Supplements

Supplements should be tasted when taken, not just swallowed. I give this advice to all my clients and they’re usually not happy about it. I get it, quality supplements are generally don’t taste good. But they are foods in pill form, and as such are meant to be tasted. If you can’t chew them, then they should at least be sucked on for about 20 to 30 seconds prior to swallowing. The effect of tasting the nutrients increases their effectiveness many times over than just swallowing them.

Dr. George Goodheart (1917-2008), the founder of Applied Kinesiology, was an early advocate of chewing supplements. In his book “You’ll Be Better” he recounted the case of a seven-year-old boy who accidentally drank lye and perforated his esophagus. As the boy underwent the reconstructive procedure, he was unable to swallow food, and was fed through an artificial stoma leading to his stomach. It wasn’t long before the boy began losing weight and developing kidney stones and arthritis.

Dr. Goodheart’s father was also a chiropractor as well as an osteopath, and he recommended that the boy chew the food first, then remove what he was unable to swallow and insert it through the artificial stoma. Dr. Goodheart followed this advice, and the boy’s arthritis decreased, his kidney stones disappeared, and he gained back his weight. This greatly impressed Dr. Goodheart, for he realized how important salivary digestion and chewing was for the assimilation of food.

Applied Kinesiologists like myself use Manual Muscle Testing to determine whether a supplement will be beneficial or not. We also use indicator testing which involves tasting a supplement, then observing for a change in an indicator: immediate reduction in pain, increased flexibility, improved balance, etc. You can try this on your own. Try to touch your toes, or move your body in a way that causes discomfort. Next, chew up or suck on a supplement and repeat the movement. If you notice improvement, this suggests that the substance will be of benefit.

Every time we taste a supplement before swallowing, it’s quite like getting a treatment by the doctor. By stimulating neurological pathways on the tongue that lead to the brain, we accelerate healing. If you can’t chew the supplement, at least taste them. If you can’t taste them, then go ahead and swallow them. If chosen correctly the supplements will still work, although less efficiently. There’s a reason why our mouths are close to our brain instead of down by our stomach.