Supplements Under Attack
The value of nutritional supplements in protecting and promoting health has been intensely debated in recent years throughout the scientific and medical community as well as the national press.
It happened again, another article published in the Sunday’s Herald Sun (Vitamin Survival Guide) is trying to unnecessarily alarm and confuse the public as to where to turn for truthful advice on preventing disease and achieving optimal health.
According to the article the vitamin and mineral supplement industry is booming and underlying this is a strategic trick to encourage the public to pay for pills when all they really need to do is eat well.
The article does raise some valid points, such as the need for the natural products industry to ensure good quality and potency, and to stop inappropriate advertising claims.
Most of the over-the -counter brands in your supermarket are pushing the limits of the law quite far with unsubstantiated claims, false advertising and poor quality
However, that doesn’t mean that all supplements are ineffective. The continuing anti-supplement sentiment is often due to a fear that natural health products could prevent the need for conventional drugs.
A glance down the nutrition aisle of any supermarket or pharmacy illustrates how big – and baffling – the supplement industry has become.
The quality of supplements varies widely and the ones that are practitioner-strength and prescribed by a health professional are far more superior.
Yes, the best way to get your vitamins and minerals is through food. In an ideal world, no one would need dietary supplements. Our balanced diets would provide all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients our bodies need.
But in today’s world meeting your daily dietary needs without using supplements is sometimes a challenge, even when you’re choosing ultra-healthy foods.
Your need for supplements depends on many factors. Your age, the quality of your diet, your lifestyle, genetic make up, and your state of health will all be factors to consider.
Food Quality
Doctors tell us that diet “gives us what we need” and we don’t need to take supplements.
Well, we can’t get all the essential nutrients we need from food alone.
Even if you eat a healthy diet with lots of fruit and vegetables, chances are good (unless you’re consuming everything organic) the food comes from soils that have insufficient mineral content.
Our food today is highly processed, genetically modified and prepared in a way that often destroys much of the nutritional content.
Increasing amounts of produce finding its way to your grocery store comes from overseas.
If you think your favorite mango or pineapple (from Hawaii or the Philippines) was just cut at its peak ripeness, then immediately boxed, rushed to the airport and shipped overnight to your favorite grocery store, you’re sadly mistaken.
Sometimes, foods are picked weeks and even months before we see it on our shelves. So much for obtaining the maximum amount of nutrition!
Synthetic fertilizer is another potential source of vitamin depletion.
The commercial solution to disappearing vitamins is to manipulate vegetables and fruits genetically, inserting foreign genes to force them to produce more nutrients.
Much of the population fills themselves up with junk food that is lacking in any nutritional value. Grabbing a bagel or doughnut while slamming down some coffee and rushing to work does NOT constitute a meal. Making up for it later in the day at an “all-you-can-eat” buffet is not in the best interest of our bodies either.
Poor Food Preparation.
Cooking our food “to death,” results in a massive loss of nutrients, meaning far fewer vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes to go around.
What’s more, eating these depleted foods over time creates its own set of health problems.
Poor Digestive Function
If our digestive systems functioned optimally, we wouldn’t need as many high-quality nutrients in supplement form – but that is not the case.
As we age, our bodies produce fewer enzymes, including all the important ones needed to properly digest and assimilate the foods we eat. Eventually, this results in “common” stomach complaints, like reflux, heartburn, upset stomach and chronic constipation.
Insufficient stomach acid, which diminishes the ability to absorb nutrients from food and can increase inflammation, stomach bacteria and numerous other health issues such as bloating, stomach pain and even depression.
Environmental Toxins
Our society is exposed to an unprecedented amount of environmental toxins on a daily basis that puts an excessive burden on the organs and systems as they are forced to detox them from the body. This increases the need for even more nutrients to deal with this onslaught of toxins.
Fortunately, many of these pollutants can be detoxified by natural supplements such as vitamin C, zinc, vitamin E, selenium, etc.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand has declared the treatment to destroy insects and bacteria, by high radiation beam (irradiation process), which has been linked to pet neurological damage and deaths – is safe for fresh tomatoes and capsicums.
Stress And Quality Of Life
No question, we all lead busy lives and some of us are more stressed than others. Between commitments to our family, school, work, community, and other obligations, our lives are stressed to the max.
All of this stress takes a toll on our bodies and weakens our immune system, affects our digestive function and leads to nutrient deficiencies, causes hormonal imbalances and negatively affects the whole body, leading to a long list of chronic conditions.
All health conditions, both psychological and physiologically, usually have a nutritional component.
Research show that by simply increasing your vitamin and mineral intake you can promote mental clarity, weight loss, boost your immunity, reduce stress, prevent cancer and other degenerative diseases, combat depression, lower blood pressure, reduce cravings, increase energy levels, improve sleep, and regulate digestion.
Millions of people are taking prescription medications, which will further deplete important nutrients and will cause deficiencies, affecting overall health. For instance, statin drugs, prescribed for lowering cholesterol levels are known to deplete CoQ10, a potent antioxidant, essential for energy production.
Elderly people, vegans, alcohol-dependent individuals and patients with malabsorption are at high risk of inadequate intake or absorption of several vitamins and minerals.
During pregnancy and breastfeeding the nutritional requirements for most nutrients increase and it is essential to supplement with good quality and appropriate dosages to ensure a good start for your child.
Children who are born to parents who are nutrient depleted are born with nutrient deficiencies themselves, or even worse, they are born with weak systems and organs that leaves them vulnerable to a vast array of chronic health conditions and diseases early in life. This is a primary reason we see so many young children developing mental and physical health conditions that often don’t strike until later in life.
Final Word
A lot of the debate has been published by media that is more interested in selling papers than reporting the truth.
We believe it is our duty to address false and misleading information before harm that is irreversible is done to an industry that is committed to natural approaches to wellness and a public that is increasingly confused.
Emed provides you with the highest quality, most potent and most cost effective natural medicines to fight disease and to help improve and maintain optimal health – no celebrity endorsement needed.
Further Reading:
References:
2013, Vitamin Survival Guide, Herald Sun, http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/a-barrage-of-marketing-using-big-name-celebrities-has-australians-popping-more-pills-than-ever/story-e6frf7kx-1226619822581
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/tomatoes-to-be-zapped-with-radiation-to-destroy-insects-after-new-food-standards-declared/story-fneuz8zj-1226622026666
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