Nutritional supplements, from multivitamins and probiotics to fish oil capsules, can play an essential role in improving health and wellness. Finding the appropriate ones may prove challenging as there are so many choices available on the market today.
Dietitians recommend selecting supplements with third-party testing or quality seals that ensure strength, purity, and consistency.
Vitamins
Vitamins are organic compounds our bodies need in small amounts for various metabolic processes, so getting enough is vitally important. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is often best, while taking supplements may fill any gaps that are hard to address with diet alone, especially among pregnant or trying-to-conceive women.
Water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and the B-complex vitamins (B6, B12, niacin and riboflavin) do not stay stored in your body but instead dissolve into blood and are passed out with urine, so they must be replenished every day in order to remain effective.
Fat-soluble vitamins like A and D are stored in our livers and body fat, where they may build up into toxic amounts if we take too many.
Minerals
Minerals are inorganic elements derived from nonliving sources that form crystalline structures. Minerals can be found all throughout the earth, such as salt – an essential element whose crystal form makes up much of our diets. Minerals come with various properties including cleavage, color, luster and density – metal minerals have a shiny metallic appearance while nonmetallic ones such as pewter have duller tones.
Mineral supplements may be taken in capsule, tablet, or liquid forms and often combined with vitamins or herbal medicines to ensure maximum absorption and effectiveness.
Your body relies on two types of minerals for proper functioning: macrominerals and trace minerals. Macrominerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and other macrominerals such as sodium are consumed in larger amounts; trace minerals include iron, copper manganese manganese iodine zinc fluoride selenium etc. Minerals play many vital roles within your body – from bone development and functioning through to regulation of fluid balance, muscle contractions and nerve signals; sodium helps manage these tasks more effectively for example by helping regulate fluid balance as well as muscle contractions and nerve signals – for instance helping regulate fluid balance, muscle contractions and nerve signals!
Herbs
Many cultures utilize herbs and spices as food-grade spices to add flavour and nutrition to meals, with scientific research now verifying what ancients knew: that herbs and spices offer many health benefits such as cancer prevention, diabetes prevention, brain protection from atherosclerosis prevention, DNA repair repair, reduced inflammation, weight loss aiding digestion.
Licensed medicinal herbs can provide relief for minor ailments. Their vitamins, minerals and plant phytosterols are vital components of good health – strengthening immunity, fighting infection and relieving pain while providing rich antioxidant support against arthritis and bowel conditions.
Herbal medicines are dietary supplements sold as tablets, capsules, teas or dried plants. While herbal products undergo the same rigorous testing standards as drugs, their drug interactions may occur with prescription or over-the-counter medications; St John’s wort has been known to increase antidepressant effectiveness while making sunburn more likely.
Homeopathics
Homeopathics are believed to stimulate the body’s natural ability to heal itself. These highly diluted substances, made up of animals, plants and minerals from various sources (animal products, plants extracts etc) are then shaken or distilled with water in order to make stronger. A doctor will usually select an appropriate remedy based on your symptoms as well as lifestyle habits and background considerations when making his selections.
Homeopaths often prescribe remedies made from eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis), a flowering plant whose natural state causes similar symptoms. Homeopathy has proven highly successful at treating many conditions including ear infections, skin issues and allergies, headaches and sore throats, asthma and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Homeopathic medicines can often be purchased over-the-counter and taken safely alongside any prescribed treatments or vaccinations you might be receiving. But always be sure to notify your GP if you plan on incorporating complementary therapies into your health regime, so they can make sure they don’t interfere with them.
