Should I Take
Dietary Supplements ?
Nutritious diet
means healthy living
Good health is dependent upon good nutrition. Your health is
maintained adequately if you include many and essential nutrients in your diet. Nutrients are substances that are
used by your body for variety of functions (for your growth, energy level, body repair
etc).
Many diseases are caused by incorrect eating habits and absence
of proper nutrition. A lack of essential nutrients can result in deficiency diseases.
An essential nutrient is that which is
to be obtained from a dietary source (food) as it can not be generated inside by our body. It is not possible to
get adequate quantities of all key nutritious substances from your food alone, all the
time.
Herbs are one of the most nutritious foods of all. Herbs are used best as nutritional
supplementation. Herbs improve the function of nutritious substances.
Health supplements include powders, syrups or pills. They are
essentially vitamins, minerals and other nutritious substances. When you include these in your daily intake of
food, it results in extra nourishment & medicinal benefits.
Disease is prevented if you take a certain nutrient in amounts above the (RDA)
Recommended Dietary Allowance. Some nutrients act as antioxidants. Antioxidants and nourishing substances of herbs
keep your body healthy.
Vitamin B12 is one of the important food supplements. It is
required for maintaining a healthy nervous system, energy levels and production of good DNA. These are essentials
for your body.
The single most of symptoms for Vitamin B12 deficiency is feeling tired
and lethargic. B-Complex vitamins are important for carbohydrate digestion and energy
production.
If unattended, B12 deficiency
can cause Anemia. It is advisable take Vitamin B12 along with a Folic
Acid supplement and another in the family of B-Complex vitamins.
Frequent changes in diets and use of pre-processed foods are
casing a significant deficiency in Vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is found in fish, dairy, red meat & eggs. Vegetable
sources are not known to contain vitamin B12.
Even if you are on a healthy diet, you are unlikely to get
all nourishing nutrients mentioned in RDA - Recommended Daily Allowance. Herbal nutrition supplements form healthy
nourishing substances in your diet.
Dietary supplements are meant to supplement the diets of some people. But it is not
meant to replace balanced and healthy diet. Excess of some nutrients can be problematic for good
health.
FDA & the National Academy of Sciences Web sites carry
information on functions, benefits and safe limits of health supplements.
For some people the uses of dietary supplements have been beneficial especially when
it comes to their health.
Some studies with evidences show that these dietary
supplements under certain circumstances (pregnancy, surgery, certain chronic diseases etc) may be unnecessary for
good health and may even cause unexpected risks to your well being.
Health professionals and health-related institutions especially the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) are conducting further studies and research to know genuine health benefits of these dietary
supplements.
Eating fruits and vegetables helps but it is not adequate.
During harvesting, some nutrients are lost. It is not a common knowledge, but green vegetables if stored for few
days & at room temperatures, lose almost all vitamin C.
Cooking process can destroy almost half of a range of
vitamins.
Supplements of Herbal nutrition,
therefore, can take care of deficiency in your diet and can help prevent illnesses.
By: Pradeep Mahajan
Last updated : Jan 5,
2010
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