There is no doubt that a varied and balanced diet is the basis of a healthy lifestyle. Ideally, we should get all nutrients, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, amino acids, etc. from our diet.
However, certain rules should be followed, for example:
- buy only fresh ingredients.
- store them in a cool place.
- Cooking is best in steam.
- heat-treat food for as short a time as possible, etc.
And now let’s be honest – who can keep up with this? Despite the diverse food supply on the market, these days the diet of large groups of people often do not contain important nutrients in the required amounts. The reasons are vast including the depletion of basic substances from agricultural land, modern food processing and, finally, today’s unhealthy lifestyle, bringing with it significant mental and physical burden.
Experts believe that supplementing the typical routine with various biologically active substances in reasonable amounts is now justified and beneficial to health.
There are situations when it is necessary and optimal to enrich the diet with a suitable food supplement:
- weakening of the organism due to reduced immunity, diseases, etc.
- during sudden weather changes and when moving to a new location
- during influenza epidemics
- when performing elite sports or extreme physical exertion
- during pregnancy and lactation
- unhealthy lifestyle – unbalanced one-sided nutrition (eg. fast food)
- An organism burdened by smoking, smog, stress, lack of exercise
- in old age
- during alternative diets
So, this is the role of food supplements – to appropriately supplement our diet with missing vitamins, minerals, beneficial probiotic bacteria or, for example, beneficial substances contained in plant extracts by the body, the effects of which have been understood for centuries.
Dietary supplements may also suitably supplement the treatment recommended by a doctor.
However, they never replace medications prescribed by a doctor or a balanced healthy diet!