He Said Supplements Were BS… Then We Checked His Labs

For years, people have said the same thing:

“Supplements don’t work.”
“You’re just making expensive toilet water.”
“Food first — supplements are a waste.”

And honestly… sometimes they’re right. Food is foundational. But in functional medicine, we know there’s more to the story.

In this episode, I share a real-world case that puts those claims to the test. A 45-year-old gentleman came into my office — not because he wanted to, but because his wife insisted. She’d already seen big improvements in her own health, and she wanted him to experience the same.

From the start, he made it clear:
He didn’t really believe in supplements. He thought the whole thing was overhyped. He agreed to do my recommended lab testing but told me he’d only take the supplements — no diet changes, no exercise, no lifestyle shifts.

Fine. I told him that’s his choice, and we’d see what the data says.

Three months later, he called the office asking to redo his full labs. We typically just recheck key markers to keep costs reasonable, but he was adamant — he wanted the entire panel. He said he wanted to “see if this stuff actually works.”

When the results came in, even I was surprised.

• A1C: dropped from 5.8 → 5.4, moving him out of the pre-diabetic range.

• Vitamin D: rose from 19 → 47, despite never seeing the sun working 80-hour weeks.

• B12 and Folate: normalized, dramatically improving his methylation and detox potential.

• DHEA: more than doubled (61 → 124), restoring hormone balance.

• Cortisol: returned to a healthy range — from low adrenal fatigue levels to optimal.

• Homocysteine: fell from 13.5 → 8.5, reducing cardiovascular inflammation risk.

All of this happened without changing his diet, exercise, or stress levels — the only variable was the supplements.

By the end of that visit, this once-skeptical client was sitting forward in his chair, shaking his head in disbelief. He smiled and said,

“All right doc… you convinced me. Now hit me with the diet plan.”

This story isn’t about magic pills. It’s about proof.
Supplements aren’t a replacement for food, movement, or sleep — but when used correctly, they can create dramatic, measurable changes in physiology. They fill the gaps that diet alone can’t cover, especially in our modern, stressed-out, nutrient-depleted world.

The real power comes when you combine both approaches — supplementation + lifestyle. That’s when 1 + 1 = 3.