Health supplements whether in the form of nutritional supplements or food supplements are often viewed as unnecessary especially by those that consider themselves to have a balanced and healthy diet. These supplements are commonly sold in the form of tablets, capsules, or even liquids to make them easy to take.
However, that is not usually the case, even with a diet that is considered healthy, you may not be getting all the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals your body needs to cope with the stress, work, and pressure of various human activities and fighting off illnesses from the common cold to more dire diseases.
This is especially true for those with a diet full of carbohydrates and sugar which while giving fuel for energy, lacks the essential vitamins and nutrients to make all systems in your body run efficiently and effectively. Click here for information on nutrients and their importance to survival and life.
This is where supplements can help in the lack of intake of essential vitamins, nutrients, minerals, and anti-oxidants.
Use of Health Supplements
Health supplements as stated can have several roles to play in the overall wellness of everyone even those that are maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet no matter the age group. But there are certain groups of people who can greatly benefit from taking health supplements.
First are people with food allergies or who have adopted a restricted diet. Many of the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that our bodies need do not come from a single food source, some are primarily found in meat, seafood, or fruits and vegetables and this can be a problem for those who cannot eat some of the groups of food stated either to allergies or because of their chosen diet.
As an example, there are a good number of people who have some sort of allergy to various kinds of seafood with effects from largely negligible itch in some parts of the body to more serious allergic reactions of not being able to breathe. This deprives them of a good source of the minerals iron, zinc, and potassium among others.
Another example is people suffering from lactose intolerance which makes them unable to digest the lactose in milk. This link: https://www.mayoclinic.org74232 has more information on lactose intolerance including its symptoms and cause and risk factors.
Second, some people regardless of what they eat may have a condition called malabsorption which makes them unable to absorb nutrients from the food they eat which are often essential to our general well-being and having energy such as carbohydrates and vitamins.
Malabsorption can have a number of causes and there are some categories according to their symptoms. The causes are various from not having enough enzymes in the digestive system or where their intestines just work too fast for vitamins to be absorbed to the presence of foreign organisms that disrupt your body’s ability to absorb vitamins.
Malabsorption may also involve the inability to absorb a single nutrient or vitamin to a situation where the absorption of all kinds of nutrients is affected and impaired. Some of the common symptoms of malabsorption are weight loss and diarrhea.
The third, are elderly people. As people grow old there is an increased need in the intake of essential vitamins and minerals especially for bone vitality and strength and vitamins to help maintain nerves. As a person ages, there is a need for more nutrients while there is less need for calories.
How It Can Affect Your Body
There is also the possibility that does as the body ages, its ability to absorb vitamins and minerals decreases in effectivity. This is because older people produce fewer stomach acids and enzymes that help in the absorption of vitamins, they may even be suffering from atrophic gastritis.
This is very important since as stated as people age there is a greater need for the intake and absorption of essential nutrients such as vitamins B-12 and Vitamin D.
Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient in making red blood cells and maintaining brain function. Vitamin D is equally important as studies have found that low Vitamin D in older people is often associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline. This is coupled with the fact that older adults need higher amounts of vitamin D in their diet.
Another reason is the decreasing strength and effectiveness of the immune system as we age, the immune system may need help in the form of maintaining a good intake of vitamins and nutrients to fight off illnesses and diseases or even to prevent the contraction of illnesses.
Older people may also have reduced abilities to sense when they require essential nutrients since the body’s ability to recognize deficiencies in their diet is severely reduced which includes reduced thirst and hunger and the less a person eats and drinks water the fewer nutrients and minerals can be absorbed.
A health supplement can help augment the possible deficiencies in the vitamin and other nutrient intakes of older people that cannot be solved by simply increasing the intake of food and proper diet to prevent conditions that may affect their cognitive abilities and overall wellness.
However, if you are having fears that such medications may have adverse effects on your health it is always an option to consult a doctor before taking any health supplement. Also, health supplement producers have to make sure that they are compliant with laws and regulations that are designed to protect consumers and takers of their supplements.
