Are Supplements Really Unhealthy?

You've seen the studies and all of the articles, but are supplements really as bad as some people make them out to be? Here's 1R's take...

As if adhering to the lunar calendar, seemingly once a month an article/study/opinion piece comes out claiming that all supplements are a sham, that studies to date have been heavily skewed to yield favorable results, and that there is absolutely no replacement for a well-balanced diet.

Look, we get it. We'll readily acknowledge there are a ton of absurd, gimmicky, supplements on the market (all of which we've chosen not to sell). They're terribly ineffective and prey on the consumer’s desire to see incredible results in unrealistic timeframes. If we had our way there would be significantly more regulation in the space, as supplements suffer from decades of poor connotations that hinder credibility.

But, to predicate an argument on, "there's nothing better than a well-balanced diet," means it's a fundamentally flawed one. Because while we'd absolutely agree, it's safe to say the vast majority (1R employees included) don't consistently execute a well-balanced diet. Nice in theory, but rare in practice. And that's the point. They're called "supplements" for a reason. They supplement your diet to help you get the macro and micronutrients you need. They don’t deliver miracles. They help us close the gaps between where our diet is, and where it needs to be.