Supplements are supporting actors. Eating well, sleeping and moving are the foundation

Supplements may help fill nutritional gaps, but they cannot repair a lifestyle built on irregular meals, too little sleep and too little exercise, family medicine specialist Park Min-soo says.

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Before looking for popular supplements, examine the foundations of health: eating well, sleeping well and moving.

After more than 20 years in clinical practice, Park says he has seen chronic diseases affect younger patients. He links the shift closely to the spread of delivery food, restaurant meals and ultra-processed products. Foods high in calories, sugar and sodium can place stress on blood-sugar and insulin regulation, with effects that accumulate in blood vessels and blood pressure. Repeated over time, such habits can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and hypertension.

Park argues that chronic disease prevention should begin by restoring the timing, quality, quantity and order of meals. People should eat appropriate amounts on time, sleep enough and move regularly. Skipping breakfast before overeating late at night, catching up on weekday sleep during the weekend, or remaining seated all day before exercising intensely can disrupt the body’s rhythms. He says damage builds through repeated poor choices, while recovery also begins with small daily decisions.

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Chronic disease should not be viewed simply as an illness of what not to eat. We need to normalize the timing, quality, quantity and order of meals.

“Supplements are a double-edged sword,” Park says. They can help when people identify a deficiency and choose products suited to their condition, but they cannot replace meals, sleep or exercise. Taking several products at once may burden the liver and kidneys through excessive nutrient intake. Health, he says, is not about continually adding beneficial foods or products. It also requires removing harmful habits and filling only genuine gaps.

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Supplements are a double-edged sword.

Park recommends seasonal vegetables and fruit, whole grains and suitable protein as the foundation of the diet. Whole foods combine fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that act together. For people who struggle to eat vegetables, he says freshly pressed juice made at home without added sugar can supplement intake, though it cannot replace whole produce because pressing removes insoluble fiber. He suggests using vegetables such as kale or celery for 70% to 80% of the drink and fruit such as apples or berries for 20% to 30%, then eating whole vegetables and fruit later in the day.

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Start with pressed juice and complete the day with whole foods.