What are FOOD SUPPLEMENTS ?
Food supplements are defined as foodstuffs that are meant to supplement the normal diet and which are concentrated sources of nutrients or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect, alone or in combination, marketed in dose form, namely forms such as capsules, pastilles, tablets, pills and other similar forms, sachets of powder, ampoules of liquids, drop dispensing bottles, and other similar forms of liquids and powders designed to be taken in measured small unit quantities, where nutrients could be vitamins, minerals, herbal extracts and other ingredients.
Excellent Reasons To Take Nutritional Supplements
Soil depletion reduces the nutrient content of crops
In many areas of the world, land has been intensively farmed without allowing nutrients to naturally replenish in the soil. Some areas with low quality soil are also being farmed where plants might not have normally grown well too.
Hybrid crops can provide lower nutrient food.
Hybrid crops are often used, even on organic farms. They yield more food per acre, but the crops often have much lower nutrient content.
Modern fertilizers don’t supply enough trace elements
Back in the day, manures were used extensively for fertilizer. Today, superphosphate fertilizers have largely replaced manure. These contain nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, but are deficient in many other nutrients naturally contained in manure.
Pesticides and herbicides damage soil microorganisms and reduce the nutrition of the crops
Soil microorganisms are needed to make minerals and other nutrients available to plants, so hence when these are lacking in the soil, the resulting food is often much lower in nutrient content. Also, our bodies require extra nutrients to process pesticide residues that remain inside the foods.
Long-distance transportation of many foods diminishes their nutrition
As soon as food is harvested, the levels of certain nutrients begin to diminish. It can be weeks between when the food was picked, transported, packed, stored, and then finally eaten.
Food processing often drastically reduces nutrient conten
For example, the refining of wheat to make white flour removes approximately 80% of its magnesium, 70-80% of its zinc, 87% of its chromium, 88% of its manganese, and 50% of its cobalt. Similarly, polishing rice removes about 75% of its zinc and chromium.
Food additives can further deplete nutrients
Artificial flavours, colours, stabilizers and preservatives are added to a large proportion of foods available. While some are harmless and may even increase the quality of food and preserving it, many are toxic and can deplete the body of nutrients.
Weak digestion and poor eating habits impair the absorption of nutrients
Digestion issues are on the most common health complaints today. People with impaired digestion often don’t absorb nutrients sufficiently, which further increases nutritional needs. This is why when trying to balance nutritional deficiencies, the initial focus should always be on correcting gut health and supporting digestion.
STRESS
Being under a lot of Stress can deplete many nutrients including calcium, magnesium and zinc. Among other implications, stress reduces digestive strength. This, in turn, reduces nutrient absorption and utilization even further. It’s not always external factors that contribute to deficiencies!
Unhealthy lifestyle habits
If you drink alcohol, smoke heavily, live in a polluted city or are pregnant, premenstrual, on the pill, or simply just in a stressful patch, your nutritional needs can increase greatly. There are foods and habits that can strip the body of nutrients that we should be mindful of, and we should try and limit (if possible):
Smoking and drinking alcohol: Depletes the quantity of vitamin C in the body. Smokers generally need twice as much vitamin C intake as non-smokers to maintain comparable blood levels.
Drinking coffee: A cup of coffee can cut your iron absorption to 1/3 of normal.
Taking pharmaceutical drugs – Aspirin increases the need for vitamin C. Paracetamol increase the need for antioxidants, like vitamins C, and E selenium. Antibiotics increases the need for B vitamins and probiotics (beneficial bacteria) Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and birth control pills increase the need for vitamins B6, B12 folic acid and zinc.
Example of food supplements and how to get them......
Food supplements are defined as foodstuffs that are meant to supplement the normal diet and which are concentrated sources of nutrients or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect, alone or in combination, marketed in dose form, namely forms such as capsules, pastilles, tablets, pills and other similar forms, sachets of powder, ampoules of liquids, drop dispensing bottles, and other similar forms of liquids and powders designed to be taken in measured small unit quantities, where nutrients could be vitamins, minerals, herbal extracts and other ingredients.
Excellent Reasons To Take Nutritional Supplements
Soil depletion reduces the nutrient content of crops
In many areas of the world, land has been intensively farmed without allowing nutrients to naturally replenish in the soil. Some areas with low quality soil are also being farmed where plants might not have normally grown well too.
Hybrid crops can provide lower nutrient food.
Hybrid crops are often used, even on organic farms. They yield more food per acre, but the crops often have much lower nutrient content.
Modern fertilizers don’t supply enough trace elements
Back in the day, manures were used extensively for fertilizer. Today, superphosphate fertilizers have largely replaced manure. These contain nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, but are deficient in many other nutrients naturally contained in manure.
Pesticides and herbicides damage soil microorganisms and reduce the nutrition of the crops
Soil microorganisms are needed to make minerals and other nutrients available to plants, so hence when these are lacking in the soil, the resulting food is often much lower in nutrient content. Also, our bodies require extra nutrients to process pesticide residues that remain inside the foods.
Long-distance transportation of many foods diminishes their nutrition
As soon as food is harvested, the levels of certain nutrients begin to diminish. It can be weeks between when the food was picked, transported, packed, stored, and then finally eaten.
Food processing often drastically reduces nutrient conten
For example, the refining of wheat to make white flour removes approximately 80% of its magnesium, 70-80% of its zinc, 87% of its chromium, 88% of its manganese, and 50% of its cobalt. Similarly, polishing rice removes about 75% of its zinc and chromium.
Food additives can further deplete nutrients
Artificial flavours, colours, stabilizers and preservatives are added to a large proportion of foods available. While some are harmless and may even increase the quality of food and preserving it, many are toxic and can deplete the body of nutrients.
Weak digestion and poor eating habits impair the absorption of nutrients
Digestion issues are on the most common health complaints today. People with impaired digestion often don’t absorb nutrients sufficiently, which further increases nutritional needs. This is why when trying to balance nutritional deficiencies, the initial focus should always be on correcting gut health and supporting digestion.
STRESS
Being under a lot of Stress can deplete many nutrients including calcium, magnesium and zinc. Among other implications, stress reduces digestive strength. This, in turn, reduces nutrient absorption and utilization even further. It’s not always external factors that contribute to deficiencies!
Unhealthy lifestyle habits
If you drink alcohol, smoke heavily, live in a polluted city or are pregnant, premenstrual, on the pill, or simply just in a stressful patch, your nutritional needs can increase greatly. There are foods and habits that can strip the body of nutrients that we should be mindful of, and we should try and limit (if possible):
Smoking and drinking alcohol: Depletes the quantity of vitamin C in the body. Smokers generally need twice as much vitamin C intake as non-smokers to maintain comparable blood levels.
Drinking coffee: A cup of coffee can cut your iron absorption to 1/3 of normal.
Taking pharmaceutical drugs – Aspirin increases the need for vitamin C. Paracetamol increase the need for antioxidants, like vitamins C, and E selenium. Antibiotics increases the need for B vitamins and probiotics (beneficial bacteria) Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and birth control pills increase the need for vitamins B6, B12 folic acid and zinc.
Example of food supplements and how to get them......
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