Why Do People Favor Magical Thinking Over Logic and Fact?

Video from ABC Australia: What's Really Inside Your Supplements?

Supplements are not Substitutes. There is no Magic Pill.

The majority of people who supplement treat supplements as a primary factor in their nutritional choices. Those who habitually follow a nutrient-deficient diet, such as those who primarily exist on fast food or snack foods or sweets, have come to believe that if they can just add a few supplements they will make out all right in the end.

Few people get their full nutritional needs met through their diet simply because of their poor dietary choices. People don’t eat nutritionally, but rather they eat recreationally. People only want to eat what they crave at the time and in unhealthful amounts without regard for health or weight.

A blood test on your next doctor’s visit will reveal what deficiencies you might have, such as Vitamin D for example, so that you can supplement knowledgably and safely. But browsing the supplement aisle for the latest fad supplement to medicate yourself with is only falling for the Magic Pill Delusion that all pill peddlers profligate in order to separate you from your money.

People do NOT want to eat responsibly or nutritionally. People do not want to exercise. People do not want to take the time or effort to FIX or rehab themselves. So they delude themselves into thinking a pill, potion or other supplement will quickly counteract the damage they otherwise do to themselves through irresponsible eating, drinking and inhaling. There is no such thing as the Magic Pill and there never will be.

The Media is just as susceptible as you are to falling for bogus claims of manufacturers of supplements, so the Media is not a trusted source for supplement information.

Bodybuilder supps are by far the worst class of supplements as they are basically useless, relying on the Placebo Effect as demonstration of their efficacy. Many contain banned pharmaceuticals in the mix without listing them on the label—and they get away with it because the FDA is not regulating their products. 

The ONLY bodybuilding supplements that have proven to both work and be healthful are QUALITY protein powders, and creatine. That’s all. You need a pre-workout supplement? Brew yourself some coffee. Your fitness/bodybuilding gurus on YouTube or Instagram are no different than any other salesmen—they do it for the money. They don’t know shit about supplements or pharmacology. 

Finally, don’t touch ANYTHING from China. Not food. Not herbs. And certainly not Chinese Medicine. Don’t you be a mindless follower who throws caution, and your liver health, to the wind.