Sometime during the day, as I was watching my mom and my niece, I was wondering the difference between generations, and how times have changed. More precisely I was musing, that by the time I reach my mom’s age will I be as active as her, and what about the next generation. Even though a lot of things are on a rise, I feel there is a decline in health. I know we are living longer lives, but I just can’t help but feel that most of us will not be of that healthy built that our parents or our parent’s parents were. There are numerous reasons behind it, but also the quality of the food that we consume has gone down. The air we breathe, the water they are all polluted and it contributes to the fact that we aren’t getting as nutritional values that we should in order to age gracefully.
Hence it is no surprise that the dietary supplement industry has seen an upward trend and has been sprouting more supplements than an orchard producing apples. So does that mean that we should all take the magic pill? No, supplements are an option but it would always be preferable to get the nutrition from your food. But some situations warrant taking up supplements. So following people should consider taking supplements:
- Pregnant females, or those feeding the babies
- Vegans or vegetarians, elderly people
- People with food allergies, like being lactose intolerant
- Anyone suffering from specific conditions but in those cases, supplements would be prescribed by doctors
Now, this gives birth to the question, should healthy people not consume supplements? Well, the answer is somewhat tricky if you think you are getting every type of nutrition you may skip them, but if you think you are missing out, mentioned below are a few common supplements that can be added to your diet.
- Protein: well starting from the most common. Most people who are interested in gymming, athletes make for major buyers of protein supplements. This isn’t just about bodybuilding but it performs a lot of functions in our body. And ideally it is safe to consume and its benefits have been noticed globally.
- Fish oil or Omega 3: This is another popular and generally safe to add supplement to your diet. They are beneficial for heart and brain. Plus hardly anyone meets the requirements of EPA and DHA levels. So these are good to go.
- Vitamin D: I am not sure why but somehow we are not getting enough vitamin D in our bodies, which is needed to absorb calcium and keep our bones healthy. So these are another supplement you may add. On that note, calcium can be added too.
- Multivitamin: ending at another common supplement. They are taken to account for any missing nutrient. Claims are made that they boost immunity and positively affect health in the longer run. They are okay to add to your diet, keeping in mind you are not exceeding your nutrient limit.
The key factor to keep in mind is that before deciding on your supplements, you should consider if you could amp it up the natural way. If not you can decide upon your supplements by checking the labels correctly, and knowing what you are getting. Eventually, there is still hope for us!