Need a Health Supplement?

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Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Over the past eighteen years or so, the numbers of people taking health supplements has increased significantly, yet at the same time, there are very many doctors and dieticians who say we don’t need them - so who is right, the doctors or the consumers?

The argument of the doctors and dieticians is that you should be able to meet all your nutritional needs from a good healthy diet, and therefore don’t need any health supplements such as multivitamins.

The problem with this argument is that it ignores the evidence that shows that most people simply don’t meet their nutritional needs from their everyday diet.

There are many reasons why people fall short nutritionally and so may need health supplements:

• Modern processed food is nutritionally poor: The intense factory farming methods produce food that has less vitamins and key nutrients than the same food 40 or 90 years ago. By the time our food is picked and packed and stored for weeks, it has lost much of its goodness.

• Junk food: Many of us can’t resist those fast food restaurants, but their high fat, high sugar offerings are very short in nutrition.

• Busy Lifestyles: Few people actually eat three good meals and two healthy snacks per day. Many of us grab what they can on the go without thought of a balanced diet.

• Diets: Whether it’s Vegetarian, Vegan, low carb, or another new diet, many choose to restrict the food they eat for some reason.

• Some nutrients are difficult to get from a regular diet: Vitamin D is an example of a nutrient that takes a lot of work to get from a regular diet.

Some specialists estimate that less than 10% of the population actually eat a diet that meets all their nutritional needs. So most of of the population consistently fall short on essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B, vitamin D, and zinc.

Also, there are many in the population who have special nutritional or medical needs for particular nutrients at certain times in their lives. These include:

• Young children and adolescents

• Pregnant and breastfeeding women

• Elderly people

• Vegans and some vegetarians

• Smokers

• Heavy drinkers

• People who are chronically ill

• Those on a restrictive diet (e.g. long term dieters)

These groups often have the worst diets due to lifestyle or financial reasons.

Many health supplements specialists recommend that you ensure your diet is adequate by taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement daily, plus a good source of omega 3 and 6.

In addition, women who are pregnant or trying to conceive should take folic acid in order to ensure development of a healthy neural tube.

For more information on Health Supplements go to: http://EnergySupplementsCenter.com/nutrition-supplements/health-supplements

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