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In recent years, there has been a lot of emphases placed on our diets and nutrition. Partially, it’s because of the massive amounts of fast food we’re consuming globally, but also because of the way our food is produced. We want to get as many nutrients from the food we’re eating and we still often find ourselves lacking nutrients. Whether you need a boost of a specific vitamin or mineral for medical reasons or you just want to have a well-rounded diet, many people turn to supplements to help them boost the nutrient intake. However, are supplements the way to go? Let’s take a look at some questions and arguments:
Can you get all the nutrients you need through food?
Maybe. If you are a healthy person who eats a balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and veg as well as whole grains, you are probably getting all the nutrients you need through your diet. The word “healthy” is important here because if you have any kind of disease or disorder that stops your body from absorbing certain nutrients from food, you’ll be left without those nutrients. You can check out what your daily requirements are and try to work out yourself whether you’re getting everything you need, or you can go talk to a nutritionist who will tell you if there are some things you should change.
We lived for thousands of years without supplements
This is true, but we also lived without modern medicine and Netflix, but we aren’t ready to give up on those. The fact is that food isn’t being produced in the same way today as it was years ago. In the last 50 years, scientists have seen a major drop in the nutritional value of massively produced fruit and vegetables, with lower amounts of B2, vitamin C, iron, and other nutrients. This is mostly due to the lower quality soil that is used and buying locally produced and organic products won’t always fix this. So perhaps to meet our nutritional needs without overeating, we do need some supplements.
Some people can’t go without supplements
As we’ve mentioned, not everyone can absorb nutrients from food equally. On top of that, certain conditions – like pregnancy – require extra intake of some nutrients as a measure of prevention or a boost to the system. Someone with cardiovascular problems might not be able to help it by eating fistfuls of berries for their antioxidants, but a blend from Bulk Nutrients could help them improve their overall health by giving the boost in the areas that need it. Supplements can also be required because of your lifestyle: if you train a lot every day, you will need the extra protein to help your muscles repair and recover, but without the cholesterol that eating a lot of meat will bring.
The supplement industry isn’t always great
Supplements are literally the reason why some people are alive today and they remain a staple in many people’s lives. However, the industry itself can get a little shady with their business in order to make a buck. Things like ads that tell perfectly healthy people that they need to have supplements if they want to remain healthy or making false claims about what their supplements will do. These are all very common malpractices and we need to be aware of them if we want to stay on the safe side and not be tricked into buying something we don’t need.
How well do supplements work, anyways?
Well, there’s a lot of myths about how we can absorb more or less from supplements than from food, but the truth actually has little to do with where the nutrients come from. In fact, some nutrients increase the absorption of other nutrients, while some block it. So, if you have a big intake of some nutrient, either from food or supplements, it might block the absorption of another, so that is where you need to be careful with taking in big amounts, especially through supplements.
There is no right or wrong way to have a diet and supplements aren’t evil nor almighty. The bottom line is that you shouldn’t use them to get out of having a balanced diet, but you shouldn’t run from them if your body needs the help. And if you’re unsure, you can always find a helpful nutritionist that will tell you the way to go.
