I've expressed my love for the paleo lifestyle and Whole Foods here repeatedly, and I often get emails from readers who are excited about making a change, but a little concerned. “What if I don't adjust my diet properly, and I miss out on critical nutrients? And it sounds expensive to eat a more natural diet!” Yes, it costs more to eat healthy (I figure I can pay to be well now, or I can endure bigger hospital bills later), but I find that paleo supplements help a lot with both issues.
Paleo supplements will ensure that your body is getting the basic nutritional requirements, helping you feel well and balanced. This will help you stick to a meal plan and be less likely to buy pricey food based on last-minute cravings due to nutritional deficiencies.
What Paleo Supplements Do I Need?
A healthy, complete regimen of paleo supplements should include the following vitamins and minerals:
- DHA . Many people lean heavily towards red meat when they start a protein-dense diet. Don't get me wrong: I love me some beef. But you need the healthy DHAs that are found in fresh caught fish, and most people don't get enough.
- Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin B12. Many of us who come to a natural diet have been diagnosed with thyroid issues and anemia. Most protein-heavy diets are naturally rich in Iron, but you need Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin B12 to help balance out your thyroid and increase Iron absorption.
- Magnesium. Too much fluoride in our water and beverages decreases magnesium absorption, so most of us are deficient and have low energy levels as a result.
Many advocates of paleo supplements also recommend Vitamin D3 and K2, but I think you're much better off getting these from a frolic in the sun and lots of green leafy vegetables. Organic spinach is not that expensive, and it's easy to throw in a smoothie.
I take Nordic Naturals DHA and Nature's Way Alive! Whole Food Multivitamins every day. These vitamins from Nature's Way have excellent levels of the nutrients listed above as well as good blends for digestive support, leafy vegetables and Omega-3s which make them the perfect paleo supplements to add to your diet. And they just make me feel good. Which is kind of the whole point.