Why supplementation is important

Supplementation can help meet the higher nutritional needs of your more demanding lifestyle or medical condition. Stresses, medical complications, and energetic living can all create a greater need in your specific body for very specific minerals or vitamins. Supplementation can also help correct deficiencies in the very food you are eating. Chemicals used in farming, depleted soils, refinement, preservatives, and additives all create deep imbalances in our food supply itself.

The average American diet leaves a lot to be desired. Research finds our plates lacking in a number of essential nutrients, including calcium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, and D. It's no wonder that more than half of us open a supplement bottle to get the nutrition we need. Many of us take supplements not just to make up for what we're missing, but also because we hope to give ourselves an extra health boost—a preventive buffer to ward off disease.

Getting our nutrients straight from a pill sounds easy, but supplements don't necessarily deliver on the promise of better health. Some can even be dangerous, especially when taken in larger-than-recommended amounts. We've heard a lot of encouraging news about supplements.

A series of studies hailed vitamin D as a possible defense against a long list of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, depression, and even the common cold. Omega-3 fatty acids have been touted for warding off strokes and other cardiovascular events. And antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and beta carotene were seen as promising silver bullets against heart disease, cancer, and even Alzheimer's disease.

Here's the big caveat: many of those exciting supplement studies were observational—they didn't test a particular supplement against a placebo inactive pill in a controlled setting.

The results of more stringent randomized controlled trials haven't yielded the same good news. And when the rigorous evidence is available from randomized controlled trials, often the results are at odds with the findings of the observational studies," explains Dr. Because observational studies may not fully control for dietary factors, exercise habits, and other variables, they can't prove whether the treatment is responsible for the health benefits.

Manson says. The health effects of some other common supplements need more study. These include glucosamine for joint pain and herbal supplements such as echinacea immune health and flaxseed oil digestion.

Many supplements have mild effects with few risks. But use caution. Vitamin K, for example, will reduce the ability of blood thinners to work. Ginkgo can increase blood thinning. The herb St. The herbs comfrey and kava, for example, can seriously damage the liver. Too much of certain supplements can be harmful. Scientists still have much to learn even about common vitamins. One recent study found unexpected evidence about vitamin E.

Earlier research suggested that men who took vitamin E supplements might have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer. Paul M. If a product is found to be unsafe after it reaches the market, the FDA can restrict or ban its use. Distress depletes our vitamin and mineral reserves.

Which means that even if you are eating healthy most of the time your body can not keep up with the demand. Exercise — For those getting in their recommended time of exercise and for those training for sports and events it is important to supplement. When we exercise our bodies burn through our building blocks vitamins and minerals faster so that we can build muscle and burn fat.