Change Your Supplements… Or Your Algorithm?
You get what you click.
If you looked at my social media feed, you might wonder what I do for a living.
It’s a mix of face yoga, golden retrievers, and how to grow sprouts on the kitchen counter.
I rarely see supplement recommendations. I never see politics.
Why?
I don’t click.
For many people, their feed looks like a string of supplement commercials:
-NAD
-Glutathione
-Hyaluronic acid
-Mushroom coffee
Each one positioned as the thing that will finally change how you feel.
What shows up in your feed is driven by engagement—not by what you actually need.
Repetition creates urgency.
Urgency drives behavior.
These don’t make a supplement clinically relevant.
A Simple Way To Think About It
Most of what’s trending tends to fall into three categories…
1. FOUNDATIONAL
This is where real change happens.
-adequate protein
-building and maintaining muscle
-whole foods
-sunlight and darkness
-hydration
-blood sugar balance
-sleep
-minimizing inflammation
These aren’t flashy.
They aren’t heavily promoted.
No purchase necessary.
Yet, they show up again and again in the scientific literature.
2. TARGETED / CONDITIONAL
This is where many popular supplements live – NAD, glutathione, hyaluronic acid, etc.
They can be useful—but context matters.
And they’re often downstream of the foundations.
For example:
NAD supports cellular energy. But without adequate protein, muscle mass, and metabolic support, its impact is limited.
GLUTATHIONE is heavily marketed. In many cases, supporting your body’s ability to produce it—through protein, amino acids, and liver function—is more effective than taking it directly.
HYALURONIC ACID can support skin and joint hydration. But it’s not a comprehensive solution for aging or energy on its own.
3. TREND-BASED LIFESTYLE SWAPS
These move quickly.
Mushroom coffee is a good example.
It’s lower in caffeine and may feel less stimulating for some people.
A reasonable trade-off.
But regular coffee also has well-documented benefits for cognitive function, metabolic health, and longevity.
The bigger issue is often timing.
Having coffee immediately upon waking can blunt the natural cortisol awakening response, which peaks about 30 minutes after you wake.
Waiting to consume caffeine 30–60 minutes after waking better supports that rhythm.
As for medicinal mushrooms—they’re active substances. Traditionally, they’re used selectively—not in proprietary blends with many ingredients.
A Quick Note On Propietary Blends
Many supplements promoted online use proprietary blends with undisclosed ingredient amounts.
Which means:
-you can’t assess effectiveness
-you can’t adjust dosing
-you can’t tell what’s helping—or what isn’t
They circulate quickly, create excitement, generate clicks… and then disappear.
The fundamentals don’t.
A Simple Reset
Before adding something new, it’s worth asking:
Am I getting enough protein?
Am I building and maintaining muscle?
Is my nutritional baseline solid?
Am I supporting energy through sleep, blood sugar balance, and hydration?
If this already feels like a lot, pause here.
You don’t need to do everything at once.
But these are the levers that tend to make the biggest difference.
Bottom Line:
Your feed reflects what you interact with—not what’s best for you.
Shifting what you engage with on social media can reduce the pressure to chase the next “solution”.
Start with the foundation.
Build from there.
Warmly,
Dr. Krista
Olive Says
Less clicking.
More belly rubbing!