WHY DO WE NEED HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS

WHAT ARE HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS?

When we hear the word “Natural Health Supplements”, something like pills, syrups, capsules, softgels, and powders come to our mind. Aptly, these are the preparations or dietary formulation of highly concentrated micronutrients including vitamins and minerals that are essential for our overall body well-being. The words of caution are that these supplements are just add-ons and should not be replaced with a healthy dietary routine. 

However, the adoption of poor modern living and junk food habits has deteriorated our inner health very badly. So, in such a scenario, going from supplements becomes very necessary. There are many reasons behind the non-fulfillment of our nutritional requirements which are as follows:

• Adulterated or impure foods
• Poor diet
• Calorie-restrictive diets
• Physical and mental stress
• Environmental pollution
• Scarcity of fresh food
• Side effects of preservatives & chemicals
• Sedentary & indoor lifestyle

Though, supplementary minerals and vitamins should not be taken with a vision to replace them with a proper diet and regular exercise. But if you are going for a baseline diet and work out efficiently every day then taking food supplements side by side can bring the best health outcomes.

REASONS BEHIND THE NEED FOR SUPPLEMENTS

In a perfect but unrealistic lifestyle, one can get optimum sleep, hydration, and fresh fruits and vegetables. It is very wrong to think that we get complete nutrition from our diet in the present world.

Following are the most possible reasons that enhance our need to take dietary supplements on the regular basis irrespective of how healthily we live:

Form filling the nutritional lags

Most of us do not get the recommended quantity of essential nutrients from food only due to strict diet plans, suppressed appetite, or transforming nutritional needs.

Supplementation bridges this nutritional gap, thereby maintaining the right balance among nutrients of food and supplements. This enhances the nutrient density of our diet and ensures the required proportion of the right nutrients tailored for our dietary needs. 

To overcome the declining Body’s ability to absorb nutrients with increasing age
As we age, poor absorption of nutrients and impaired body’s ability to fight free radicals becomes a huge problem, thereby speeding up the process of aging and malnutrition.

Moreover, with increasing age, we get more prone to diseases and we start taking more and more medicine for their treatment. Such medication may cause further nutrient depletion in us. In such cases also, supplementation becomes necessary to restore this imbalance.

To lessen the intake of harmful chemicals
Warning! Certain chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers which are used on farms for the cultivation of our crops and vegetables cause drastic nutrient degradation in food made from that raw crops and vegetables. These chemicals deteriorate our water quality also. Furthermore, external environmental factors like pollution also enhance our need for supplementary vitamins, minerals, and detoxifying agents. These malicious chemicals also enhance the damaging free radicals in our bodies. For this reason, also, supplementary antioxidant intake becomes necessary.

To fulfill nutrient demands enhanced by exercising

The individuals who need to do a lot of workouts like athletes, bodybuilders, sportsmen or workout freaks require a way higher amount of energy and nutrients to achieve their goals. It is very necessary for them to replenish the lost essential nutrients, fuel for generating energy, and enhance the recovery process after their mandatory intense workout. For them, supplementary protein, alpha-lipoic acid, acetyl L carnitine, vitamin B, and many others become very important.

Overcome the damage caused by irregular eating routine
Today’s fast paced life has badly affected our eating habits by indulging us in eating more and more processed junk food and having a very stressful lifestyle. So, it becomes very difficult to extract all the nutrients from food for our body.

Although supplementation cannot satisfy the need of a healthy and balanced diet, it can help in preventing the damaging effects of poor eating habits along with a great eating routine. 

To prevent expensive healthcare of certain diseases
These days, healthcare providers are making people aware of the ways to prevent disease instead of going for their treatment later on. Taking supplements regularly, doing exercise, and going to doctors for complete body examination is of utmost importance. The health experts recommend that one must take:

• Immunity boosters like zinc, vitamin C, vitamin E, colloidal silver, and many others to avoid seasonal infectious diseases
• Detoxification supplements to eliminate body toxins and heavy metals to prevent toxicity and associated ailments 
• Phospholipids for damaged cell repairs and antioxidants like vitamin C, vitamin E especially tocotrienols, glutathione, CoQ10, and ubiquinol eliminate free radicals from the body which have the potential to cause heart damage, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, and many others.
• Brain supplements such as magnesium, antioxidants, acetyl L carnitine, etc. enhance cognitive functions and memory power which are greatly affected by increasing age.

To manage lack of nutrition caused by depleting soil quality
Advanced and modern farming techniques have introduced the use of fertilizers for better production. But some unaware farmers do not follow the regulations properly and end up using them up to such an extent that badly depletes the quality of the soil. Therefore, the soil lacks the required nutrients for the fortification of the crops and vegetables grown on it. Moreover, these chemicals also destroy the fertility of the soil. Hence, the production of that soil fails to provide us with the required vitamins and minerals.

WHICH DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS CAN SERVE US APPROPRIATELY

Our food generally satisfies our need of macronutrients like fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. But usually, the fulfillment of micronutrients like vitamins and minerals is compromised. We should go for the natural dietary supplements for:

Vitamins like A, B, C, and E
Minerals like zinc, iron, chromium, selenium, calcium, and magnesium

The word of caution is that one should not go for the over-the-counter purchase of supplements without any professional consultation for the same.

SUMMARY NOTE

Supplements in other words can be called small packets of nutrition. These cannot work as spell magic to build your health but their consumption in specified limits under guidance can definitely show super health results. This should always be kept in mind that we must avoid synthetic supplements as much as possible to prevent the associated side effects. To avail the maximum benefits, one should opt for 100% natural dietary supplements to maintain a healthy lifestyle. So, the one mantra for a long and sound life is “eat right to live well”.