Dietary supplements refer to any vitamins, minerals, herbs or ingestible preparation added to one’s diet in order to promote better health. Vitamin C tablets, garlic pills and probiotic yogurt are examples of such products that fall under this definition of dietary supplements.
Complementary foods should be introduced when infants’ energy and nutrient needs exceed what can be provided through breastfeeding and formula (1). Acknowledging each child’s signals when introducing these foods ensures optimal growth and development while helping avoid stunting (2).
Vitamins
Vitamins are organic compounds produced by plants that our bodies consume in small amounts for various metabolic processes, from growth and development to maintaining general good health. They play an essential role in keeping us strong.
Water-soluble vitamins (C and the B-complex) dissolve in water and cannot be stored by our bodies, so any that aren’t used right away are flushed out through urine and must be replenished daily to stay effective. Therefore, we must regularly replenish them.
Fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D and E enter the bloodstream with food containing fats before being stored in liver and fat tissue depots that act like storage facilities that slowly release them as needed by your body.
Niacin, or Niacinanine, is an essential nutrient required for cell division and DNA synthesis as well as metabolic reactions in our bodies. Niacin can also play an essential role in building bones and teeth, protecting eyesight, as well as maintaining balanced blood sugar and fluid balance. Good sources include pork, poultry, enriched grains, brewer’s yeast bananas okra potatoes and green vegetables as potential sources. Lacking enough niacin may result in pellagra (a disease of skin and digestive tract) being affected.
Minerals
Minerals are elements found both on Earth and in food that our bodies need for growth, repair tissue regeneration, metabolism and many other essential processes. Examples include calcium, phosphorus, potassium magnesium and iron.
Minerals are naturally-occurring inorganic solids with defined chemical composition and ordered structure, typically found in nature. The term does not refer to substances produced from living things such as wood and pearls (with some limited exceptions). Furthermore, minerals must exist in solid form: no liquid or gaseous forms exist as minerals.
Minerals are formed when magma, or molten rock, cools and hardens into crystals with ordered atomic arrangements. A mineral also must show signs of cleavage — its direction in which it will break apart into flat surfaces — in which table salt or quartz could easily break apart into two flat surfaces, and other minerals like rhodochrosite may even be cut into beads for jewelry making purposes.
Antioxidants
Oxidative stress, when free radicals accumulate to an unsafe level in our bodies, can cause chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease and vision loss. Antioxidants found primarily in fruits and vegetables are an excellent way to neutralise excess free radicals and prevent such damage.
Antioxidants such as beta-carotene, vitamin C and lycopene can all play an essential role in maintaining good health, and should be included as part of a balanced diet. Both natural and synthetic antioxidants should be incorporated into our daily lives for optimal wellness.
Antioxidants protect cells by neutralizing free radicals, mitigating oxidative stress effects on proteins, lipids and DNA and blocking formation of new free radicals.
Studies have demonstrated a correlation between low intakes of antioxidants in diet and an increase in disease risks; it remains unknown whether supplementing with antioxidants has any discernable impact. Before making decisions based on scientific evidence alone, consult with a registered dietitian before taking antioxidant supplements; eating whole food-rich in naturally occurring antioxidants is the best way to protect against chronic disease.
Free radicals
Free radicals are highly reactive atoms with unpaired electrons that can accept or steal electrons from other atoms and molecules. Free radicals may form through metabolic processes in your body or exposure to environmental toxins.
Unpaired electrons can contribute to oxidative stress and cause DNA damage in cells, leading to premature aging and disease. Antioxidants may help protect against this stress by stabilizing free radicals and neutralizing them.
Oxygen-containing species represent the main class of free radicals, including superoxide anion (O2-), hydroperoxyl radical (HO2-), hydroxyl radical (OH), and singlet oxygen (1O2). Other notable oxygenated compounds include peroxynitrite anion (ONOO-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
Though free radicals may be harmful, they’re also necessary for life. Our bodies produce them naturally as a response to environmental stressors like tobacco smoke, UV rays and air pollution; during exercise; as well as byproducts from metabolism of certain medications like Cyclosporine(r) (FK506)(r) and Gentamycin.
