Most of us know the feeling after enjoying a night out with friends—maybe you enjoyed it a little too much. The headache, nausea, the overall feeling of “Can today be canceled?” Hangovers are the body’s way of reminding us about the hazards of overindulgence. It makes sense when you break down the science of it all. The symptoms that we experience begin after blood alcohol levels start to fall. In fact, according to some experts, the worst symptoms occur when levels reach zero. How much you drank is just a small factor in the equation. Some studies even suggest that light and moderate drinkers are more vulnerable to getting a hangover than heavy drinkers. All that aside, we can all agree that recovery is the number one goal the day after indulging.

Usually, recovering from a hangover includes hydrating with some type of electrolyte-filled mixture. You might associate this with some version of a generic sports drink, loaded with fake sugars and artificial flavors, which is meant to aid you back to health. Problem solved—or maybe not so much. Although a pre-made, quick-fix drink sounds like a great choice, all the added artificial sugars, colors and flavors may be doing more harm than good. The common artificial ingredients found in typical sports drinks have been known to cause symptoms that include headaches, stomachaches, cravings, inflammation and irritability. Ironically, these are some of the same symptoms we experience with a hangover—which the sports drink was supposed to cure in the first place!

Instead of loading up on a blue or purple flavored drink with a hint of electrolytes, opt for one of these natural options instead.

Water

Maybe this goes without saying, but nothing hydrates better than water—simple as that. After a night out, dehydration is common. This is because alcohol depletes your body of water and vital nutrients. If you are dehydrated, you may experience unpleasant symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue and vomiting. Next time you are out on the town, remember to drink one 8-ounce glass of water between alcoholic beverages and then continue to load up on H₂O the next morning.

Coconut Water

We’ve already addressed that alcohol doesn’t only make you lose fluid—it washes away essential electrolytes. Potassium is one of the electrolytes depleted, which can leave you feeling weak and crampy. Potassium helps control the amount of fluid in the body, maintains a healthy blood pH level and is vital to cell function. Coconut water is a great choice to replace your sports drink. It has more potassium per ounce and is free of artificial colors and sweeteners.

Orange Juice

Another classic choice for morning-after recovery. Vitamin C is one of the major vitamins depleted by alcohol. We need vitamin C to support our immune system and act as an antioxidant to scavenge for free radicals, which cause inflammation and tissue destruction. Ever wonder why your skin looks so lackluster after a hangover? Vitamin C also helps your body produce collagen, which makes your skin appear hydrated and rejuvenated! Freshly squeezed OJ is the perfect drink to reach for when you’re on the mend.

Ginger Lemon Tea

Nauseous? Ginger is your new best friend. It works wonders to alleviate nausea. Add lemon in the mix for the ultimate recovery drink. Lemon supports your liver, which goes into overdrive trying to metabolize all that ethanol (aka alcohol). You can make it yourself by boiling some water and adding fresh slices of ginger and the juice of half a lemon.

Bone Broth

Before you turn your nose up at the thought of drinking bone broth, hear us out. Bone broth has tons of benefits. It contains L-glutamine, which supports the health of your small intestine, and glycine, which supports detoxification. While homemade is best, store-bought versions are still a great option. Just make sure you look for one made with whole food ingredients—like grass-fed beef bones and pasture-raised or free-range poultry bones—without additives, coloring or flavor enhancers.

Miso Soup

Let’s talk about another important electrolyte: sodium. Our body requires small amounts of sodium for nerve and muscle function as well as fluid balance. Drinking alcohol drains your body of normal sodium levels, so it is important to replenish those levels after the fact. Fermented soybean—otherwise known as miso—has naturally higher levels of sodium and contains probiotics and antioxidants that help sooth digestion, making it the perfect thing to sip on. Make sure when you are purchasing store-bought versions that you stay away from any ingredients with GMOs. As always, organic ingredients are best.

Beet Juice

After consuming alcohol, the liver is hard at work processing all that ethanol. You might feel achy or run down—but not to fear, beets are here! Beets contain betaine, which is an antioxidant rich in anti-inflammatory compounds. A clean pressed juice containing beets will help your liver cleanse your body and put that pep back in your step—just make sure it contains 100% juice and no preservatives if you go the store-bought route.

Virgin Bloody Mary

They say a little hair of the dog will do the trick, but your best bet to recover as fast as possible is to give your body a break from the booze. The ingredients that make up a Bloody Mary are a surprisingly great mixture for detoxing your body. Omit the alcohol but keep the tomato juice, lemon, olives and celery, and you have yourself a great recovery drink. Tomatoes have natural sodium, potassium and, most importantly, lycopene—an antioxidant that helps with detoxification. The lemon juice adds a nice kick of vitamin C!

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We are constantly surrounded by social media, TV, magazines, friends, family, actors, influencers—you name it—telling us the next best thing we should be hopping on the bandwagon for, promising results. But which trending diets, foods and supplements are the real deal?

Well, the truth is, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Luckily, we know a few people who can help us get to the bottom of this. Our trainers are experts in their field—each one is certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine, after all. Needless to say, they have been around the block a few times and have tried a lot of these fitness trends themselves. So, who better to ask about which trends are worth the hype and which ones you should steer clear of? We asked our trainers what they think, here’s the inside scoop!

Let’s start with the diets that are better left on the trending page. Most of the nearly 600 trainers we asked agree that these top health trends are not worth the hype.

1. FAD DIETS

Keto, paleo, low-carb, Mediterranean, juice cleanses—they all have one thing in common: They are fad diets. Trainer Megan Vinyard of Burn Boot Camp Kennesaw, Georgia puts it best: “Burn focuses on long-term results. I always say that your relationship with food should be a long-term relationship as well. Keto and other fad diets, most of the time, will show results—but never long term. I always ask, ‘So you are never going to have pizza again?’ or ‘What do you do for Thanksgiving?’ or ‘Why deprive yourself when you can learn balance?’ And usually they end up losing all their progress when they come off these fads and go straight back to bad habits. Learning healthy habits and [having a] healthy relationship with food is so important. You should never single out carbs, fats or proteins but instead have a balance of all. Food is energy—especially carbs—so learning those healthy relationships is key. We focus on a 80/20 lifestyle and it works! You can be human and realistic without hurting your progress toward your goals.” 

2. FAT BURNERS

A product is claiming to be a “magic pill” that will do all the work for you without you lifting a finger—really? Yeah, we laughed too! Trainer of the Year Cody Burns of Burn Boot Camp Verona, Wisconsin has seen people looking for a “quick fix” time and time again. He says, “Most believe that if they take this magic pill or drink, they will instantly shed the unwanted fat off their body. That’s not exactly how your body works. The best way to lose body fat and gain lean muscle is by eating clean and training. A better approach is to save your money and invest in healthy whole foods and a clean pre-workout, like Ignite, to get you energized for your next workout.” 

3. SWEAT GELS

Don’t sweat it! This fitness trend goes right along with the quick-fix schemes that just don’t add up. Burn Boot Camp HQ Training Manager Jamal Gibson compares using a topical sweat gel to buying a car and car insurance—and then expecting the same car to go faster because you have insurance. The truth is, sweat gels don’t burn calories like you may think. Jamal explains the science behind the myth like this: “Sweating burns calories but doesn’t require rebuilding and repair, which continues to utilize energy for days after the incident for a workout. It feels great to sweat, but sweating is an accessory result of working out. There are many people who sweat in atypical patterns naturally. My wife doesn’t sweat nearly as much as I do when we work out together. The reason I burn more calories is because she weighs 100 pounds less than me. Stick to what you know to be true: Consistency is only beneficial with intensity. Work hard enough to get the results you desire and avoid the gimmicks.” 

4. WAIST TRAINERS

Another glamorized trend in the fitness world is waist trainers. We’ve seen the Kardashians promoting them on social media, swearing by their results. Red flags start popping up for us with the guarantee of a smaller waist just from wrapping a band around your abdomen, and our trainers are on the same page. Although waist trainers can help with posture and may make you eat less frequently due to the compression of your organs, many fitness trainers believe you’re better off keeping those bands and belts off your waists. There haven’t been enough studies about waist trainers to conclude any long-term results. What does deliver long-term results: consistently eating right, getting rest, staying hydrated and exercising.

Got all that? Great! Know that you know which fitness trends aren’t worth your time or money, here are four that you should consider.

1. SUPPLEMENTS

A whole foods approach is a great place to start to make sure you are getting all the essential vitamins and minerals from natural sources. But you may need to supplement your diet to keep your body functioning in top condition, especially with an active lifestyle. Here are two our trainers love to include in their own diets and encourage clients to try for themselves: 

COLLAGEN POWDER— Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body. Think of it as one of the major building blocks of bones, skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments. We know that what we put in our bodies has external effects, so adding collagen is a great start to glowing from the inside out. Trainer Jessi Drayer of Burn Boot Camp Bethel Park, Pennsylvania says, “Ever since I started taking a quality collagen protein on a regular basis, I have noticed that my complexion is much clearer, and my skin feels like it glows! On top of that, my hair, skin and nails are much healthier, and my joint pain is gone! It’s such an easy way to take care of your skin when you have limited time for skincare products.”

PROTEIN POWDER— Adequate protein consumption is truly a key to building and sustaining muscle mass. Don’t think of this as being “bulky.” Maintaining muscle takes work and is beneficial to any fitness journey. Lean muscle mass allows you to burn more calories at rest, so hitting your protein goal daily is incredibly important. Having a quality protein powder at hand allows you to ensure you hit that daily. This will also help with muscle soreness and a faster recovery time.

2. VITAMINS

Like Trainer Danielle Miller of Burn Boot Camp Gilbert, Arizona says, “Even if you eat balanced, it’s so difficult to get all of the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) your body needs. We often stick to the same fruits and veggies we enjoy, which can allow for a gap in important vitamins.” Before we dive into some different supplements, it is important to remember that quality is key here, so be sure to check your supplements for high-quality, clean ingredients before buying! 

MULTIVITAMIN— Taking a daily multivitamin along with eating a variety of fruits and veggies will set you up for success to give your body everything it needs!

VITAMIN D— We get it—you are stuck at a desk, have errands to run and can’t just sit outside and soak up the sun. Neither can we! The truth is, we don’t get enough sun in our modern-day lifestyle. So, it only makes sense that we are missing out on some good old-fashioned vitamin D. But that doesn’t mean we should forget about it! We need it to absorb calcium and promote bone growth. Too little vitamin D can result fragile, misshapen bones in adults and other health problems like breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, depression and weight gain. Trainer David Rhodus of Burn Boot Camp Evanston, Illinois adds, “There have been multiple meta-analyses that have concluded supplementing with vitamin D can reduce the chances of catching the flu, improve bone health (and reduce the incidence of fractures) and decrease overall mortality rate in adults.”

MAGNESIUM — Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in your body. You’d be shocked to know that it is involved with over 600 cellular reactions, including regulating muscle and nerve function, blood sugar levels and blood pressure, strengthening bones and creating protein and DNA. Yet up to 68% of American adults don’t meet the recommended daily intake! Low levels of magnesium have been linked to many negative health outcomes, including overall weakness, depression, high blood pressure and heart disease. Trainer Yonit Arthur of Burn Boot Camp Apopka, Florida  adds, “It’s incredible for helping people who have sleep issues and for people who are prone to constipation.”

3. APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

This is the product of adding yeast to apple juice, which turns the fruit sugars into alcohol—otherwise known as fermentation. Although highly acidic in this state, vinegar has chemicals known as polyphenols, which are antioxidants that can curb cell damage that can lead to other diseases. More studies are needed to determine its effectiveness, but Trainer Christen Jackson of Burn Boot Camp Mt. Juliet, Tennessee says that taking a tablespoon of ACV every morning “helps aid in digestion and promotes a healthy complexion, amongst other health benefits.” This definitely isn’t something you want to drink copious amounts of. In fact, drinking more than a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar can damage your teeth, hurt your throat and upset your stomach. Our trainers like to cut the acidity by taking it with a bit of honey and a dash of lemon juice right out of a shot glass, or adding it to a tall glass of ice water and using a straw so the acidity doesn’t harm your teeth. Trainer Jordan Riding of Burn Boot Camp Exton, Pennsylvania says, “I make mine as a tea with warm water, blue agave and apple cider vinegar. I also add some cayenne pepper to help with dehydration and throat sorene­­ss.” As with anything you are putting into your body, it is important to consult your doctor to make sure adding ACV to your diet is right for you, as it could interact with certain medications or medical issues.

4. SLEEP

You can eat clean, train hard and supplement your diet with the nutrients your body needs, but without sleep you are basically a walking (healthy) zombie. But really—our trainers agree that you aren’t doing all that hard work justice without giving your body the rest it needs to recover. Sleep is the prime time for the body to get its hormones back to a healthy level. Need proof?

Sore muscles? Sleep! Your brain releases the hormones that encourage tissue growth to repair blood vessels, which restores sore or damaged muscles.

Feeling under the weather? Sleep! Your immune system relies on sleep to produce more white blood cells that can attack viruses and bacteria that protect the body from infection.

Inflammation? Sleep! Your heart rate naturally slows when you are asleep, letting it take a well-deserved break so that hormones can be used to relax other muscles in the body, which leads to reduced inflammation.

Cravings? Sleep! Poor sleep patterns can impact the level of the hormones that make you feel hungry or full. If you don’t get enough sleep, your “hunger hormone” (ghrelin) levels go up and your “full hormone” (leptin) levels go down. So you may experience cravings for sugar or salt instead of the nutrients your body needs. 

Feeling down? Sleep! After a good night of sleep, hormone, energy and stress levels are all back on track. Your body has the amazing capability to adjust and restore all of these while you’re in dreamland so that you can start your day on the right foot! A healthy amount of sleep (the National Sleep Foundation recommends seven to nine hours a night for adults) helps your body feel refreshed and more prepared to face the challenges of a new day instead of feeling defeated and stressed. (Warning: A positive mood has been associated with boosted recovery outcomes and better overall well-being!)

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So the question remains: Does eating fat make you fat or does it fuel fat loss? The truth is, the answer is yes to both. While no studies have actually linked natural animal fats and plant-based fats to weight gain, it has been shown that regularly consuming processed, refined oils will lead your body to store excess fat. Let’s break down which fats are good and which fats are bad, so you can make the best dietary choices and reap the benefits of nourishing fats.

Good Fats

Let go of your fear of fat and start adding more good fats to your diet! These fats are essential for achieving optimal health as well as losing excess body fat. According to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, “The ‘old’ fat stored in your body, especially around your belly, thighs or butt, cannot be burned efficiently without ‘new’ fat to help the process. Dietary fat helps break down existing fat by activating fat-burning pathways through the liver.”

Even more, in 2015, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory committee removed any recommendation of limiting dietary fat and cholesterol in its guidelines. Consuming dietary fat not only boosts your metabolism and increases fat burning, it also ensures you feel fuller longer, stabilizes your blood sugar levels, promotes better brain function, balances your hormones, increases your nutrient absorption from the food you eat and supports a healthy digestive system, among many other benefits.

Adopting a ketogenic diet is not mandatory to reap the many benefits of consuming dietary fat. Knowing the types of fat that fuel fat loss, as well as eating a balanced diet, will provide you with amazing health and fitness results. So which fats are considered “good”?

Good fats include organic extra-virgin olive oil, organic virgin coconut oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil, avocado oil, avocados, olives, coconut butter, full-fat coconut milk, nuts and seeds (dry roasted or raw), nut and seed butters (no added sugar or processed oils), salmon, grass-fed meat, pasture-raised eggs, grass-fed ghee and grass-fed butter.

Bad Fats

The claim that “eating fat makes you fat” holds some truth. On one hand, good fats are required in the process of breaking down excess body fat, while on the other, bad fats promote fat storage.

The main sources of bad fat in our diet come from processed, refined oils, also known as hydrogenated oils, as well as trans fats. Hydrogenated oils and trans fats have been shown to damage your metabolism by putting a coating on your cells. This coating damages your cell receptors and stops you from burning calories like you normally would. These fats and oils also cause inflammation, leading to signs of aging, as well as greatly increasing LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.

Hydrogenated oils and trans fats have been scientifically engineered to be solid at room temperature and are found in most packaged foods, baked goods and fried foods. Unfortunately, that means they are found in your favorite coffee creamers, salad dressings, cereals, crackers, pretzels, chips and frozen dinners. Hydrogenated oils and trans fats come from margarine, canola oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil and cottonseed oil, to name a few.

Another way eating fat can lead to excess body fat is through eating too many fats high in omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6s are required by your body in only small amounts. For optimal health, you must maintain a proper ratio between omega-6s and omega-3s. When you disrupt the ratio, you will cause your body to store excess body fat. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the average American eats a omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of anywhere from 12:1 to 25:1, while many health experts recommend a ratio between 4:1 and 1:1. That’s a big difference!

Not only does an improper ratio promote weight gain, it causes inflammation in your body that leads to signs of aging, such as wrinkles and cellulite. The bad fats you should try to reduce in your diet include hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, canola oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, oil-roasted nuts, cooked olive oil, non-grass-fed meats and dairy products.

6 Tips for Eating Good Fats

1. Limit Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Processed Oils

Limit your omega-6 intake is by avoiding grain-fed meats and dairy products. Always look for grass-fed meats and, even better, the American Grassfed Association (AGA) seal on the package.

To avoid processed oils, which are also high in omega-6s, cook your own meals more often, as restaurants usually cook their food in canola, vegetable, soybean or peanut oil. What may look like a healthy grilled chicken salad most likely is smothered in one of these health-damaging oils. Limiting the amount of packaged foods you consume and focusing on cooking whole foods will also help reduce the omega-6s and processed oils in your diet.

When purchasing packaged foods, avoid these bad fats by looking at the list of ingredients before studying the nutritional facts. If something contains a bad fat, looking at the amount it contains is irrelevant. Just don’t buy it!

2. Cook with the Right Fats

Depending on the oils you cook with and the heat at which you cook them, you may be damaging your health. When oils exceed their smoke point, they become oxidized and rancid and release free radicals. Exposure to these free radicals greatly accelerates signs of aging, such as wrinkles, gray hair and loss of hair and skin elasticity.

The safest oils and fats for cooking include coconut oil, avocado oil and organic, grass-fed butter and ghee. They have a higher smoke point and are less likely to go rancid when cooking.

While olive oil provides countless health benefits, many health experts recommend not using it as your go-to cooking oil. Olive oil has a lower smoke point than the fats and oils listed above, and when cooked with, it will likely expose you to free radicals. Continue to include olive oil in your diet by adding it to your meal after it’s fully cooked.

Canola oil and vegetable oil are other common household cooking oils. Not only do these oils have a very low smoke point and are not suitable for cooking, they should be avoided in general.

3. Eat Your Vegetables with Fat

Depriving yourself of the right fats in your diet also deprives you of absorbing vitamins and minerals from your foods. Fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K need the presence of fat in order to be absorbed by our bodies.

While eating a giant salad is extremely healthy, if eaten with a low-fat salad dressing or a salad dressing made from processed oils, your body will not absorb all of the essential nutrients it contains. Low-fat salad dressings can be packed with sugar or toxic chemicals and additives that increase fat storage. Dressings made from canola oil, vegetable oil, soybean oil or any similar processed oil with also slow your metabolism.

Pair your greens with a healthy oil and you will increase your nutrient absorption, stay much fuller longer and increase your fat burning.

4. Don’t Be Scared of Egg Yolks and Red Meat

Egg whites sound healthier, right? Actually, when you toss out the yolk, you are throwing out the most nutritious part of the egg. Just how eating fat doesn’t make you fat, cholesterol in eggs is not correlated to the cholesterol levels in your bloodstream. Eggs have the perfect balance of protein and fat, which will stabilize your hunger hormones and keep you feeling full and satisfied for hours. Don’t be scared—eat the whole egg!

Similarly, it has been disproven that there is a correlation between the saturated fat content in red meat and the risk of heart disease.

If you include red meat and eggs in your diet, buying the highest quality is worth the extra money if you want to reap the health benefits. When a cow or chicken is fed a grain-based diet, their meat or eggs contain a higher amount of omega-6 fatty acids and a lower amount of vitamins than grass-fed meat and pasture-raised eggs.

5. Increase Your Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake

Try to include more omega-3s in your diet. Not only will it help you balance your omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio, it also helps regulate your blood sugar, decrease your stress hormone levels, promote lean muscle mass and fat loss, and reduce anxiety, inflammation and muscle soreness.

Flaxseed, chia seeds, fish (especially wild Alaskan salmon), walnuts, organic tofu, tempeh, navy beans, grass-fed beef, red lentils, wild rice and omega-3-enriched eggs and dairy products are a few omega-3-rich foods you can easily add to your meals in order to reach the proper ratio.

Most health experts recommend taking a daily high-quality omega-3 supplement to help keep your ratios in check.

6. Buy Real Olive Oil

An estimated 70% of olive oils found on store shelves are fake. These products have been mixed with lower-quality oils—usually canola, vegetable or soybean oil—making them cheaper to produce and sell. And as we already know, those hydrogenated oils should be avoided!

How do you know if an olive oil is fake? Generally, if the price is low, the quality is most likely low (although that is not always the case). Always look for cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oils, which have a darker color—if not, it’s most likely an oil blend. High-quality olive oils are often found in a darker-colored glass bottle, which prevents it from going rancid. Also, if you do a taste test, a real olive oil should create a weird feeling in the back of your throat or even make you cough.

Haley Twist

At Burn, we know that your days spent balancing a family, work and other responsibilities, healthy eating, and exercise can feel overwhelming, crazy, and downright chaotic! You might even have such busy days that when your head finally hits that pillow at night, you’re out like a light.

However, sometimes all the craze has the opposite effect on your sleep and can lead to restless nights that leave you feeling exhausted before your day even begins. Your sleeping habits can have an enormous effect on your performance at camps, energy levels, and your overall wellness, so we’re bringing you ten tips to ensure that you’re well-rested, energized, and ready to take on every new day!

1. Stick to a sleep schedule. Try your best to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, even on the weekends. (And stop pressing snooze!)

2. Avoid caffeine 4-6 hours before bed. Caffeine tends to hide in unexpected places, like teas and chocolate. These can interfere with your sleep cycle if consumed too closely to the time you go to bed!

3. Eat lighter meals in the evening, and similarly to your caffeine intake, avoid food 2-3 hours before you go to sleep.

If you find your mind racing about the day you’ve had, you may not have had enough time to process it.

4. Exercise consistently! Working out helps to promote restful sleep, so experiment with what time of the day works best for your exercise. Whether in the early morning or late evening, determine a time that fits your schedule and stick to it!

5. Unplug at least an hour before bed. Bright lights that illuminate from our laptops, tablets, and phones can have the opposite effect on our brains that we want before sleep.

6. Think about your day (and the day ahead) before getting into bed. If you find your mind racing about the day you’ve had, you may not have had enough time to process it. Take some time before bed to think about your day and make notes about what you need to do tomorrow—but don’t get into bed until you’re done!

7. Take deep breaths. Breathing can be just as important outside of camps as it is inside! Deep breathing mimics how your body feels when it’s truly relaxed, so try inhaling and exhaling deeply for a few rounds once in bed, and see if it helps to calm you.

Ensuring that your body has the proper fuel it needs to feel optimally healthy and energized is key to a healthy sleep cycle.

8. Get the essential vitamins and minerals you need every day. Ensuring that your body has the proper fuel it needs to feel optimally healthy and energized is key to a healthy sleep cycle. Try a supplement like Shaklee’s Vitalizer to make sure that you have the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and probiotics you need to feel your best. Talk to your Head Trainer at your local Burn to learn more about it.

9. Get some sunlight first thing in the morning. Bright lights help trigger your brain to stay alert and wide awake, so exposing yourself to some natural sunlight in the morning can help you to feel significantly more energized.

10. Boost energy in the morning by drinking lemon water upon waking. We swear by this trick Burn Nation, and our Founder, Devan Kline urges absolutely everyone to try it. Adding lemon slices to your water not only gives you a natural energy booster, especially when consumed first thing in the morning, but it also helps you build alkalinity, speed up your metabolism, and combat high body fat.

Ok, let’s think about this logically. Have you ever heard of someone overdosing on spinach? Or eating too many oranges? When is the last time you heard of  a person going to the ER for eating too many grapes? I feel pretty confident in saying that you never have. So if the vitamins we are eating are made truly from whole foods how could they possibly harm our bodies? Don’t think too hard about this one…they can’t!

The problem is not the vitamins. Vitamin are essential to holistic health an necessary for proper bodily functions. If it is not the vitamins harming us than how can these publications make these outrageous claims? The problem is the manufacturers, marketing firms, and companies who sell you a product that claim to be “healthy” for you. Modern nutrition or better put, lack of nutrition, is to blame for negative national media attention on vitamins. Industry no longer cares what we put in our bodies as long as a pretty penny is made from our consumption.

Roughly 90% of vitamin supplements on the market are saturated with toxins, chemicals, and preservatives. The supplement industry packs our “vitamins” with these harmful substances so they can keep their product on the shelves. Their goal is to sell and make a profit and certainly not to benefit your health. It is not the whole food vitamins that give suplements a bad name it is the chemicals they mix in that do harm to the body.

These writers that know absolutely nothing about holistic nutrition are brain washing the public to believe supplementing is dangerous. The reality supplementing with whole food vitamins is the single most important aspect to our health. In today’s fast paced world even the healthiest of Americans are not even close to getting  the essential nutrition we  need to function properly and steer clear of sickness and disease. I can not stress enough how important it is to supplement with whole food vitamins!

I strongly encourage you to use whole food vitamins on a daily basis. It would be awful nice to never get sick and feel 100% energized every single day, right? This is exactly what supplementing has done for my body. I used to get sick 4 to 5 times per year for 2 or more weeks at a time. Now that I am educated on what goes into my body my immune system is functioning on all cylinders and I rarely even feel tired!

I challenge you to grab your supplements out of the cupboard and search for the following RED FLAG INGREDIENTS:

ADDITIVES

• magnesium stearate
• stearic acid
• silicon dioxide
• MSG
• methylcellulose
• carnuba wax
• titanium dioxide
• Sodium Benzoate
• Potassium Sorbate
• Silicon Dioxide
• Lactose
• Cellulose
• Sodium Glycolate
• Talc
• Sucrose
• Calcium Stearate
• Palmitate
• Hydroxy Propyl Methylcellulose
• Ethlcellulose
• Glaze
• Shellac
• Starch

TRACE MINERALS AND MEGADOSES (Toxic in Vitamins because of high dosages)

• chromium
• copper
• iodine
• iron
• fluorine
• manganese
• molybdenum
• selenium
• zinc

If ANY of your supplements have these toxic ingredients in them it is time to switch! I am more than willing to answer any questions that you may have and point you in the right direction. You are truly wasting your time and money on supplements with toxins, chemicals, and additives in them. I am here to help you become more conscious of what you put into your body. As the saying goes, you get out of your body what you put into it! I am here as your resource so please use me!

Email with any questions/concerns: devanklinefitness@gmail.com