“I am. I think. I will.” -Ayn Rand

“Mastering others is strength.  Mastering yourself is true power.”  -Lao Tzu​

My favorite book of 2016 was a gem called “The World Beyond Your Head: Becoming an Individual in the Age of Distraction” by Mathew Crawford.  I read a lot last year so that is saying something.  The reason I really loved this book is that it assimilated several peripheral ideas and concepts I’d been thinking about and aware of in relation to freedom, into one cohesive philosophical work.  Over the years, I kept noticing time after time in myself and others when it came to motivation, as well as ethical, moral and spiritual growth and maturity, and success in various endeavors, there was a primary problem of misunderstanding freedom, both what it was and how to achieve it.

One important thing I’ve learned about freedom is that it requires the “ability to act” because if you can’t take action, you’re not free.  

Let me explain.

Ironically, though what we think we are getting in our modern world is freedom, what we really face in an “individualized” culture (packaged and sold as providing “freedom”) is that of declining personal agency.  Agency refers to the ability or capacity of an actor to act.  Another way you could look at or describe agency would be power, or the ability, to act within a given context.  For example, if you can read, you have more agency to learn.  Someone who does not know how to read, does not have the agency to become a lawyer, to get a college degree, or to read a cook book.  Being able to read builds agency, and thus freedom.  This is a simplistic example, but it works.  

Someone who has agency can take action.  I know nothing about how to repair my Honda Pilot.  If it breaks down, I have no agency to fix it, only to bring it somewhere to have a repairman fix it, which fortunately I have the money to do.  I am a prisoner to the auto mechanics.  When it comes to driving the car though, I know how to drive it, and drive it safely, so I have that agency, that freedom.  I went to Driver’s Education classes in high school and I learned from my parents and from mistakes and experience.  I am a more powerful driver and have higher agency now than when I was started driving 20 plus years ago. I am more free as a driver now than when I started because I know how to drive, and am good at it.

Life is the same.  If you know how to live, you will be good at being human, you will be more powerful and free. The problem is that we want to be good at life, but we don’t want to learn how.  So how can we build agency, when we don’t want to learn?

Because our culture emphasizes individualism more than any other in history, we need to be aware that this is hurting our personal agency.  Ironically, our desire to be free is keeping us from truly being free, because we are not building the kind of agency we need to act.  We need to acknowledge the utility and necessity of agency again and be willing to humble ourselves and learn, so that we can truly build the resources we need to take action.

• Our backs hurt, but we won’t read, learn and listen to how to care for the spine.  So we keep hurting.  
• We want a better career, but we don’t have a mentor, or coach, or master to learn from and we don’t have the discipline to study on our own.  So we stay stuck.  We have no ability to act or change the situation.  
• We want to be able to defend ourselves, but we don't like being told what to do.  So we never show up to a class.  So when someone robs us, we are frozen and terrified.  We aren’t free to defend ourselves, because we can’t.  
• We want to be more flexible and less stiff, but we never take the time to learn how to stretch.  So we lack agency.  
• We eat too much junk food, but refuse to take the time to learn how to cook on a budget.  No agency.  
• We want to learn to invest our money, but we never take the time to study finance.  No freedom or agency.  
• We want to be happy and spiritually at peace, but we never study ancient religious wisdom, or learn from a spiritual teacher, methods proven to get us there.   We reject all inherited wisdom and try to reinvent the wheel.  No agency.  
• We want to be able to play an instrument, but we don’t sign up for lessons.  We lack the agency to do anything meaningful with the guitar or piano.  We are powerless to make music.    
• We want to be part of a vibrant community, but we refuse to commit to getting involved.  No power to change our culture.  No freedom.  
• We want to be a better parent, but we never asked the older generations how they did things, or develop the kind of rules they had on how things are to be done.  So the kids rule and manipulate the parents, who lack agency and thus power.  
• We want to run a marathon, but we think we can do it on our own without studying the best techniques, or working with a coach or team, so we get injured the during the first month and give up.  No power to run the marathon.  
• We want to be physically strong, but we want “free time” to watch TV, so we “don’t have time” to lift weights.  No agency.  

You get the idea, right?

These are just a few examples of how our misplaced focus on radical individualism is holding us back.  Because we are so focused on individualism, we run from anything that looks like authority or submission to a discipline.   Ironically, we aren’t building the agency we need to become really be free.

If I saw a dog acting like a bird, trying to fly, flapping its legs and so on, I would not admire the dog, I’d pity it.   On the same hand, a dog that has been trained to sit, stand, stay, heel, fetch, retrieve, and roll over, and can hunt and catch it’s own food, is a dog I can admire.  It has agency and can act like a dog can act at it’s best.  It’s a powerful dog, as free as a dog can be.  I was watching a Hunting Dog Retriever Championship recently in person, it was a beautiful thing to behold.  

Building agency is the true key to becoming a free and healthy person.  To build agency, we need to tie ourselves up in a learning situation and develop the resources we need to act.   To be free, we need to focus on things that our culture rejects:

• Humility 
• Patience
• Submission
• Discipline
• Focus

Achieving true freedom is counter-cultural.  Only when we learn to embrace a truer sense of what it means to really be free will we grow into the kind of person who can act, the kind of person with agency.  

If we can't act, we'll never be free.  

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Rule # 2 for supplements is this:

If you’re going to take a supplement, make sure it is what it says it is, and more importantly that it’s safe.

Back when it was discovered that Omega - 3 Fatty Acids could benefit the heart and brain, as well as have an overall anti-inflammatory effect, use of fish oil supplements, which contain Omega 3 fatty acids, understandably went through the roof.  One reason for this is that the amount of research available (the sample size) was pretty small at the time on how effective these supplements were.  So what research we did have seemed to indicate that these supplements were close to being miracle drugs.  Once the research started piling up, the data started to show that they might not be that effective.   

(This small sample size phenomena is quite common and is like a commercial on TV which says ‘4 out of 5 doctors recommend X product’.  The next logical questions would be which 5 doctors?  And why not 800 out of 1000 doctors? Small sample sizes don't tell us anything)

Effectiveness is one thing, and we will cover that in a coming blog post essay, but even more important is safety.  The most important thing about the supplements you take, other than remembering that they don’t replace healthy eating, which was Rule #1, is that …..

…..they are what they say they are and that they are safe.

This is no small task.   The FDA tests drugs for safety (which brings up a whole other book-worthy discussion for a later time), but they don’t test supplements.  

There are many many horror stories out there about supplements hurting people if you don't believe me.  

We are all busy, and even being in the field, it’s not something I paid that close attention to for a long time.  The good news is that it takes only a few minutes to figure this out, and I’m cutting out the leg work for you.

According to my research, I would look for these 4 symbols, which I found through Consumer Reports and trust.

There may be other good supplement companies out there, but if you see one of these symbols, you at least know that the companies have paid to have the supplements tested for quality and contamination, which is essential.  

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Read Next:  Rule #1 for Supplements

I did a quick 5 minute video on my Youtube channel discussing supplements.  
Click here to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBok8mHpCKE

Rule #1 For Supplements
​
Vitamin and food supplements are big business in America, raking in over $6 billion dollars per year, and this number increases every year.  Everyone wants a simple solution and everyone wants to be healthy, so it's logical to reach for a supplement, especially if it's cheap.  Unfortunately, the primary problem with the supplement business is that it is poorly regulated.  The US Federal Government / FDA does not monitor supplement companies in an in-depth way, and there are actually laws protecting supplement businesses from deeper scrutiny.  Supplement companies have lobbyists, and lobbyists work hard to protect the companies they work for.  

Besides the fact that you don't know for certain if what you're getting in the supplement bottle actually is what it says it is, there may also be problems with toxicity.  A recent study showed that many supplements don't contain what they say they contain and instead even contain toxic compounds.  Another showed, as an example, an increased chance of liver failure with Green Tea Extract Supplementation.  

Via Negativa, Again

Why would you take a supplement you weren't sure about?  If you didn't know if it might hurt you or not, why would you risk it? One of the best ways to stay healthy is to avoid things which are harmful.  

​This is also called Via Negativa - improvement or learning by taking away.   Similarly, the first principle of health care, called "The Hippocratic oath" which all doctors swear to uphold, is to do no harm.  

Safety comes before everything else, or at least it should.  When you think about how to be healthy with food your main concerns should be the basics:

• A diet based on fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and moderate amounts of lean meat and dairy. 
• Limiting alcohol and caffeine to 1-2 servings per day.
• Avoiding fried food, sugar, and refined carbohydrates.
• Eating less than you burn and moderating your caloric intake.
• Drinking plenty of water, 8 glasses per day.

It's amazing that a billion dollar supplement and nutrition industry can complicate something that really is that simple.  Supplements do have a small place in the big picture, but food should be your primary focus.   Over the next few blog posts, we're going to review some things about supplements, but let's start from the beginning.  

So here it is:

Rule #1 of Supplements:  There is no replacement for real food. 

Real food has several things that a supplement doesn't:

• Fiber - Fiber makes you feel full, keeps you regular, and helps curb your appetite and as a result helps you lose weight.  
• Phytochemicals - Plants are made up of various chemicals, called phytochemicals, which help in defense against competitors, pathogens, or predators.  Phytochemicals are still being researched but are thought to have health benefits and some researchers even believe that the main benefit of eating vegetables and fruits is the phytochemicals.  Some examples of phytochemicals  include carotenoids and polyphenols.
• Calories- This is the obvious one, but vitamin supplements don't give you any actual calories for energy.  
• Fun- It's much more fun to try new foods and eat than it is to pop a pill.  
• Taste- Eating is a great joy.  
• Digestion / Absorption- Vitamins, minerals, and nutrients (fat, carbohydrates, and proteins) work together to boost absorption so it's necessary to eat real food to get the full effect of these compounds.  
• Less Toxicity - Again, you never know for sure what you're getting with a supplement. At least with real food, you know what you're eating.  

There are a few minor advantages of supplements in some cases:

• Absorption - In some cases, vitamins are sold in combinations, like Vitamin D and Calcium, to enhance absorption.  
• Convenience - If you're traveling, or sick, or in a stressful environment it may be helpful to boost your immunity through supplementation.  

We'll dig a little deeper into supplementation next time, but for now, always remember to focus on food, not supplements.  No amount of supplementation and expensive health care treatment can overcome a poor diet and unhealthy lifestyle.

Enjoy a fresh salad, a handful of strawberries, sweet potato, or some roasted almonds.  Delicious!   

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PS- We all know vegetables are good for us, but a quick look at some of the basic benefits listed on the USDA site really is amazing.  It turns out Grandma was right, we really do need to eat our vegetables:

Nutrients

• Most vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories. None have cholesterol. (Sauces or seasonings may add fat, calories, and/or cholesterol.)
• Vegetables are important sources of many nutrients, including potassium, dietary fiber, folate (folic acid), vitamin A, and vitamin C.
• Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Vegetable sources of potassium include sweet potatoes, white potatoes, white beans, tomato products (paste, sauce, and juice), beet greens, soybeans, lima beans, spinach, lentils, and kidney beans.
• Dietary fiber from vegetables, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Fiber-containing foods such as vegetables help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories.
• Folate (folic acid) helps the body form red blood cells. Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant should consume adequate folate from foods, and in addition 400 mcg of synthetic folic acid from fortified foods or supplements. This reduces the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly during fetal development.
• Vitamin A keeps eyes and skin healthy and helps to protect against infections.
• Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy. Vitamin C aids in iron absorption.
  
  

Health benefits

• Eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.
• Eating a diet rich in some vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain types of cancers.
• Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as some vegetables and fruits, may reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
• Eating vegetables and fruits rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may lower blood pressure, and may also reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and help to decrease bone loss.
• Eating foods such as vegetables that are lower in calories per cup instead of some other higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.