The Most Important Supplement Study You’ve Never Heard Of
And the one that changed my view on supplements.
If you’ve ever tried to “get healthy,” you know the hardest part isn’t kale or kettlebells, it’s starting.
In 2014, the Nutrition Journal published a study with the plain title: “Health habits and other characteristics of dietary supplement users: a review.” On the surface, it doesn’t sound groundbreaking. But hidden in its pages was a single sentence that reframed how I think about supplements forever:
“The evidence from numerous surveys shows that dietary supplement users are more likely than nonusers to adopt a number of positive health-related habits.”
Read that again.
It’s not saying supplements make you healthy by themselves, it’s saying that supplement users are more likely to be healthy people. And that subtle point has a huge implication…
Supplements can be a gateway drug to health.
The Domino Effect of Healthy Habits
We’ve all felt it. One good decision makes the next one easier.
You go for a run, and suddenly fast food sounds less appealing.
You eat a clean breakfast, and you’re more likely to skip dessert later.
You stretch before bed, and you naturally fall asleep faster.
Psychologists call this habit spillover, the idea that starting one healthy behavior creates momentum for others. And the reverse is also true: one indulgence can spiral. Skip the gym? Order takeout? Suddenly the day feels like a “write-off” and you promise yourself you’ll restart tomorrow.
This “all-or-nothing” cycle is a well-worn human pattern. The magic is in finding the smallest possible healthy habit that can flip your brain into “healthy mode” for the rest of the day.
Why Supplements Are the Perfect First Step
Here’s the thing: big healthy actions are hard.
Cooking a nutritious breakfast? You need groceries, time, and clean dishes.
Working out? You need an hour and the motivation to sweat.
But taking a supplement? That’s the easiest healthy action you can take. It takes seconds. No prep, no willpower battle, no barrier to entry.
This is why I think supplements work so well as a “gateway habit.” When you take them first thing in the morning, you’re telling your brain: “I’m a healthy person, and I’m acting like one.” And once you start down that path, it’s easier to keep going.
Behavioral science backs this up. In James Clear’s Atomic Habits, he talks about “habit stacking,” linking a new habit to an existing one. If you always take supplements with your morning coffee, it becomes an effortless part of your identity.
Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit calls this a keystone habit, one that unintentionally triggers other good behaviors.
The Science Beyond the Pills
The Nutrition Journal study wasn’t about which supplements “work” biochemically, it was about behavior. It found that supplement users tend to:
Exercise more often
Eat more fruits and vegetables
Maintain a healthier body weight
Get more preventive medical care
In other words, the pills themselves aren’t magic, it’s the mindset and patterns they represent.
Even if a supplement is suboptimal, maybe underdosed or not perfectly evidence-backed, the act of taking it can start a cascade of healthy decisions that matter far more over the long run.
Think of it like compound interest. A single dollar invested today won’t change your life. But put a little in every day, and over time the gains multiply. Healthy habits work the same way.
The Big Picture
Of course, supplements can’t rescue a bad lifestyle. You can’t out-berberine a daily soda habit or omega-3 your way out of a fast-food addiction. But if they’re your starting line, they can help you win the bigger race.
So whether you’re already deep into your health journey or just trying to build momentum, consider this:
Supplements are easy to start.
They send a signal to your brain that “today is a healthy day.”
That signal ripples out into the rest of your choices.
The next time someone says supplements are unnecessary, you can smile and say:
"Maybe. But they’re the first domino that knocks over all the others."
And here’s the kicker: the science has been telling us this for over a decade. It’s just been hiding in plain sight.
Dickinson, Annette, and Douglas MacKay. "Health habits and other characteristics of dietary supplement users: a review." Nutrition journal 13.1 (2014). Link.