Our body is a complex system and needs various macro and micro nutrients to perform at its best. A balanced diet includes: plenty of fresh and colorful vegetables, protein, complex carbs and fruit. But in today’s busy world, we are unable to include all these thing in our daily diet. This is where supplements come in and play an important role by providing our body with the required macro and micro nutrients, required for optimum health.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the pros and cons of dietary supplements:
Pros:
- Supplements are an easy and convenient way to get additional nutrients into your diet.
- Dietary supplements can be used to improve physical performance during exercise, build muscle, change body composition and delay fatigue.
- Vegetarian diet is usually deficient in vitamin B12, so vegans can include a vitamin B12 supplementation to fill the gap.
- Calcium and vitamin D supplementation helps build optimum bone mass during childhood and adolescence and also slows the rate of bone loss that naturally occurs with aging.
Cons:
- Supplements are chemical based, and can have side-effects anywhere in the body, which may not even be traceable in a short duration.
- Every supplement has a daily recommended dosage, overdosing it may lead to severe medical conditions.
- Unlike medicines, supplements are not regulated, so the FDA does not have to approve them before they hit the market.
- People with diabetes should talk to their doctors before taking any dietary supplements. This is because some supplements may interact with diabetes treatments or increase the risk of kidney problems.
Final word:
If everyone followed a healthy diet and our food was highly nutrient dense, then supplements might not be necessary. But that’s not the case. Our food is deficient in many nutrients; it’s grown with quantity not quality in mind. So that’s why many people take supplements and there is nothing wrong with taking supplements. Just bear mind that, Supplements supplement it. That’s why they are called supplements!