Can Dietary Supplements Help With Nutrition?
Do nutritional supplements actually work?
Nutrition is based on how food or even supplements affect the health of our body. Food has nutritional benefit with vitamins and minerals as micronutrients that aid the body with physiological functions for energy, growth, disease prevention, and cellular function. The macronutrients of protein, carbohydrates, and fats make up the calories that fuel our body. Within these foods that make up calories there are vitamins and minerals needed for our health and work as co-nutrients. There are some processed foods that have “empty” nutritional benefit. Some processed foods are enriched with vitamins and minerals. Cereal is a good example. This can be helpful, but eating the actual food that has these vitamins and minerals in them is always best for our health. It is difficult at times to consume a variety of food regularly that will give us these benefits. Supplementation may be helpful. Many of these packaged processed foods though are enriched but also loaded with chemicals, sugars, and fats.
Are your supplements actually being absorbed for the job?
Real food is best recognized or used by our body and absorbed. When we add in supplementation in the form of a pill or capsule the enzymes that break down food will not necessarily recognize that pill the same way. This is one of the main reasons many supplements suggest taking with food. There are certain supplements that do not require taking them with food, so it is always best to follow the directions or consult with your health care professional. Digestive enzymes within our body, that help break down macronutrients and their nutrition, are first activated from the chewing of our food and then into the stomach, small intestine, and finally the colon to the toilet. From the time food or drinks are in our mouth the body recognizes which enzymes need to step up to help digest and absorb these.
Can supplements over power a bad diet?
No, a bad diet puts many unwanted chemicals, fats, and sugars into the body and no amount of supplementation or magic pill can outperform that. If we are eating fairly healthy though but not including foods that have certain key nutrients, then supplementation is very helpful.
Superfoods are a big thing. Are they a food or a supplement?
They can be considered a supplement in the way that they give our body the nutrients from the foods in the product and supplement our regular diet. This can help enhance the nutrition our body may need and our diet may lack. Super foods are actual foods that are usually dried into a powder form to keep all their nutritional profile.
Keep in mind that when using superfoods we are consuming a condensed amount or large amount of the beneficial nutrient compounds of those super foods. It is wise to consume them in organic form to reduce the amount of synthetic chemicals that are used during growing that may be dangerous to our health. Also, reputable manufacturing companies assure these powdered foods were not heated in the making into a powder form. Heating can reduce and kill the special nutrients they contain. There are some companies that use certified and nutrient preserving manufacturing processes that adhere to the health and integrity of the plant and its nutritional value.
Stay Well,
– RAWr! Life.