Benefits of Using Dietary Supplements

Supplements

A well-balanced diet is essential to every human being as it provides the body organs with the nutrients necessary for their proper functioning. Poor nutrition makes your body prone to infections, diseases, fatigue, and poor performance. In children, lack of proper nutrition will have both developmental and growth issues, bad eating habits, and poor academic performance.

For this reason, supplements play a vital role in bridging the nutrients gap where the consumed foods fail to supply the body with the necessary nutrients and in the right quantities. These come in various combinations and doses, with a recommendation on the appropriate dosage that should not be exceeded, as excess consumption can bring health complications.

What are Supplements?

Dietary supplements, also referred to as nutritional supplements, are manufactured products that are taken by mouth either as capsules, pills, tablets or liquid, to supplement nutrients that necessary for better functioning of our bodies. These are mainly extracted from synthetic or food sources.

Although supplements should never be substituted for a healthy, balanced diet, some groups in the populations will need them due to various existing conditions or lifestyles. They use the supplements provide them with minerals, vitamins, proteins, amino acids, fatty acids, probiotics and other natural substances that are otherwise not taken in insufficient quantities.

Benefits of Using Dietary Supplements

• Vitamin A- Vitamin A is crucial for proper eyesight, reproduction and fetus development, gene expression and growth. Supplements of the same will help prevent blindness in young children, while also reducing risks of infection and mortality.
• Vitamin B- These are one-carbon cycle components which are vital for the cell’s existence and performance, while also supporting those fast-growing tissues like growing fetus rapidly, blood cells, and gastrointestinal tract lining.
• Vitamin C- This vitamin supplement is responsible for healthy collagen, the healing of wounds, and also strengthens of the blood vessels. It is also an antioxidant.
• Vitamin D and Calcium-Vitamin D regulates calcium absorption, that is necessary for strong bones. The supplements will help you to have a healthier heart, aid brain development, boost the immune system, and also support muscle functions.
• Vitamin E- Together with Vitamin C, Vitamin E is an antioxidant which helps the body maintain good health by preventing cell damage.
• Zinc-This mineral is necessary for growth and also development. Women take zinc supplements to help boost their immune systems and have healthier pregnancies.
• Protein Supplements- This nutrient helps in the maintenance of blood sugar balance. Most of the people that use protein supplements are those seeking to increase mass, have the power to work out and repair damaged muscles.
• Amino acids- This supplement is taken to promote hearth health.

Why Are Supplements Important?

• They boost DNA and enzyme functions. Vitamins are cofactors that help enzymes to function. For this reason, taking vitamin supplements will boost the enzymes, take the metabolism levels up. This helps to improve your health and delay ageing too.
• Folic acid supplement pills taken every day by women of childbearing age helps in preventing neural tube defects in newborns. Though unconfirmed, it Is believed these supplements also help in the prevention of heart disease and cancer.
• Supplements are necessary for people with some medical conditions that cause certain nutrient deficiencies. Also, the poor people that cannot afford a balanced diet, and the people with dietary restrictions will need the supplements.
• They help older people- Supplements help the elderly, especially who are over 65 years of age, as they are at high risk of developing osteoporosis. Such will highly benefit from Vitamin D supplements.
• Source of nutrients- Some people born with genetic conditions which interfere with the metabolism of some nutrients. Such people will need to be on high supplement dosage to supply those nutrients.
• In times of hunger and less food where people are not able to have enough quantities of nutrients, or sometimes lack food to eat, dietary supplements will help such people keep their body functions going.
• Supplements are ideal for people on a diet, where the programme restricts a particular type of food.
• People living in cloudy areas might not get enough sunlight hence require Vitamin D supplements lest they suffer a deficiency.
• Multivitamin supplements for kids, especially the picky eaters, will give them the nutrients they need to keep growing strong and healthy, and with a robust immune system.

Why Doing Research on Supplements is critical.

Some unscrupulous manufacturers lie about the benefits that their products offer, while others sell outright harmful supplements. Therefore, you should take time to carry out a thorough research on the manufacturer, Know the supplements’ chemical makeup, know its preparation process, and how it works, before making a buy decision. You check not only the benefits of the product but also their potential risks.

There is still much research that is needed on the issue of supplements as there isn’t any global consensus on what products fall in this category specifically. Also, the is no framework in place to regulate the standards and quality of these supplements on a worldwide platform. Working on this would help bring about the standardization of products; that way, one will be sure of precisely what they are taking in.

Conclusion

Supplements are available in a wide range and are vital for optimal health, whether taken individually or as a combination. Most of them have immense benefits and are safe to use. However, one should never substitute them for food, or ignore the manufacturer’s instructions and take them in excess, which can harm the body or even cause death in extreme cases.

Also, let a healthcare advisor advise you about the supplements and their use before you start taking them for your safety, as some do have side effects. Although the supplements come at a cost, they help you maintain a healthy diet, exercise actively, get your weight to healthy levels, as well as keep stress at bay.

Supplements are not used for the treatment or cure of any diseases; they only promote good health. In a layman’s language, like fertilizer is to plants, so are supplements to humans.