Nourish yourself with supplements

‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’ is one of the universally accepted facts. It’s so, because of the high nutritional dosage that comes with it. But in this fast paced life we often overlook this need of an apple. And the effect? We suffer from many ailments that could have been forgone.

Here’s where food supplements comes to your rescue. They satiate in the vacant spaces of a nutritional balanced diet like water fills in the gap between pebbles. Being a supplement their task is to enhance a basic healthy diet and lifestyle, or work as a prescription medication or therapy to cure an ailment. They posses the potential of working wonders, if taken in correct dosage. Sadly, not much people know about it.

Dietary or food supplements come in capsules, pills, tablet or liquid form. Most people confuse them with drugs and medicines, though they aren’t. In layman’s terms, they are vitamins, minerals, fibres and amino acids packed together in a capsule. But you can say, ‘I don’t need this. I am on a fairly nutritional diet.’ Hold on. When was the last time you fell sick? When did you last suffered headache? When were the last time you felt drowsy without any reason? Most of us don’t even know that we are suffering from nutritional deficiency. A dietary supplement is a metabolite or concentrate of a health supplement whose main purpose is to provide nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fatty acids or amino acids diet supplements, etc., which are not present in sufficient quantity in an individual's diet.

Some groups of people, because of distinct nutritional needs, especially benefit from taking a vitamin and mineral supplement:

• Women of childbearing age (need extra calcium and iron)
• Pregnant or lactating women
• Children and teenagers with irregular eating habits
• Seniors or elderly individuals who become sedentary or lose interest in eating may not get sufficient nutrients; they too may benefit from multivitamin-mineral supplementation.
• Vegetarians or vegans (may be deficient in key nutrients like vitamin B12)
• Dieters or people avoiding certain food groups (may be deficient in key nutrients)
• People with eating disorders or medical conditions (deficiency diseases, absorption problems, lactose intolerance, etc.)
• People who eat processed and fast food often.
• People recovering from surgery or serious illnesses that have disrupted normal eating habits may also benefit from supplementation.

Like a single key cannot open all locks, a single supplement is inadequate to fulfill all types of deficiencies. Hence numerous kinds of supplements are available to meet the requirement. Like amino acid supplements form antibodies for fighting against bacteria and viruses, repairs tissues, constructs cells, delivers oxygen in the whole body and builds up nucleoproteins. And a fibre supplement is used for treating variety of diseases such as gastrointestinal disorders, low cholesterol, colon cancer, constipation, diarrhea, etc

Similarly vitamin, mineral, weight loss, whole food, neutraceutical and herbal are other kinds of food supplements.

But the line between benefits and harms is always very thin. Be cautious never to cross it. Though supplements enhance the healing of ailments but they should never be substituted for medication. And also not every supplement is compatible with any medicine. Consult your physician before taking supplements along with your dosage of medicines.

Most of the supplements derive their origin from natural substances and herbs. But don’t confuse natural with safe. Are all the mushrooms safe to consume? Not exactly. Likewise, some supplements are found to be detrimental and dangerous beyond repair. Always check the manufacturer and research about its effects.

And the last word, remember it’s a supplement; it can never replace the conventional food or meal. And it’s indisputable, that the best possible way to get vitamins and minerals is directly from their natural source.