‘HOW SUPPLEMENT SAVVY ARE YOU?’

Although fewer and fewer media hyped stories surface criticizing the use of vitamin, mineral and natural food supplements, proponents of the idea still claim that it is simply not necessary, and in fact a waste of money to use them. If deficiencies were not such a wide spread problem I would tend to agree, but one of many recent studies one in particular from The Ultra Wellness Center in Massachusetts shows that 90 percent of Americans are deficient in some vitamin or mineral. This is a troublesome statistic considering that they are vital for the proper functioning of every organ and system in the body.

Even if you eat a pristine whole foods 100% organic diet, you are still more than likely to be deficient. Foods grown now just aren’t as nutritious as they used to be. Another report published in the journal HortScience shows that mineral depletion of the soil averages anywhere from 5 to 40 percent. And, the herbicides and pesticides farmers have become reliant upon further weaken the nutrient content of our food. There are other factors that way in on top of this equation including food preparation, the body’s ability to digest and assimilate food and our general health. Given the current availability of good quality supplements at affordable prices, is it really worth not taking them?

Where to start:

1. Use a high quality general multi-vitamin mineral supplement. This will cover most of the bases. The dosage is not one size fits all. Stay close to the recommended dosage but you can go up or down depending on how you feel.

2. Take Ester-C daily. This unique form of vitamin C is less acid and will not immediately wash out of the body. With cooler weather and the increased threat of swine flu Ester-C is a must.

3. Fish Oil daily will help keep arthritis and other serious inflammatory diseases at bay including heart disease and asthma. Fish oil will help keep your cholesterol levels low- high cholesterol levels are now known to be a leading cause of stroke and heart attack.

4. If you are over 35 or stress your joints with marathons, long periods of standing, or do heavy physical labor, add glucosamine to your regime. If it helps, and would like to increase the benefits take glucosamine with chondrotin. This supplement will keep your joints younger and stronger and less prone to injury.

5. Start with one supplement at a time and see how your body reacts. You may find that a supplement just doesn’t agree with you, but you won’t know which ones work or which ones don’t if you start them all at once.

Using dietary supplements will help safe guard your health, but should not replace a good whole foods diet, nor should they take the place of other health screenings or regular check ups. Till next time, Rebecca