Why your vitamins aren’t working: (and what to do instead)

Welcome to the Biohack Method. I am Lindsey Burwell. I break down the science, cut the fluff and give you real tools to optimize your body with peptides, transdermal patches, and root cause biohacking that actually works. Welcome back to the Biohack Method podcast. I'm so pumped today because we're gonna dive into are you even absorbing your supplements? I'll tell you, I have been doing metabolic scans. These are hair follicle analysis that look like root cause of what's causing inflammation, what is causing the stress, Somebody's body, right? And clients would come to me. Last year, I literally saw over 300 clients and they would come to me and we'd go over a full intake. Hey, so what's your sleep look like? What are you eating? What's your stress look like? What supplements are you on? And then we would look at their scan, we would see what are they deficient in, what vitamins and amino acids, what minerals, what fatty acids, what antioxidants like, and specifically what they're low in and how it can contribute to some of the symptoms they may be experiencing. And the interesting thing I would notice a lot is people may be low in, let's say selenium or molly bend in. And those are core micronutrients that your thyroid needs to be nourished in order to function. And they would be deficient. And the client would say like taking this like thyroid support or I'm taking this vitamin and it has selenium and it's okay. I'm starting to see patterns here. Patterns of like people are supplementing and not even absorbing. So this was actually about a year ago I started noticing this pattern and just feeling like there's got to be a better way. That's where I started definitely researching more like synthetic vitamins versus more whole food based vitamins. So this is really important. If you're taking supplements, I want you to go home, I want you to start looking at the ingredients and I want you to see what are those supplements and nutrients actually made out of? Are they made out of food? Are they made out of synthetic ingredients from a lab? Right. Because when you're taking a vitamin that is synthetic, made in the lab, your body, your liver specifically has to break that down in order to allocate where it goes. Right. Because it's not nap, it's not a natural form of that vitamin to the body. So let's talk about like vitamin C. So vitamin C is you can get from oranges, areola, cherries, Kamu. Right. These are like whole food based sources of vitamin C that was created within the earth to bless and nourish our body and our immune system. But then if you go to the store and you're looking at vitamin C, a lot of the time you'll see ascorbic acid and maybe some other forms of vitamin C. So ascorbic acid would be the synthetic form. Or maybe you have a supplement, vitamin C that has actual sources of orange and komu cherry, things like that. So that's the difference. If you look at the ingredients in whole foods and there are foods that you know can pronounce, they're made from food. If you see the ingredients and you're like, I don't even know what this is, then it's most likely synthetic. And so what I tell my clients is, look, our bodies are not absorbing new like supplements or even nutrients optimally anymore, which we'll go into here in a little bit. But when you're taking something synthetic, you're really just doing more harm than good because your liver again has to break that down. It becomes a little bit more of a stress before it becomes a benefit because it adds that load, that workload that taxing onto the liver. Right? So we don't want to stress our liver out. Our liver is already doing all the things it is trying to detox chemicals and environmental toxins, chemical chemicals, stress even is processed in the liver. Alcohol, of course, anything that's just not supposed to be in the body, the liver is trying to cleanse and remove. And so when you're like trying to take care of yourself and you're taking these vitamins that are synthetic, your liver is okay, thank you. But I already have a lot going on. But let me figure this part out. So that's what I was noticing. I was noticing that clients were coming in and they just were taking a literal million supplements. Still feeling like crap, right? Whether that's fatigue or low thyroid or maybe weight loss plateau, maybe that's acne, maybe that's migraines, hormonal fluctuations, all the, the whole gamut. But they're taking a million supplements, right? And so I started noticing that trend and then that's really where I did my own due diligence and started cleaning up my own supplements. And I was like, hey, we're like, even some of the really good name brand ones, I was like, hey, these are synthetic. And I want to really continue supporting my body from like a whole food. I don't want to add more stress than there already is going on. And so I switched a lot to a whole food based supplement. And I'll even link the one I use at the bottom. Most of my supplements that I do take, which is really not that much anymore, to be honest. I've really narrowed down exactly what I needed based on like the metabolic scans I do every four months. But they're from optimal health system for me. They work great, they're pre digested, they're whole food based. So there's a link at the bottom of the show notes. You can check those out. But the other thing I was just noticing is people were tired of freaking taking supplements. Okay, now we need that. Okay, let me add that to the thousand supplements that I'm taking. Let me. It's like you feel like you have a mortgage payment of supplements. And then again it's like, am I absorbing it? Am I not? And or am I just peeing it out? Is it doing more harm than good? And it's just starting to get annoying, right? You're like, okay, I guess I'm going to take even more. And then just like my own personal story, like, my husband hates taking pills. He is so cute. If I give him a probiotic, he like eats it with a banana, like he's got to chew it up like a dog or whatever, swallow it like you can't notice it. And then like my own kids, I have a nine now. My gosh, she just turned nine last weekend. I'm like, we're halfway to 18. This is not okay. I have a nine year old and I have a five year old and they don't take pills. And I really needed to do some deeper detox with detoxification with them from some heavy metals and some things. And so I was just at this place, I would say about eight months ago where I was like, hey, pills are not the way. And peptides are amazing. That's another form. But not everyone likes needles. My kids aren't going to be taking peptides, that's for sure. My husband definitely is not into the peptide game. He is. No needles for me, please. And so I just did some, started doing some like, research, some market research. Like what are some other delivery systems outside of pills, supplements and peptides? And this is where I just became so excited about transdermal delivery. So think about it. Your skin is the largest organ of your body. Everything that touches your skin literally goes straight into the bloodstream. It actually bypasses your gut and your liver. You absorb it all. So ladies, this is also lotions, this is perfume. This is hand soap, this is laundry detergent. This is everything that's touching your skin. This is why it's so important when people are like or like when I'm working with clients and we see like high chemicals and hydrocarbons from their hair skin, it's hey, what are you using for detergent? Because you're washing your clothes and you're washing your sheets in these, these detergents, these chemicals. And if they are not clean all day long and all night long, your skin is just absorbing all of its chemical goodness and it's just self suffocating, truly. Like skin, our skin is just an avenue for so much that can get in. And so transdermal delivery is utilizing the science and the biology of how our skin absorbs nutrients. And I basically took that technology and science and I created the patch method. That's really where the patch method was born, you guys, is it was born from seeing literally over 400 clients in their scans, seeing what supplements they were taking, the lack of absorption that was happening. And just the pill fatigue, truly. And then just my own kids, my own husband and just feel really feeling like we need another option. So the patch method, literally, you guys, it's my baby. I'm so excited about it because I just think it can really serve and bless so many people. And it's only been live for two months. And I'm not even kidding you, I get DMS text messages all day long. Like I feel like I need to pay these people. Oh my gosh. Thank you for this testimony. Like, I can share this with other people with just. Oh my gosh. I wore my detox patch last night and sleeping so much better. Oh my gosh. Like my metabolism patch, my heart rate, my resting heart rate's actually been lowered from it. I've been able to focus more Immunity patch. Like now I don't to take 10 different supplements because I have all these great things right in the patch straight to the bloodstream. And so it's been just like such a fun, fun experience, like really bringing this to the market, bringing this to my clients, bring this to my family. And just having, just bringing awareness to right of. Okay, we don't need to spend thousands of dollars on supplements. And let's take a step back. Let's really figure out are we absorbing it or are we not? If you're feeling like garbage and you're taking a million things, you are not absorbing your supplements. Okay? You're not absorbing it. So pause and let's reset, let's recalibrate let's do some audit, let's clean up the, your protocol and let's really fine tune what's actually going to benefit and bless you and save you time and money, right? So here's some fun things about transdermal delivery. This is really fascinating. If you love science, all of that, this is going to geek you out. Oral supplementation. There is a thing called the first past effect, first pass effect. This is showing the process it takes for a supplement to be absorbed. So when you're taking supplements, your vitamins every day, if it's synthetic, number one, that already cuts down if you're absorbing it or not, right? So we talk about how the stress on the liver, all of that and then if you, when you take the supplement first, it goes through your gut. So if you have high acid levels, if you have leaky gut, if you have any mucosal lining irritation or inflammation, if your microbial balance is not intact, then you are going to have a harder time absorbing the fullness of that supplement. If you have liver congestion, if you have non alcoholic or alcoholic fatty liver, if you have detox issues and your liver is having a hard time already processing what it's been exposed to, if you have glycogen overabundance, like these are all things that really will take away from your body's ability to actually break down and absorb your supplements. So at the end of the day, studies actually show that the majority of people are only really absorbing 20% of their vitamins. That is crazy. Just like to me when I read that, I was like, wait, so I'm spending like 200amonth. What would that be? $160. I'm wasting $160. We are good at math here. And so it's really important to do some due diligence, to do some research, to do some audit, do some cleanup and just really understand, like there's a lot that goes into play when you're taking a supplement. I want to go into some woo stuff like mindset and thoughts and beliefs and brain states when you're taking supplements, because that's a whole nother thing. And maybe I'll just sprinkle that in right here. If you're like in a really low spot and you're just like, my body is really broken. Do these supplements even work? Like your thoughts are really negatively charged. I'm gonna tell you what, you are not absorbing any of your supplements, okay? The power of belief, the power of your thoughts will stop and start absorption processes. All of that in the body. And I say this honestly from like, personal experience because I can't tell you how many times and seasons in my life where I'm like just white knuckling like all this stuff and putting in my body and just actually at war internally with my body and with my health and I'm just like guzzling down these supplements and like literally the thought, like, I'll literally have the thought as I'm taking it. Does this even work? You know what I mean? And yeah, of course not. Of course it's not going to work when your thoughts are so negative about it, like in questioning it. So I say that plug just to say if that's you too, it would be so much of service to just dig a little deeper in some of those thoughts and beliefs and clean up your protocol. For sure. Be intentional what you're putting in your body, but really look at every morsel of what you put in your body as a gift, as a blessing, as a vehicle for healing, as a vehicle for optimizing. Amazing. Like, I know I'm sounding very woo. I can already see a few friends of mine shaking their head being like, you are next level, Lindsay. But I promise you, like, when you visualize what's putting in what's going into your body and you visualize the blessing that it's giving to your body, then it totally is a different experience and absorption than if you're just like rushing through the day and mad at everything. So that's a little about the first past effect. So let's transition from supplements and then let's just do it topically through the transdermal delivery. I will also say that with the patch method, it just makes everything so simple. I'm actually going to go through the different protocols we currently have and talk about what's actually in them. Because here's what's fun about the patch method. Each patch has like up to 10 different ingredients in it. So I want you to think of, oh, this is so nice. Instead of taking 10 pills, I can literally take one patch, put it on my body, let it actually absorb, and then not to take 10 pills. So it's all so great. Okay. I first started with the metabolism. This was just literally based on me asking everyone, what do you guys want first? And the metabolism patch was born. This one's so fun because it literally increases energy and metabolism. I highly recommend wearing it in the day, definitely not at night. You don't want to be like activated while you're trying to go to sleep. But it's really like that metabolic biohacking upgrade. The patch is a pink color, but yes, men can wear it too. There's some herb mate. There's some green tea. You have some ginseng in it. We love that black maca. Great for hormones, COQ10B complex. We're talking mood, metabolism, and energy. Okay, so you put that patch on. In, like, for me, actually. Personal story. Last Thursday, I was going onto a podcast. I felt so depleted, so tired. We had just did a podcast, actually, it was Friday, not Thursday. I was truly, like, I really was depleted. But I made a commitment, and I really wanted to be on the podcast. I put the patch on. Oh, my gosh. I was so narrowed in on that podcast. The conversation was so incredible, and I felt incredible. Okay, this metabolism patch literally just saved my day, and I freaking love it. Even my mom this weekend, she was so cute. She was like, oh, wow, I put the patch on. I'm feeling so good. I've had clients literally send me changes in their heart rate where they just wake up with high resting heart rate. They put the patch on, those B vitamins, help regulate it. Boom. So good. Great for anyone that has the MTF HR gene mutation, because, again, you're getting it straight through the blood and it's the methylated one. So we love the metabolism patch. The detox patch was our second baby, this one so passionate about, really, because I created it for my kids. I'm all in on the detox, if you know me, if you followed me. I've done so many workshops on detoxing. It's really important to support daily drainage and detox because think of it. Think of the last 20, 30 years of our life and how overly exposed we are to toxins, to chemicals. I'm talking mental, internal, like, it's unlike any environment we've ever experienced in the world. And if you are not actively, every single day supporting drainage, supporting detoxification, then it is down regulating 500 functions in your body. I'm talking thyroid function. It's impacting hormone regulation. It's impacting micronutrient storage. So much happens. And so if you can support daily detox and drainage, you will feel an incredible difference. And kids need it, too. My gosh, these kids are so exposed. They're born exposed, they're in utero exposed to chemicals. They have studies, literally, with umbilical cords with chemicals in it. Like these four babies. I could go on. There's a whole masterclass on detoxing. But I wanted a patch. I wanted a patch for me to Wear at night. I wanted a patch for my kids. And why I recommend wearing it at night is because our bodies do go through a natural detox cycle in between 12 and 2, 3 in the morning. And this just helps maximize that process. I personally have my detox patches right next to my bed stand. In fact, last night, it's right next to my mouth tape. So going to bed, put the patch on, put the mouth tape on. We are extra. We're doing it and it just makes it so much easier to make it part of your routine. But here's where it's amazing. Okay, I'm going to tell you, like, what's in it. It has milk thistle and sulforaphane. Incredible. For liver detox. Okay. Coq 10 Glutathione, which, you know, has a hard time absorbing in the body, so we're getting it right through the skin. This is a master antioxidant. Great for aging, great for preserving cellular function. It has arnica, which is overall inflammation, circulation, just, just literally chef's kiss at night and then some Chinese herbs. So we love the detox patch. I truly, I've traveled with it. In fact, total game changer. You don't, Instead of taking 10 pills, you put your patch on. Like, truly, there's to me nothing better than that. We just launched the immunity patch. I was really passionate about this because it is cold and flu season in everywhere around the world. Kids going back to school and I don't know about you, but like, this is my. Ain't nobody got time to be sexy. I do not want to have it. This one has vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, elderberry, also CoQ10. And it's amazing you can give it to your kids. In fact, my kids, they're over vitamins. Like, they are like, I, they're so resistant. And honestly, I don't really love vitamins for them either. I have done the OHS gummies because those are made from whole foods. But I give them the patch, they think it's a sticker. They're actually so excited and proud about it. They actually show their friends. Look at my sticker. It's a vitamin. I, I actually was even thinking I should give this to everyone in my kids class for real. So the immunity one's great for traveling. You're getting all those vitamins in that one patch. Good to go. Protect yourself, Boost that immune system. And then we're also dropping the testosterone boosting patch. This one is like really a game changer. I can't tell you how many women even I meet right now, like, literally in their 30s on T. And here's the thing. Everyone decides what they want to do and don't do with their body. That is totally amazing. But what's great is that testosterone patch actually just boosts testosterone naturally instead of it being, like an exogenous hormone. That's, like, replacing biological processes. What I also will say is, like, when it comes to testosterone, you guys, if you have low T, someone with low T, it's such a quick fix. If you're, like, under 45, get a good night's sleep. Like three good night sleeps. Okay? Three good night sleeps. Get some protein, high nutrients, and reduce stress. Boom. Your tea will go back into place, I promise you. But the patch is really great for men and women. It's just going to boost it. You're gonna have more energy, more mental clarity. It actually supports metabolism as well, supports libido. Truly an amazing tool. We're actually going to a conference this weekend and launching the patch. So it will be the first come, first serve here this coming weekend. But I am really excited about it. So those are our protocols. We are definitely going to be launching, dropping some other really fun ones. I'm also open to ideas. If you're like this I've been hearing so far, do a one for. Do one for bloating, do it for stress, do it for sleeping. There's so many fun ones that are going to be coming down the pike. And really, the patch method, you guys, it's not just a vitamin. It's a movement. Okay? It's a movement to like, finally absorb the things that your body needs and actually feel different so you can experience the fullness right of each day and not be weighed down by feeling like garbage and not feeling like yourself. And it's a movement to just feel like you have a tool and an accessory to actually support your body and to make it easy. I am on fire and so much focus with this patch because I just believe it serves a huge need and a huge purpose. And it feels like a community. Like, truly, I feel like it's created this amazing community. Like, with my friends, with my family, my clients. I have people I'll see at the gym, they're wearing their patch. I'm like, patch in the wild. We're all just, like, laughing, having fun. I get pictures all the time. I'm wearing my patch. I'm wearing my patch. It's just. There's nothing better to feel like we're all part of a community, to elevate, to optimize and to feel better. But not just that, to actually see results and not just be like, do these, does this work anymore? What's going on? So that is my take, but I want you to do some homework, okay? Go home, do some homework. Pull out all your supplements. Okay? Look through. Are they synthetic? Are they whole foods? Can you pronounce it? Do you even know where it came from? If you're getting it from Amazon, CVS or Walgreens or Walmart, throw it away. I'm telling you right now, it is doing more harm than good. Throw it away. Let me know if you have questions. I can help support you in transitioning to a whole food based supplement that is like cost effective and great and then see where you can consolidate. Right? Could we do an immunity patch? Instead of all these different vitamins, can we, instead of doing these like 200 detoxes, can I do a detox patch and just utilize it that way? So I'm going to be giving everyone a little promo code. Okay? You can go online the Patch method dot com. If you put in the Patched era, you're going to get a special little discount. So go grab your patches, post it on Instagram, share the love, share the community, share the energy, share. Just like all the funness that we're having with these patches. It truly, it means so much to me. I have a big vision. We are gonna have a lot of fun with these patches and I want you along this journey with me. Okay? Also, if you have recommendations, please let me know. If you're like, this would be amazing to see. Let's make it, let me know. Okay? Do me a huge favor if you can like subscribe and make a tiny little comment on the podcast. It means so much. I'm learning a lot about podcasting. It's a new thing for me. But. But apparently it's like a really big deal when your friends and family do that. So if you wanted to show me a little sign of love, that would be it. And it would truly bless my entire day. If you have any questions, let me know. And I hope you have the best day ever. Next time we will meet on the biohack Method podcast. That's it for today's episode of the biohack Method. If this lit some.