The idea that we can get everything we need from three balanced meals a day is comforting — and outdated.
It assumes we still live in a world of mineral-rich soil, clean air, natural light, and constant movement. We don’t. The modern human lives far outside the environment their biology was designed for. We breathe polluted air, stare at artificial light all day, and eat food grown in soil that has been stripped of its nutrients.
In short, we are biologically under-fueled.
Functional medicine doctor Mark Hyman often describes the body not as a collection of parts, but as a connected system. When one part breaks down, others follow. After his own mercury exposure left him chronically ill, he discovered what traditional medicine often misses: symptoms are downstream effects. The real issue is whether the system has the raw materials it needs to function.
In the modern world, food alone often doesn’t supply those materials anymore.
The Disappearing Nutrients in Our Food
If you eat well, avoid junk food, and still feel tired, foggy, or “off,” you’re not imagining it.
Our ancestors consumed hundreds of different plant species, each rich in minerals, fibre, and protective compounds. Today, most of the global diet comes from about 12 plants. Variety has vanished and so has nutrient density.
Industrial farming has stripped soil of organic matter, reducing its ability to pass minerals into crops. Modern vegetables contain less magnesium, zinc, iron, and trace minerals than they did just a few decades ago.
Government nutrition data paints a bleak picture:
- Over 90% of people are low in omega-3 fats
- Around 80% are insufficient in vitamin D
- More than half the population is deficient in magnesium
We are, quite literally, an undernourished society.
Why “Expensive Urine” Is a Bad Argument
One of the most common criticisms of supplements is that they simply create “expensive urine.”
This logic falls apart quickly. Drinking water also leads to urine that doesn’t mean water isn’t essential.
Vitamins and minerals act as cofactors. Nearly every enzyme in the body depends on them to function. If even one is missing, the system slows down. The body doesn’t collapse overnight —it just works less efficiently, day after day.
Conventional medicine focuses on avoiding extreme deficiency diseases like scurvy or rickets. Functional medicine looks at optimal levels, because being “not sick” is not the same as being well.
If your iron stores are technically within range but you’re exhausted, losing hair, and foggy, the number may be acceptable on paper but your body knows better.
The Modern Supplement Baseline
Because “just eat better” no longer works for most people, a basic supplementation foundation has become necessary. Not to replace food but to fill the growing gap between industrial food and biological needs.
1. Omega-3 Fatty Acids (EPA & DHA)
Humans evolved eating wild fish, not grain-fed animals. Omega-3s support brain health, heart function, and inflammation control. Most people need 1–2 grams daily to reach healthy levels.
2. Vitamin D3
We no longer live outdoors. Vitamin D acts more like a hormone than a vitamin, influencing hundreds of genes. Most adults need 2,000–4,000 IU daily just to stay sufficient.
3. Magnesium
Known as the “relaxation mineral,” magnesium supports sleep, muscles, nerves, and blood sugar. Stress depletes it rapidly. Forms matter — glycinate or malate absorb far better than oxide.
4. Methylated B Vitamins
Some people struggle to activate standard B vitamins due to genetics. Using methylated forms of folate and B12 helps regulate energy, mood, and cardiovascular health.
5. Trace Minerals (Zinc, Selenium, Iodine)
Modern diets and fashionable salts have removed iodine from food. Thyroid dysfunction, especially in women, often traces back to missing trace minerals.
How Industrial Food Set Us Up to Fail
After World War II, chemical factories pivoted into fertilizer and pesticide production. What followed was an explosion in crop yields and a collapse in food quality.
Ultra-processed food has replaced cooking. Sugar and refined starch dominate calories. Industrial seed oils disrupt metabolism. Today, over two-thirds of children’s calories come from ultra-processed foods.
In this environment, supplements are not indulgent extras they are damage control.
Test, Don’t Guess: Owning Your Health Data
The future of health isn’t passive. It’s participatory.
Standard blood tests catch disease late and miss early dysfunction. Key markers like fasting insulin, ApoB, and micronutrient status are often ignored.
Doctors like Mark Hyman and Andrew Huberman emphasize that each person is biologically unique. One person may need 1,000 IU of vitamin D. Another may need 5,000 IU to reach the same level.
If resources are limited, focus first on the free fundamentals:
- sleep
- sunlight
- whole food
But if you want to optimize, data matters.
A Systems-Based View of Longevity
We are moving toward an era of scientific wellness not just preventing disease, but supporting the body’s ability to repair itself.
Compounds that support mitochondrial health, cellular repair, and recovery are gaining attention. These are not shortcuts or magic pills. They only work when layered on top of nutrition, movement, and rest.
Supplements don’t create health they remove bottlenecks.
The Real Reason Supplements Exist
The need for supplementation isn’t a failure of the human body. It’s a consequence of how far we’ve drifted from nature.
Until food systems change and soil is restored, supplements are not a luxury. They are a bridge a way to give modern bodies what ancient biology still expects.
Used wisely, they aren’t about living forever.
They’re about functioning properly here and now.
