Part II of an Interview with Janneke van der Meulen

Essentials in Supplementation

I visited Janneke van der Meulen in her home in Amsterdam. She is a vegan health expert and gives talks for several companies in the Netherlands on the topic of nutrition and work performance. She is the author of 2 books: Super Quick Recovery (2014) and Eat Win-Win (2017). She is currently training for the Olympic Games in 2020.

In this second part of the interview I asked Janneke if there is any supplementation necessary in addition to a healthy diet.

Janneke: Supplementation is always derived from plant compounds. When we look at our health, we always want to have the basics of the diet covered. Through fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes we obtain the foundation. In specific cases it is necessary to boost one’s health through supplementation. There are advantages and disadvantages to supplementation, so we have to be careful to make generalisations about it.

First and foremost we have to take into account that our bodies and brains are not designed to live in this modern world anymore. By that I mean that we are inside the majority of the time, sit behind our desks and are surrounded by electronic magnetic fields (wifi). We breathe in car exhaust, consume a diet high in refined foods and we often normalize this lifestyle. Yet this is extremely challenging for our bodies and has a very negative impact on our brain as well.

Secondly we became so overly hygienic in the past 50 years. In many cases this works to our advantage, warding off serious infections or diseases. However, the downside is that we scrub away beneficial bacteria which otherwise would be present in our drinking water or on fresh produce. Vitamin B12 is a great example of a bacteria that is often washed off. If there is any vitamin deficiency, it is probably vitamin B12 regardless of what our diet is.

Vitamin B12: Forms and Varieties

When we visit a health food store, you will see hundreds of different vitamin B12 supplementation jars: from sprays to tablets to sublingual pills. There are also several forms which vitamin B12 comes in. For example there are more active varieties that do not need to be converted in our bodies, facilitating absorption and assimilation. Bear in mind that what we take in, doesn’t automatically mean that our bodies are able to absorb it. The majority benefits though from sublingual tablets (dissolving under the tongue). Finally we have to take into account the amount of vitamin B12 that differs per person depending on what current blood levels tell us.

Vitamin D

The other vitamin the majority of people lack is our sunshine vitamin: Vitamin D. Back in the day our daily lifestyle would be happening much more outside in broad daylight. If we are outside, we tend to apply lots of chemical sunlotions which prevents absorption of vitamin D. Since this is a vitamin involved with many bodily processes, we want to check our levels through a blood test.

Optimal vitamin D levels offer protection against viruses, bacteria and chronic diseases. For an athlete vitamin D is key as it accelerates muscle repair and boosts testosterone levels. In addition vitamin D is our feel happy hormone, making us feel joyous and cheerful. Studies have shown that low vitamin D blood levels increase the risk of moodiness, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and depression.