing in the first place. Expensive pee, anyone? Get methyl- or adenosyl- cobolamin instead!