Supplement (Noun) – A thing added to something else in order to complete or enhance it.
Supplement (Verb) – Add an extra element or amount to.
As it is suggested in the word ‘Supplement’ itself, Nutritional supplements are used in addition to the natural food that we eat to enhance or improve the food’s effect. Hence, these are ‘supplementary’ and they cannot be used to replace our poor dietary habits, lack of exercise, irregular sleeping habits and also negative attitudes.
Let us say that a person has a proper lifestyle like having regular exercise, eating healthy, minimum stress and good sleeping habits. Now, can this person consider that this lifestyle in itself is enough for long term healthy existence. The answer to this is “may be enough or may be not” and depends on a lot of intricacies. Of course it depends on the each of our backgrounds, priorities, economic capability, our values, lifestyle etc., Optimum health is not being just disease free but it is having a life of vitality and strength. It is a choice again what we want in life and it varies for all of us.
Of course, one can survive without using any supplements and I am not saying that we cannot live without them. In fact, majority of the people still do not have any awareness of benefits of nutritional supplements and have more belief in pharmaceutical drugs/medicines which have a lot of side effects.
Nutritional supplementation can make a dramatic impact on our health and quality of life when done right.
Many nutritional supplements have been proven to prevent or support the treatment of different kinds of disorders and diseases when combined with a good diet, exercise and resting schedule. Supplementation aids in controlling many lifestyle disorders like high cholesterol/triglycerides, auto-immune diseases, inflammation, balancing blood glucose and pressure, ageing related health issues, cancer and many more.
Ideally a whole food diet should provide all the nutrients for our optimum health, but there are whole host of environmental and lifestyle factors that would negatively impact the nutrient availability. Compared to our previous generations, it makes it harder for us to have such kind of well nourished foods. Even if a person is diligent enough to eat a healthy organic diet, it is difficult to prepare such meals three to four times a day which covers all essential nutrients every single day, given our busy lives. Let us assume that in an exceptional case even if someone can eat such variety of foods throughout the day, there are lot of dependencies and variations that could negatively impact the nutrient value of the food. (Which we discuss below)
In these kind of circumstances, it makes sense for us to use appropriate supplementation as per our lifestyle, profession and daily needs. For example, a good quality multivitamin and multimineral capsule would compensate the inconsistencies in essential micro-nutrients in our diet. Another example is, a good quality protein supplement powder could used when we are unable to get right amount of protein from our diet. Of course one has to choose quality supplements based on their profile by taking advice from an experienced nutritionist or Dietician.
Below factors impact the level nutrients in the foods we eat. If not all the them are applicable in all contexts, at least some of them could impact nutrient values one way or the other.
- Quality of soil. Soil depletion reduces the nutrient content of crops. Are we using quality fertilizers for cultivating crops.
- Impact of Insecticides and pesticides used.
- How is the produce stored once getting harvested.
- How is the food transported.
- How is the produce maintained in the market/stores before we buy.
- After we buy them, how long do we store them and where do we store them before we cook.
- Do we use good cooking methods. How long do we cook.
- Do we follow right eating strategies like chewing the food slowly and eating mindfully.
- Once the food reaches our stomach , the nutrient absorption depends on our digestive system’s efficiency and the microbiome in our gut.
- Lifestyle issues and habits like stress, smoking and drinking alcohol could additionally deplete nutrition absorption.
Hence, based ones daily activity like workout/exercise intensity, profession, food accessibility and other lifestyle factors it is recommended to take appropriate nutritional supplements from recognized nutraceutical brands preferably with the guidance from an expert.
Also read Why Do We Have Doubts and Misconceptions on Health Supplements
*Do read the Disclaimer