Food Supplements
What are food supplements? Food supplements, or dietary supplements, as they are commonly known as, are preparations that are a supplement to your diet and provide concentrated sources of vitamins, fiber, amino acids, fatty acids or nutrients that are absent in your diet or may not be consumed in adequate measures. These food supplements, in short, have a physiological effect or a nutritional effect on you, and the main purpose of taking them is to enhance your regular diet. Food supplements are defined as foods in some countries, while others define food supplements as a natural health products or drugs.
Why do we need food supplements?
The main purpose of food supplements, as mentioned earlier, is to supply your nutritional needs that are not covered effectively by your daily diet. These food supplements also help eliminate toxins from your body. Another use of food supplements is to control weight loss. There are some products that help prevent fat absorption by increasing the metabolic rate. On the other hand, there are some products that give you a feeling of being satisfied or help reduce your appetite. Food supplements also help boost the immune system. Some vitamins such as vitamin C, zinc, Echinacea, and probiotics help us fight diseases and illnesses.
What Are Food Supplements
Different countries define food supplements or dietary supplements differently. In the U.S. the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 considers a dietary supplement as a product that supplements your diet, and these supplements have to have any of the following dietary ingredients:
- A vitamin
- An herb or some botanical extract (except for tobacco)
- An amino acid
- A mineral
These should either be in the form of a concentrate, metabolite, extract or constituent. Any of the above can be combined as well. In addition to this, the supplement has to meet the following criteria: It has to be in the form of a capsule, pill, powder, tablet or liquid, and it should not be promoted as conventional food or something that can be solely consumed as a meal. These food supplements must bear a label identifying them as “dietary supplements.”
Good or bad? Some experts are of the opinion that we need not include any food supplements in our diets. They state that consuming well-balanced and healthy meals that include plenty of fruits and vegetables are sufficient. However, practically speaking, this does not happen. Most of the time, we lead extremely busy lifestyles, and end up consuming more of fast food. If this is the case, then other experts believe that food supplements are a must.
Another argument that regards dietary supplements as healthy food supplements is that since the soil is generally depleted of most of the important minerals, even organic foods do not have maximum nutritional value, and therefore deficiencies can be overcome by consuming food supplements.
Types of food supplements
There are a number of supplements that you can choose from and this can be pretty confusing. In fact, we very often take it for granted that all we need to do is walk into a grocery store and buy a bottle that says “multivitamin” and after a few days we are in better health, particularly since food supplements are easily available in any store and you don’t require a prescription to buy them. However, it is important that you are careful while choosing a product. Apart from multivitamins, you can also buy food supplements with creatine or food supplements with natural steroids. Healthy food supplements are not the answer to healthy living. As the name suggests, their purpose is to enhance what you are already doing. It is therefore important that you get your basics in place and lead as healthy a lifestyle as possible, even if you believe in the power of supplements. Discuss the various types of food supplements with your doctor before you decide on one. |
