A Nutrition Professional’s Take on Supplements, Ethics, and Actual Care
Lately, I’ve been seeing a familiar refrain making the rounds – often from physicians, often on social media:
“If a practitioner is selling supplements, it’s a scam.”
“Supplements are just wellness influencers trying to make a quick buck.”
“If someone recommends supplements, don’t trust them.”
Here’s the thing: I actually understand where this is coming from.
I regularly work with clients who arrive in my practice with extensive, expensive, poorly coordinated supplement protocols. Sometimes these are people who are truly trying their best to be “healthy”. Other times these are people who take every (questionable) piece of TikTok advice to heart. And the toughest thing is seeing people who are just so, so desperate to finally feel better that they throw every possible solution at the perceived problem.
As a clinician, it makes me crazy and breaks my heart, all at the same time.
The problem is, supplements can work against each other, and they can be downright unsafe in combination with certain medications. And often, there’s been little to no meaningful support around food, lifestyle, stress, sleep, or behavior change – just a pivot from pharmaceutical medicine to what we might call ‘green’ medicine.
I don’t support that model at all.
Lumping all supplement use - and all practitioners who recommend them - into a scammy, influencer-driven bucket isn’t just inaccurate; it actively undermines responsible, evidence-based nutrition care.
Supplements aren’t the problem. Irresponsible use is.
Why I Do Use Supplements in My Practice
I’m a nutrition professional. I studied the science of nutrition, biochemistry, physiology, and metabolism. I’ve had additional training in women’s health and hormone health, and I am required to get continuing education hours every year to maintain my credentials and licensing. I take my professional responsibilities seriously.
Supplements are not the first tool in my toolkit, but they are one of my tools. I use them intentionally, ethically, and with clear clinical reasoning, including:
1. To replete nutrients that are difficult to obtain in sufficient amounts from food alone.
Even with mindful dietary intake, certain nutrients can be challenging to reach at therapeutic levels, especially in periods of increased need (think perimenopause, menopause, chronic stress, GI dysfunction, illness, aging, etc).
2. To replace nutrients depleted by medications.
Many commonly prescribed medications deplete specific vitamins and minerals. Ignoring that reality just increases the burden on the client’s physiology.
3. To help clients feel better faster.
When someone is exhausted, inflamed, depleted, or symptomatic, targeted supplementation can provide relief while we simultaneously work on sustainable food and lifestyle changes as resilience improves. Feeling better often increases our bandwidth to make behavior change.
4. Because there is peer-reviewed, evidence-based research supporting targeted nutrient supplementation.
This is the part that often gets glossed over: There is substantial literature supporting specific nutrients in specific contexts, used appropriately, at appropriate doses, for appropriate durations.
5. To individualize care.
Not everyone absorbs/converts/utilizes nutrients the same way. Supplements can help bridge gaps created by digestive issues, metabolic challenges, genetic variants, or increased physiological demand.
6. As temporary support (not lifelong dependency).
Ethical supplementation includes knowing when to stop. Nutritional supplements should have a purpose, a plan, and a re-evaluation point.
What Ethical Supplement Use Actually Looks Like
Responsible supplementation is not:
“Take all of these …forever”
“If a little is good, more might be better”
“This will fix everything” (without you changing anything else)
Responsible supplementation is:
Context-specific and purpose-informed
Considerate of medications and medical history
Paired with food, lifestyle, and behavior change
Regularly reassessed
Transparent in terms of cost, potential benefit, and limitations
Using products that are high-quality, routinely tested for safety, and third-party certified
And yes – sometimes responsible practice means not recommending a supplement at all!
A Note on Credentials and Professional Respect
It’s a fact that most physicians receive minimal formal nutrition education - usually only a semester. For context, a Certified Nutrition Specialist is required to attain a master’s degree in human nutrition/functional medicine, plus complete a rigorous 1000-hour supervised clinical internship. I’m not throwing shade at physicians, and I’m honestly quite happy when medicine stays in its lane. (Let’s be real: as a nutritionist, no one would expect me to …. I don’t know, remove a spleen or something.)
But when physicians dismiss an entire profession that does specialize in nutrition science – especially when practiced ethically and collaboratively – well, that doesn’t serve people. It reinforces hierarchy instead of care.
Good medicine and good nutrition are not in competition; they’re supposed to be in partnership.
The Bottom Line
Supplements aren’t inherently good or bad. They’re tools.
LIke any tool, they can be misused, leading to confusion and skepticism.
However, responsible, evidence-based supplementation, used thoughtfully and in context, can be an effective part of comprehensive nutrition therapy.
About The Author
Stephanie Thompson is a New Orleans-based functional nutrition specialist who specializes in helping people alleviate frustrating (often mysterious) health symptoms with dietary guidance, targeted nutrients, and lifestyle modifications. She digs deep into the biochemical pathways and interconnected organ systems to find the root causes of her clients' issues for specific and sustainable relief!
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