Over-the-counter dietary supplements represent over $30 billion annually in sales. Nearly 80 percent of older adults take at least one supplement.
Nutritional products typically come in pill, gummy or liquid forms and contain vitamins, minerals, herbs and amino acids to provide extra nutrient support. Nutritional products may also be associated with Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), an umbrella term covering systems and practices outside traditional medical systems that don’t fit within it.
Vitamins
Vitamins are organic compounds essential to normal health and growth in higher forms of animal life, in relatively small amounts. Vitamin sources must come from either diet or supplement sources as animals cannot produce enough of their own to meet their requirements for full synthesis by themselves.
Micronutrients, or vitamins, are used to enhance the nutritional value of food and can be found in supplements, fortified food items, and beverages. Their benefits range from improving immune health and skin wellness to bone and teeth wellness and support.
Vitamin A is essential to eye health, cell development and reproduction. Sources of Vitamin A include liver, eggs, whole milk dairy products and cantaloupe. As this nutrient is fat-soluble it may be stored in fat tissue and liver areas of the body if too much is taken; however excess intake could prove toxic.
Minerals
Minerals are inorganic substances formed naturally and solid in normal conditions. Each mineral possesses its own distinct chemical composition and well-organized arrangement of atoms, giving the mineral its characteristic appearance.
Calcium is vital in keeping bones strong, while other minerals, like phosphorus, help keep your blood vessels and muscles working efficiently. Potassium helps your body regulate blood pressure, heart rhythm and water content of cells.
Iron can help boost your immunity, helping red blood cells transport oxygen throughout the body, as well as decreasing how often you bruise.
Antioxidants are naturally-occurring chemicals that may help prevent or postpone cell damage, such as those found in food like fruits and vegetables, as well as in dietary supplements. You can find antioxidants both naturally occurring in our environment as well as commercial supplements.
Amino acids
Amino acids are organic compounds found within proteins found in our bodies, essential for cell function and composed of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen atoms. As building blocks for protein synthesis and peptide formation. There are 20 amino acids common across all proteins; their molecules consist of an alpha carbon atom with amino and carboxyl groups attached. Their side chains vary in length and chemical properties based on physiological pH levels with some being protonated while others deprotonated.
Human bodies can produce 11 of 20 amino acids themselves; nine must come from food. Animal protein sources provide essential amino acids at their highest concentration – such as poultry, fish, beef, dairy products and soy foods such as tofu and edamame; alternative sources may include quinoa, buckwheat and beans as good protein sources. Amino acids histidine, isoleucine, leucine lysine valine are especially vital components for brain chemical histamine formation as well as immune regulation muscle tissue repair and hormone regulation by various parts of the body. These amino acids serve many important roles within our bodies including histamine formation of brain chemicals histamine production as well immune function muscle tissue repair repair functions as hormone regulation by various organ systems within our bodies as well as histidine forming histamine production within our bodies as well as brain chemical histamine production by various organs such as histidine, isoleucine leucine Lysine valine have multiple roles including histidine, leucine Lysine valine, immune function muscle tissue repair as well as hormone regulation within our bodies as well.
Pre-workout supplements
Pre-workout supplements have become an increasingly popular choice, touted to boost energy and endurance during exercise. Most pre-workout supplements come in powder form that you mix into water before exercising; many contain ingredients such as caffeine, beta-alanine and creatine to enhance performance and energy.
Beta-alanine enhances endurance by increasing blood flow and buffering lactic acid production, so you can train harder for longer. Caffeine elevates adrenaline, increasing focus and performance. And glucose provides energy for muscle recovery.
Electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and magnesium can also be found in pre-workout supplements to replace those lost through sweating. Unfortunately, due to proprietary blends used in many pre-workout products it’s difficult to determine how much of each ingredient there is and whether it has reached an efficacious dose; research on this category of supplement has therefore been limited; nevertheless these pre-workouts have been recognized as ergogenic (meaning they enhance exercise performance when taken as prescribed) by some authorities.
