In the days before becoming a Kinesiologist, I had an occasion to visit a medical consultant regarding some particular condition—I genuinely cannot remember what it was.
What I do remember is completing a questionnaire beforehand. One section asked what medication I was taking; I was only taking supplements, and that’s what I detailed. When reviewing the questionnaire, the consultant scoffed.
Taking supplements was pointless; you could get everything you need from food. All you are doing is making “expensive wee.” I wondered if that was true. Can we get everything we need from food? Are supplements a waste of money?
• Supplements are a big business
Let’s define supplements. These are tablets, capsules, liquids and powders that provide additional nutritional support beneficial to the body beyond food intake. These include vitamins, minerals, oils, herbs, amino acids, etc.
Supplements are a big business, and there are many suppliers, both online and on the high street. You only have to wander into a branch of Holland & Barrett to appreciate the vast array of supplements from a wide variety of suppliers. Taking them all is impractical, so people often reach for multivitamins or whatever they have read in an article online and hope for the best.
Using muscle testing, kinesiology offers a way of finding precisely what supplements the body needs, taking the guesswork out of purchasing supplements. I’ll cover this in more depth later.
• “Dis-ease” can be caused by nutritional deficiency
Most of us are nutritionally deficient. It’s an unfortunate consequence of the modern lifestyle that many of us lead. This nutritional deficiency can be the reason behind many health problems, especially as we age.
It’s widely known that calcium deficiency can cause rickets in children and osteoporosis in the elderly, especially women. Fatigue, twitches (including restless leg syndrome) and heart irregularities can be indicators of magnesium deficiency. An iron deficiency can cause anaemia and tiredness. Beriberi is a disease that causes nervous system inflammation and heart failure due to a deficiency in Vitamin B1.
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, scurvy killed around two million sailors without access to fresh food. It was once thought to be a communicable disease as it spread amongst sailors before it was discovered that including citrus fruit, rich in Vitamin C, in the diet prevented the onset of scurvy.
Low levels of Vitamin D can be behind a poor immune system, osteoporosis and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). This is common in higher latitudes where vitamin D is not readily available from the sun during winter.
I could go on with many more examples, but the most common deficiencies are magnesium, iodine, vitamin C, and vitamin D.
• Why are we nutritionally deficient?
The simple answer is that modern food is nutritionally deficient. Big industrial agricultural practices have depleted the soil through artificial fertilisers and insecticides. Farmers are no longer permitted to burn crop stubble, which would have returned minerals, such as magnesium, to the soil to be taken up by the next crop.
When fruit and vegetables are picked, they begin to lose nutritional value. They can be stored for a lengthy period before reaching supermarket shelves. I recently gave up buying fruit and vegetables from my local supermarket as they removed the sell-by dates from the packaging “in order to reduce waste”. Whose waste were they reducing? I suspect that it was theirs, as when I got the produce home, much of it was already on its way to rotting. I have since switched to an online organic fruit and vegetable supplier and haven’t looked back since, happy in the knowledge that my money is going directly to small-scale, responsible organic producers.
Many people don’t eat enough fresh produce and consume too much processed food. Marketed as convenient for our hectic lives, it has very little nutritional value and contains many ingredients that are detrimental to our health, including sugars and vegetable oils.
When we are ill or injured, an extra boost of nutrition can shorten our recovery period. As we age, our bodies need even more nutritional support. Getting this nutrition directly from our food is the best solution, as it is more naturally bioavailable to the body. However, for the reasons outlined above, you will benefit from supplementing unless you are in the fortunate position of producing all your own food organically.
• Kinesiology takes the guesswork out
Finding the right supplements is a big part of my kinesiology practice. In addition to restoring balance to the body, I look for supplements that will aid recovery. Sometimes, supplements aren’t needed, and other times, they are an absolute must.
Through muscle testing, I can identify what supplements would be beneficial for the body. Whenever I find an imbalance in the body, indicated by a weak muscle, I can then check what supplements will help restore balance to the body. I do this by placing a testing pot containing samples of a given supplement on the body and repeating the muscle test. If a weak muscle tests strong with the supplement “in the circuit,” then that is the body’s way of telling me that it would find that supplement beneficial.
I’ve been practising kinesiology for several years, and I still marvel at how fussy the body can be when responding to supplement testing. For example, when checking for vitamin C, the body could respond positively to “Vitamin C with Citrus Bioflavonoids” but not to “High-strength vitamin C.” That way, my clients can have confidence that the supplements they get are really well suited to their body’s current needs.
• What can supplements do for us?
I have several kinesiology testing kits in my practice, including the one from Lily & Loaf shown below.
This wide range of supplements can provide support for the body in many ways:
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- The digestive system. Including digestive enzymes, improving stomach acid levels, and support for the liver and gallbladder.
- The intestinal system. Including support for the bowels, removal of toxins and pathogens, pre-and probiotics, and repair and soothing of any damaged intestinal lining.
- The nervous system. Including cognitive health, improving sleep and mood.
- The endocrine/glandular system. Including managing stress levels, balancing the thyroid and support for male and female health.
- Structural support. For joints, muscles and bones, hair, skin, and nails, as well as anti-inflammatories.
- The immune system. Boosting the immune response and recovery from common ailments. This includes dealing with pathogens and parasites, toxicity and removing heavy metals.
- Metabolism support. Including managing blood sugar levels, blood pressure and cell energy levels.
- The circulatory system. For a healthy heart and blood supply
- The urinary system. Support for the bladder and kidney functions
- Respiratory system. For healthy lungs and oxygen supply to the circulatory system.
• The supplements that I regularly take
Occasionally, after a kinesiology treatment, a client will express surprise at the number of supplements I recommend, even though I endeavour to keep this to a minimum. My usual response is that they should see the amount of supplements that I take. I definitely “walk the walk” as well as “talk the talk”. Below are the supplements I always take:
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- B-Complex. B Vitamins are essential to maintain a healthy brain and nervous system. They also provide support for the digestive system and with adrenal stress.
- Vitamin C. An antioxidant that provides support for the immune system and structural system. When I am in good health, I take three grams per day. When suffering from a cold, I increase this to one gram per hour up to eight grams daily.
- Omega Oil. This is to help maintain a healthy balance of omega-3 to omega-6 within the body, ensuring that the inflammatory response remains under control. It’s also crucial to support brain health.
- Magnesium. One of the most common mineral deficiencies that people suffer from. Magnesium is vital for so many of the body’s processes, including reducing fatigue, aiding sleep, support for the nervous and endocrine systems.
- Zinc. Involved in over 300 reactions in the body, Zinc is an essential mineral that supports the immune system and maintenance of bones, hair, skin and vision.
- Vitamin D. I take this between October and March when the skin cannot absorb it through sun exposure. Vitamin D supports the immune system, bones, teeth and muscle function and balances blood calcium levels.
- A digestive aid. Most of us who are over the age of 30 will benefit from supplements to support the digestive system. For me, this often varies, so I get this checked through kinesiology every month. Digestive aids include enzymes, stomach acid support, pre and probiotics and so on.
- Glandular support. Depending on the outcome of my regular kinesiology sessions, I take a supplement that targets the endocrine system, such as the thyroid, adrenal glands and hypothalamus.
• Conclusion.
I would much rather spend money on targeted quality supplements to maintain good health than pharmaceutical products that mask symptoms of poor health. To the consultant who once advised me that taking supplements is just making “expensive wee”, I would tell him that I beg to differ.
My experience as a kinesiologist has shown that supplements are a vital component of recovering and maintaining good health. The client testimonials on my website demonstrate that: they all benefited from taking targeted supplements.
Since I have been involved in kinesiology, back in 2017, I have not needed to see a GP. Yes, I still get colds and the like, but not as often, not as severe, and my recovery is much quicker. Through regular kinesiology sessions, I intend to keep it that way, and supplements are a big part of that. Supplements can be expensive, but what price would you pay to restore your health and stay healthy?
