5 Ways Supplements Boost Your Overall Health
Our lives are fast-paced and busier than ever before. A stressful lifestyle, accompanied by quick food fixes means our diet and overall health can get neglected, leaving us vulnerable to nutrient deficiencies and health problems. Food supplements can be an effective way to ensure we keep our bodies in peak condition and functioning at their best. Therefore, they help you to have fewer hospital visits in the long run.
In an age of once-daily multivitamins and aisles upon aisles of supplements, it’s never been more convenient to tailor your personal nutrition needs at your local grocery store. However, it’s important to remember these are called “supplements” for a reason. On top of eating healthy and having an active lifestyle, food supplements only serve as a boost to becoming healthier.
Natural supplements can have a number of different benefits to improving overall health and wellbeing. Here are some reasons to consider taking natural supplements:
They Aid Diet Deficiencies
In an ideal world and with an abundance of different and healthy foods, we should be getting the nutrients we need from the food we eat. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Pollution, pesticides, and over-cultivated crops can mean some of the fruits and vegetables we eat no longer provide as many nutrients as before. Eating habits have also changed.
Quick, ready-made meals lack the nutrients we need and can be high in salt, fat, and additives, which can lead to health conditions such as obesity and heart disease. Sufficient levels of vitamin D can also be hard to obtain if you are indoors a lot of the time or live in a place with limited sunlight. Natural supplements can be a good way to compensate for nutritional deficits that we may have in our diets as a result of these factors.
They Help Combat Adult Diseases
Older adults can also benefit from dietary supplements that contain vitamin B12. One reason is the high occurrence of atrophic gastritis, which is a condition characterized by an inflammation of the stomach lining. The inflammation interferes with stomach secretions, which are needed to free up B12 so it’s available for absorption. Dietary supplements of B12 are easier to absorb than B12 obtained through foods, helping a person with this condition obtain what they need.
They Strengthen Health of the Pregnant
Another group that can gain a substantial benefit from taking a dietary supplement is pregnant women. In the early stages of pregnancy, the nervous system of the embryo starts to develop. In order for the nervous system to develop properly, the mother-to-be is encouraged to take folic acid, which is an easily absorbed form of folate.
Folate is a B vitamin that protects against birth defects. Other groups that may need to turn to dietary supplements to benefit their health are people taking medications as certain medications can interfere with the body’s ability to digest, absorb or use vitamins.
They Can Help the Health of Chainsmokers
Cigarette smokers might need to supplement their diet with vitamin C because this vitamin helps break down the harmful compounds found in cigarette smoke. And alcoholics might need to increase their intake of the B-complex vitamins and vitamin C. Because these vitamins are water-soluble, they flush out of your system in the urine. Abusing a diuretic, such as alcohol, makes an alcoholic go to the bathroom more frequently, which could lead to a vitamin deficiency.
They Support Weight Loss
Protein is a macronutrient you need to consume each day to support growth, tissue maintenance, and immune health. Protein supplements, available as powders, shakes, or bars, provide high-quality protein to your diet and can boost your protein intake on days you don’t eat sufficient whole-food proteins. They can also supply specific benefits to promote fitness.
For instance, whey-based supplements are rich in branched-chain amino acids, which can speed muscle recovery after an intense workout. On the other hand, protein supplements can add an unnecessary expense to your budget, because whole foods can give you all the protein you need.
In addition, while consuming more protein than your body can use is not harmful if you are in good health, if it adds extra calories to your diet you may wind up gaining unwanted weight.
Key Takeaway
Beyond maintaining a healthy diet, actively exercising, keeping stress at bay, and working toward a healthy weight, supplements can be an excellent tool in your wellness arsenal. Food supplements can add missing nutrients to your diet or can augment those you consume in whole foods.
You can take them for a variety of reasons; for example, to help reach a fitness or health goal, to cope with an aversion to a particular nutrient-rich food, or simply as insurance that you receive adequate overall nutrition. Food supplements can include products that add protein, vitamins, and minerals or calories to your diet. Overall, they serve as a boost to attain a holistically healthy body.
