Supplements or dietary products today are mostly made up of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, herbs, amino acids, and more.
They come in different forms – they can be in capsules, powder, or tablets. These months, due to circumstances, they are talked about more than usual, so we can freely say that they are – “stars of the year”. Of course, because of the coronavirus pandemic. But why do we need supplements?
Having in mind the functional division, supplements can be classified into individual groups, as follows:
• for protection against stress and free radicals,
• to build muscle mass,
• for faster and easier recovery,
• for greater muscle endurance,
• for protection against cardiovascular diseases,
• to protect against cancer,
• for protection against the occurrence of infectious diseases,
• for protection against osteoporosis,
• for protection against memory loss and bad mood, etc.
Read below about the benefits of using supplements.
It supplements the diet and the need for daily intake of vitamins and minerals
Does your body get enough nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and other ingredients it needs? No matter how healthy you eat, you are unlikely to satisfy your daily intake of minerals and vitamins with food. Supplements are concentrated vitamins and minerals, most commonly available in tablet form. Supplements are available today at any pharmacy or health food store.
Vitamins are not “magic wands” for good health. Vitamins are necessary substances that contribute to the optimal functioning of the organism. The ideal vitamin intake would be through diet. By definition, dietary supplements are all those active substances that are taken orally for the purpose of enriching the diet, preventing disease, increasing strength, increasing muscle mass, but with the precondition that it is not a medicine.
Of course, what is important to understand is that supplements cannot replace a meal, but serve exclusively as a dietary supplement.
Protects against colds and viruses
So, they are very useful, we could say necessary, but it is also important to buy products from a proven manufacturer, and to pay attention to the ingredients, because unfortunately, on the market you can find food supplements of dubious quality, with various additives, colors, and other ingredients that are not desirable.
Dietary supplements are recommended to be consumed throughout the year, although there are many more who introduce them at the beginning of winter or simply increase their intake of certain vitamins to protect themselves from colds and other viruses.
In addition to being a dietary supplement and serving as a supplement to the daily intake of vitamins and minerals, supplements also speed up recovery from illness by as much as 70%. They also have a positive effect on our health, improve performance, and as we have already said, they are good therapy for diseases and viruses.
Athletes consume them to increase endurance and muscle mass
What is important to know is that the supplements themselves may not have a certain positive effect on your health if you do not try to do something good for your body and organism in other ways. A healthy diet, regular sleep, recommended daily fluid intake (water, not juices!), and physical activity is a winning combination.
Many people mistakenly think that it is better to take as many supplements as possible, which of course is not true, but the recommended daily dose is respected. Too much vitamin will not be good for your body. Although they work harmlessly, one should be careful with vitamins and supplements. While the excess of some, such as vitamin C, is very easily excreted in the urine, there are those that can be harmful to health. You should definitely be careful when taking fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, K) because they stay in the body longer and in excessive amounts can really be harmful.
One of the advantages of supplements is that they can achieve goals in an easier and faster way. There are many goals, but the most common is weight loss or body fat percentage, increase in body and muscle mass, increase in strength, endurance, etc.
Supplements help in recovery
Before taking dietary supplements, it is important to check a few things: label, read the declaration, check the amount of active substance if listed, the ingredients and the amount offered by the supplement, as well as the recommended daily dose for the supplement we are taking.
Most active exercisers use supplements to improve their performance and give their maximum at every workout. Today’s offer of supplements is really diverse and each of them has unique properties and actions and brings specific benefits to our body. Among the most effective and increasingly popular supplements are those that speed up muscle recovery after a workout. Faster recovery means less muscle pain and a faster increase in muscle mass.
Many are wondering which dietary supplements to buy. Experts advise that it is best that before you randomly put supplements in the basket yourself, go to the doctor, do a blood test and in that way find out what it is that your body really lacks. Is it magnesium, vitamin C, or something else. Of course, you won’t go wrong if you buy a combination of vitamins. You can find more about it at elevant.co.
However, it is important to read the declaration, because it says who should not use that supplement and what can be the side effects of the diet product. Side effects can occur when people recklessly use it, that is when they take them as a substitute for therapy or combine several kinds at the same time.
For example, some should not be taken before or after surgery, because they can reduce the effect of anesthesia. Also, diet products can be contraindicated with a certain therapy prescribed by a doctor, so it is obligatory to consult a doctor about taking supplements if you are already taking therapy. Take the example of vitamin C – it is a powerful antioxidant, but it can affect the effects of chemotherapy.