Have You Ever Felt Lost in the Supplement Aisle?
You’re standing there, staring at rows of brightly colored bottles. One promises better digestion, another claims to “boost energy,” and yet another swears it’ll help you sleep like a baby.
Maybe you’ve read about the latest “miracle” herb on social media. Maybe a friend swears by a certain blend for their anxiety. You don’t want to miss out—so you grab a few.
Weeks go by. You don’t really feel different. Maybe a little bloated? A little off? So, you try something else. More unfinished bottles. Money down the drain. Confusion accumulating. Definitely not a straight line.
Sound familiar?
If so, you’re not alone. And this is exactly why I lead any supplement recommendations for my patients with my 3T System for supplementation: They must be Therapeutic, Targeted, and Temporary.
Because here’s the truth: Most people are stuck in a cycle of random supplementation, hoping something will work but never really addressing the root cause of their symptoms.
They’ve swapped pharmaceuticals for “green pharmacy”—a cabinet full of well-marketed supplements that aren’t actually solving their health problems. Here’s why.
Why the “Green Pharmacy” Approach Doesn’t Work
There’s a reason supplement companies are thriving, and skepticism around marketing and wellness is high! People are frustrated with conventional medicine, drowning in snake oil, tired of feeling ignored, and searching for real solutions.
But without a strategy, supplements become just another band-aid. Even if they are effective at all, many are still marketed in our current paradigm, matching “a pill for every ill.”
They may mask symptoms, but they don’t fix anything. Worse, they can create new problems—nutrient imbalances, digestive distress, or even unintended hormonal shifts especially if not taken strategically and with the 3Ts in the mind.
So, what’s the alternative? A purposeful, strategic approach.
Queue the 3Ts: The Ideal Way to Supplement
Every single supplement I recommend follows this philosophy:
1. Therapeutic: Supplements Must Have a Clear, Science-Backed Purpose & The Right Dosage
I don’t believe in taking supplements “just in case.” Every formula should serve a therapeutic role—whether that’s calming an overactive stress response, restoring a depleted nutrient, or supporting the microbiome.
But here’s the critical piece most people miss: It’s not just about what’s in your supplement—it’s about how much, and in what form!
Too often, people take low-dose, underpowered formulas and wonder why they don’t see results. On the flip side, others assume more is always better—overloading their bodies with megadoses that can actually backfire.
This is where “therapeutic dosage” comes in.
A therapeutic dosage means you’re taking enough of a given nutrient, herb, or compound to actually create a physiological change—based on clinical research, not just marketing claims.
Some real-world sub-par supplement examples:
- Magnesium for stress & muscle relaxation: Many supplements contain 100 mg or less—which won’t do much if you’re deficient. The research-backed range for therapeutic use? 200–400 mg daily, depending on the form and individual need!
- To make matters worse, magnesium oxide is the cheapest, and unfortunately only 4% is actually usable… it’s essentially the “rust” of the magnesium world. This means if you take a supplement with 300mg of magnesium oxide, your body is only able to use 12mg of the magnesium that is allowed to be listed on the label!
- Curcumin (from turmeric) for inflammation: A lot of turmeric supplements list “500 mg of turmeric root” on the bottle. Sounds good, right? Not really—because only a tiny fraction of that is bioavailable curcumin, the active compound. The clinical dose needed for inflammation support? 500–1,000 mg of concentrated curcumin extract—often combined with piperine (black pepper) to increase absorption or in other delivery methods.
- Omega-3s for brain and heart health: Most people assume their one-a-day fish oil capsule is enough. But check the label—many contain only 200–300 mg of EPA/DHA combined, when studies show 1,000–3,000 mg is needed for therapeutic benefits.
This is why working with a practitioner matters. The supplement industry preys on our “more is more” psychology or simply seeing the ingredient on the label—but the truth is, what actually works is having ENOUGH of the right ingredients at the right dosages.
It’s not about taking more supplements. It’s about taking the right amount of the right ones, for the right reason.
This is why I always evaluate my patients’ supplement routines through a therapeutic lens—to ensure they’re getting doses that actually make an impact.
2. Targeted: Supplements Should Be Based on YOUR Unique Needs
Generic protocols don’t work. If you’ve ever followed a “gut healing” protocol off Instagram, you probably already know that.
Supplements should be targeted—selected based on your lab data, symptoms, and bio-individual needs.
A real-world example?
A patient of mine, let’s call her Sarah, came to me exhausted and bloated. She was taking a probiotic she heard was “good for gut health,” but her stool test was highly suggestive that she actually had SIBO—a condition where certain probiotics can make symptoms worse.
Instead of throwing more supplements at the problem, we paused her probiotic, worked on lowering bacterial overgrowth first, and then reintroduced gut-supportive nutrients in the right order.
The result? Her bloating disappeared in 4 weeks—without the frustration of trial and error.
3. Temporary: Supplements Shouldn’t Be a Life Sentence
This is where most people (and even some practitioners) go wrong.
Supplements are not meant to replace a sustainable health strategy. If you need the same product for years, something’s missing from the bigger picture. This isn’t 100% (rarely is anything ALWAYS true) but this is the guide that I use for therapeutic interventions.
A temporary approach means:
- We use supplements to correct an imbalance
- We track progress (with symptom changes or lab testing)
- We taper off once your body is functioning optimally
I’ve had patients come to me with 20+ daily supplements they’ve been on for years with no clear plan to stop. That’s not health—that’s dependency. And worst off all, most didn’t follow the Therapeutic and Targeted Ts above!
The goal should always be to get your body working on its own again.
The only exception I usually have to this rule is a high-quality multivitamin supplement. It has become tougher than ever in our big-food, big-pharma paradigm to reach our basic micronutrient needs. A daily multivitamin can help address foundational gaps.
The Bottom Line: A Smarter, More Effective Way to Supplement
I get it—functional medicine can feel like a maze. But supplements should rarely, if ever be a guessing game.
Therapeutic, Targeted, and Temporary—this is the key to real results.
So next time you’re tempted by a trendy new supplement, ask yourself:
- Is this therapeutic? (Does it have a science-backed purpose for my health with standardized dosages or forms in mind?)
- Is this targeted? (Do I actually need this based on my labs, symptoms, genetics, functional demands, or environmental factors?)
- Is this temporary? (Do I have a plan to eventually stop taking it?)
If you can’t confidently answer yes to all three, you might be stepping into the green pharmacy trap.
And trust me—you don’t need more bottles. You need a strategic plan.
Need a Streamlined Supplement Strategy?
This is exactly why I work with my patients to take a data-driven approach to supplementation. If you’re tired of guessing and want a clear, personalized plan that follows my 3Ts, let’s talk.
Book a FREE Health Clarity Consult with me so we can explore your goals and see if functional medicine and my 3T approach to supplementation might be right for you!
About the Author
Kenny Mittelstadt is an acupuncturist and functional health practitioner based in San Antonio, Texas. He is trained through the Institute for Functional Medicine and received both of his doctorate degrees with highest honors from Southern California University of Health Sciences. He focuses on empowering patients through creating opportunities for integrated understanding and personalized root-cause healing - starting with gut health and growing beyond!