Why I Chose to Fix My Food First

A customer recently asked me a simple question:

“Are you taking any supplements?”

It’s a fair question.

Over the past few years, my doctor has suggested several — including statins, vitamin B12, and vitamin D.

That’s the standard approach. When something shows up in your bloodwork, the next step is usually to correct it with a supplement or medication.

But I chose a different path.

How I Think About Supplements

I’ve come to a simple definition:

A supplement is something you take to make up for something missing in your food.

That’s not meant as criticism. It’s just what the word implies.

But it leads to a more important question:

Why is it missing in the first place?

Food Is Not a Commodity

This is where I think we’ve gone wrong.

Food is often treated like a commodity — interchangeable, standardized, and mostly about calories.

I don’t believe that’s true.

The nutritional value of food comes from how it’s raised and what it eats.

• Grassfed beef is not the same as feedlot beef
• Pasture-raised eggs are not the same as confinement eggs
• Wild fish like sardines are not the same as farmed fish

That difference matters.

And if that difference is ignored long enough, something ends up missing.

The Direction I Chose

Instead of starting with supplements, I focused on fixing the inputs.

That meant changing how I eat:

• 100% grassfed beef
• Pasture-raised eggs from Tyner Pond Farm
• Sardines and anchovies (not farmed fish)
• Homemade chicken stock
• Olive oil for simple dressings
• No seed oils
• No ultra-processed food

I wasn’t trying to follow a trend. I was trying to understand cause and effect.

Using Food to Address What Showed Up in My Bloodwork

Rather than treating numbers directly, I started asking what food might be missing.

Here are a few examples.

Vitamin B12

This was one of the things my doctor wanted to supplement.

Instead, I focused on animal foods — especially grassfed beef and eggs.

My vitamin B12 went from 322 in February 2025 to 574 in February/March 2026. That is a clear improvement, and it came from food.

Vitamin D

This came back low at one point.

Rather than starting with a supplement, I focused on time outdoors and consistent diet.

My vitamin D went from 29.8 in February 2025 to 41.7 in February/March 2026. That moved in the right direction without relying on supplements as the starting point.

Homocysteine

This was one of the more concerning markers.

What helped most was improving overall diet quality and adding sardines regularly.

My homocysteine came down from 16.9 in February 2025 to 11.4 in February/March 2026. That was a meaningful correction.

Cholesterol and Statins

Statins were part of the conversation.

Instead of starting there, I chose to understand the full picture first — including ApoB, inflammation, metabolic health, and actual plaque — instead of defaulting to medication based on LDL alone.

Based on what I’ve seen in my own numbers, I do not believe statins are the right path for me. My focus is on fixing the food, tracking the markers that matter, and making decisions from the broader pattern rather than reacting to a single lab value.

This Connects Directly to How We Farm

This is not separate from what we do at Tyner Pond Farm.

Our focus is on soil health and nutrient density.

We move animals across pasture. We build soil over time. We pay attention to what the animals eat and how they live.

Because that is what determines the quality of the food.

If something is missing in the soil or the system, it eventually shows up in the food.

And if it’s missing in the food, it eventually shows up in people.

Where I Land

I’m not saying supplements never have a place.

But I do not see them as the starting point.

The starting point is:

Better soil
Better animals
Better food
Better health

So far, that approach has worked for me.

A More Practical Way to Think About It

It’s easy to treat numbers.

It’s harder to step back and ask why those numbers are off in the first place.

That’s the work I’m trying to do.

And it’s the same thinking that guides how we farm.

If You’re Thinking About This

You don’t need to overhaul everything at once.

Start with a few simple changes:

• Buy meat from a source you trust
• Choose pasture-raised eggs
• Avoid ultra-processed food
• Cook more at home

From there, you can decide how far you want to go.