Do I Need Nutritional Supplements?
Welldec
Most people think they don't need to take supplements. We can get all we need from our food, they say. Perhaps that used to be the case. Certainly, our ancestors didn't need nutritional supplements - the food they mostly consumed was fresh, unprocessed, and therefore rich in vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients.
These days the majority of our foods are processed, and even when we do consume fresh fruits and vegetables, they are mostly missing the nutrient content that was evident just 50 years ago. Over the many years of constant farming, soils have become depleted, toxic fertilizers and insecticides are used frequently and in many cases fruit is harvested before it's reached its full nutritional value. That is - it is picked before it has fully ripened, it is sometimes gassed to ripen and held in cold storage for many months.
The nutrients in fruit and vegetables become fully available as they ripen, so if they are picked too early, we do not get the full nutrients from them. Therefore, it would seem to be wise, after considering all the above factors, to augment our diets with nutritional supplements.
One study shows that to get the same level of nutrients that was in a peach in the 1950's, we would need to eat 53 peaches today! Try doing that!
If you do happen to eat the now recommended 8 servings of fruit and vegetables each day, and they are all grown organically and left to ripen naturally, you'll be in better shape than someone who doesn't. It seems very clear to me, though, that in today's toxic environment our body needs all the help we can give it if it is to repair and regenerate as it should.
Dietary deficiency and imbalance is one of the leading causes of ill health and death in the Western world today. We are becoming more aware of the critical role played by nutrition in the prevention of many common diseases such as coronary heart disease, cancer, hypertension, obesity, gingivitis and periodontal diseases and non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
Clearly, we need to supplement to provide the nutrients we are not getting in our diets. In fact, even the AMA (American Medical Association) reversed their long-standing position and stated in an article in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association - June 2002) that everyone should be using nutritional supplements.
Here is a list showing what we need to enable us to maintain optimal health; - something I am sure we are all aiming for.
* Vitamins and minerals, essential for the creation of healthy cells
* Glyconutrients are vital to provide immune support and allow the cells to communicate
* Phytonutrients (plant nutrients) to detoxify the system
* Phytohormones (plant hormones) for glandular function
* Essential fatty acids (EFAs), to regulate hormonal function and metabolism
* Essential amino acids serve as the building blocks for all proteins
* Antioxidants give protection from oxidative stress
More and more supplements have appeared on the market as it has become apparent that we need to supplement. Unfortunately, many of the available supplements are synthetic and are not readily absorbed by the body. The best nutritional supplements will be composed of whole food and will be manufactured to very strict specifications. Please don't buy supplements without first checking them out thoroughly.
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