Though most can obtain all their essential nutrients from eating well-balanced meals, some individuals may require additional supplements. Luckily, there are various choices available.
Nutritional products come in various forms, from dietary supplements and herbal remedies to specialty products targeting certain conditions. Supplements come in different forms that can be absorbed differently.
Vitamins
Vitamins are organic substances found in small amounts in various food sources and essential to maintaining normal body functions. Most individuals should be able to obtain all their vitamin needs through eating healthily; however, supplements may be advised for specific individuals such as pregnant or trying-to-conceive women (folic acid should be taken); those suffering malabsorption issues like diarrhoea, coeliac disease or cystic fibrosis; as well as people living with certain autoimmune diseases or cancer.
Vitamins can be divided into two main categories, fat-soluble and water soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins — A, D, E and K – are stored in the liver and body fat and used as necessary, while water-soluble ones like vitamin C or the B-complex group do not accumulate as stored nutrients do.
Minerals
Minerals are nonliving, inorganic elements that occur naturally on Earth and play an essential role in human functioning. They differ from organic compounds such as lipids and carbohydrates which do not belong to this category of elements.
Minerals are solids with an ordered, geometric inner atomic structure known as crystal structure and an ability to exhibit well-developed external forms (known as morphology). Another characteristic that defines them as minerals is their unique physical makeup known as crystallinity.
Notable properties of minerals include their cleavage, specific gravity, radioactivity and water-reactivity. Colorful minerals often reflect their chemical or physical characteristics as well.
Essential minerals (calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chlorine, magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine fluoride and copper) can be found both in foods we consume and multivitamin/mineral supplements; other trace elements (arsenic cobalt chromium fluoride molybdenum nickel selenium etc) do not pose significant dietary needs and so don’t have an effect on humans in any significant quantity.
Nutraceuticals
Nutraceuticals are dietary supplements with demonstrated physiological benefits and aiding the prevention and treatment of disease. A portmanteau of nutrition and pharmaceutical, these include everything from specific diets to herbal products and genetically engineered foods – to everyday items like pre- and probiotic supplements, fortified cereals and processed foods.
People tend to believe that pharmaceutical medications are the only viable means of treating diseases; however, recent evidence demonstrates otherwise. Nutritional supplements and non-pharmaceutical therapies may be just as effective without even needing medication at all – potentially even increasing life expectancy! Preventive care has been demonstrated as being an invaluable means of improving overall wellbeing.
Nutraceuticals should be integrated into an overall health and wellness plan. Supplements sold by medical professionals have undergone more extensive tests, and should therefore provide superior results.
Herbs
Herbs are produced by herbaceous plants (plants without woody stems), and used as seasonings in cooking or for medicinal use. Spices, however, come from the seeds, roots or bark of specific herbs and are typically more pungent in taste than herbs.
Herbal products play a key role in many traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Sidha, Unani and Chinese. These remedies may come in the form of tinctures, fluid extracts, macerations or decoctions and can even be taken orally.
Herbs must be used with care; overexposure can be toxic. Seek advice from an experienced herbal practitioner before making decisions regarding any herb-related product you take, and check labels carefully to follow recommended dosage recommendations.
Specialty Products
Marketers of specialty products aim to attract customers willing to pay more for distinctive features and brand recognition, such as sporting equipment, fine foods or famous paintings. Their prices reflect factory gate values–the amount earned from sales to buyers including taxes paid.
Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP), commonly referred to in non-EU countries and US as medical foods or enteral nutrition products, are specially formulated to serve as either the sole or supplementing source of nutrition for short or extended periods, under medical supervision and even through tube feedings.
Specialty ingredients help manufacturers meet growing consumer demand for natural, organic, gluten-free and vegan products that suit lifestyle and diet shifts. A prime example is Baclofen oral granules which have received FDA approval to treat muscle stiffness and spasms.
