LESS Can Often Be MORE When It Comes To The Ingredient Labels On Health And Wellness Products.

A message to my community:

What’s up everybody. I just want to share some perspective that I’ve pondered and explored in the past year. I’ve seen it show up quite a few times recently and I feel the need to say something; specifically about what I’m seeing in the local supplement space. 

To start, I've shared countless moments with local businesses where I've found them selling a product with over 25+ ingredients in the bottle and the community just eats it up like it's the best thing on the market.

But guys…...quantity does not equate to quality, and yet, I see so consumers so easily excited and swayed by a huge list of adaptogenic ingredients on the back of a label when they find a new supplement at their local kava bar. 

Now, I know these businesses mean well and I think it's great that they want to create a unique and potent product for themselves, but what I wonder is if they are truly taking the time to intentionally craft their blends while seriously taking a pause throughout to consider how each ingredient compliments the other relative to the synergy or ensemble-like effectiveness of each ingredient in that blend.

And with that said, I also see this ongoing trend of consumers wanting the “All-in-One Fix-It Pill'', but guys….that is just not realistic. Hand-in-hand with that, I’ve noticed that people would rather have the “All-in-One Fix-It Pill '' just so they can compensate for the dysfunctional lifestyle/habits that they continue to choose living while still reaching a sense of calculated control and remediation in their choices for daily supplementation.

So all I want to say is: Take it easy on your body. Give your body a chance. And don’t just give it every medicinal herb that you can think of in one go - expecting it to help you feel more aligned. Personally, I prefer to keep things simple. How so? Well, sometimes LESS is MORE. Less ingredients, more quality, and then only blending them together when you see evidence of the potential for an ensemble-like effect between ingredients based on their chemical makeup and/or energetic correlates (Example: Yin v.s. Yang attributes). 

And with respect to the individual ingredients, I think we should give each medicinal herb/mushroom a chance to shine its individual essence without being bogged down, diluted, and crowded out by so many other ingredients; overcrowded ingredient blends only make it more difficult to experience and understand the unique effect that each herb/mushroom has to offer on its own.

And I want to give you an analogy to understand this point further: 

When a chef is cooking in the kitchen and has access to every spice and ingredient imaginable, do you think they will use as many ingredients and seasonings as possible to create a well-balanced and harmonious dish? My answer is probably: No. What do you think? 

From what I've seen, a chef is often selective and calculated with how they create a dish; choosing ingredients and seasonings that compliment one another to enhance the dish’s overall flavor from the first bite to the last bite and/or its overall nutritional value. 

Individually, some ingredients taste phenomenal and provide great nutritional benefits, but that can quickly change when one or two ingredients are added to the mix; it can go from tasting absolutely mouth-watering to tasting pretty weird, real quick. And that can happen if it's done without much thought or prior testing.

And to close out my point and overall perspective on the matter, if you need a supplement blend with that many ingredients in order to “feel balanced” or just to feel like you’re able to take on your day, then maybe it serves as a reflection encouraging you to reevaluate your lifestyle habits because that's the bottom line for how you should be properly nourishing your mind and body through time in order to feel good and optimized to take on your day. Any gaps in between should only be filled by minimal supplementation and/or an exogenous means of intervention. All I’m suggesting is to be more real with yourself and reassess the main pillars that contribute to what I consider a balanced and relatively healthy lifestyle: 

1. Adequate* Exposure to Sunlight

2. Adequate* Hydration from a Clean Source of Water

3. Adequate* Nutrition

4. Adequate* Movement

5. Adequate* Sleep

6. Adequate* Socialization through Meaningful Relationships

*Definition:

 ad·e·quate

• Satisfactory or acceptable in quality and quantity

With that said, I am merely using this platform as a means to share my perspective and invoke a stronger sense of accountability for one's self. Just do your best to be real with yourself and find a way to encourage yourself to start taking more practical steps towards loving yourself better, setting boundaries, and creating consistency in those actions to make it a deeper part of who you are. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think it can be fun to explore and experiment with different nootropic and adaptogenic herbs and mushrooms - I just simply suggest a more mindful, intentional, and conservative approach to doing so.

This is the way.

(Shoutout to my Mandalorian fans. Season 3 has been fun to watch.)