Do we all need the modern era Boosters and Supplements?
Most people can get all the vitamins and minerals they need by eating a healthy, balanced diet. Our great-grand fathers and mothers had not been on these new supplements yet they managed to live a fairly healthy life. But the scenario has changed now!!
Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients that your body needs in small amounts to work properly. We all know this, For example- Iron has several important roles in your body – such as making red blood cells and Calcium builds strong bones and teeth and even for nerves.
Many people choose to take supplements either because their friend has been taking them or they presume it to be good with a little know-how and lots of reading, but taking too much or taking them for too long could be harmful. Also it can be the other way, taking too little of the supplement your body actually requires for optimum day to day functions.
For example: Vitamin D: We need it for our bones, our mood and our immune system. Over 800 studies show it can prevent cancer too. I take 2000 IU of D3 every day unless I’m spending a lot of time in the sun. Sun is such an important and essential part of our lives and we don’t realise it enough at times. Vitamin D supplements should be taken by all pregnant and breastfeeding women, children aged six months to five years, and people aged 65 and over. This is one the most important supplement one should make sure to follow.
The modern diet is largely devoid of enzymes thanks to various types of food processing techniques like pasteurization, heating, microwaving and other chemical processes. You need to have roughly 70-80 per cent raw, uncooked foods on daily basis in order to get the right enzymes, which is difficult on day to day basis, therefore supplementing is necessary in this case. Digestive enzymes are necessary to breakdown and digest foods so that they can be absorbed. Digestion starts in the mouth where foods are broken down into small particles in order that enzymes can get at them. Saliva is rich in amylase, which starts the digestion of starches. You can also choose to go with a good probiotic supplement along with the right enzymes needed by the body.
One very important supplement is Folic acid, it is a type of B Vitamin, which prevents neural tube defects such as spina bifida in babies, is found in fortified breakfast cereal, dark green vegetables, legumes, citrus fruit juice, bread, and pasta. Getting 400 micrograms a day of this B vitamin, and 600 if you are pregnant or lactating, is a no-brainer. This amount should come from food, supplements, or both for maximum benefits.
On the other hand, one supplement that we need to be cautious about is Beta-Carotene. Beta-carotene. Found in carrots, sweet potatoes, and green peppers, among other foods, this antioxidant is converted in the body to vitamin A and is important for healthy vision, a functioning immune system, and good skin.If you take it in the form of food it is absorbed well in the body but not it is not always a case if you take as a supplement form. The evidence isn’t really there to recommend it for daily use as a supplement as there can be complications such as Hypervitaminosis – A (a condition produced by ingestion of excessive amounts of vitamins; symptom complexes are associated with excessive intake of vitamins A). In fact, a 2004 study found that supplements may actually raise the risk of lung cancer in smokers. So Skip the supplement if you’re a smoker, and try to get your beta-carotene from fruits and veggies, whether you are a smoker or non-smoker. Seek a doctor help for the right dose for you, if needed but do not overdose yourself with Beta-Carotene t Vitamin E: Once upon a time, researchers thought this antioxidant could protect the heart, but a research done in 2005 said that unfortunately Vitamin E supplement had no much role in prevention of cancer nor did it lower the risk of heart attack or stroke More recently, a 2008 study found no benefit of 400 IUs supplement every other day in middle-aged and older men.
Try not to get obsessed with the Vitamin E, leave the supplement and get your own fresh vitamin E from food itself (oils like safflower, peanuts, eggs, fortified cereals, fruits, and green, leafy vegetables,almonds,avocado,mushrooms). Also keep in mind that cooking, over cooking; boiling and storing foods with vitamin E can reduce the bioavailability of the vitamin.
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