Are supplements really necessary?

Many people I talk to don’t want to take pills. They think they get all the nutrients they need from the food they eat. That may be true if they eat only their home grown food, both plant and animal proteins. Even then over 70% of that food will need to be eaten raw. For the rest of us supplementation becomes not a question of if, but of what.

Our food does not contain the vitamins and minerals that it did centuries ago. The soil in most places has been horribly depleted. Modern farming methods use chemical methods to replace a few of the minerals that our soil once contained. This causes many micronutrients to be missing from the soils, and therefore the food. Commercial growers have learned that if they pick the produce before it is completely ripe it lasts longer during shipment and storage. Science shows that the vitamin and minerals content of the food grows exponentially the last days before peak ripeness. This means that these components are not being developed in our foods.

Storage and cooking methods kill even more of these vital nutrients. Most foods are now irradiated. The radiation in meant to kill any bad bacteria that is on the foods. It also kills many nutrients and all of the enzymes that are supposed to be in our foods.

If you are generally healthy and eat a generally healthy diet you may be able to get by with a good multi-vitamin. If you don’t always eat right, or have any health issues there is a good possibility you need something more. Here are some examples of supplements to reach for.

If you have macular degeneration or even if you just have a family history of it, you might want to consider supplementing with Resveratrol. Studies show that this antioxidant can slow down and even reverse macular degeneration.

If your immune system is weak you may want to consider adding some zinc. Other options for a weak immune system include plant sterols and oregano essential oil. Another link found with zinc is low or hypothyroidism.

Evidently without the zinc the thyroid doesn’t function as well. This can be a prime cause of fatigue and weight gain. A B12 deficiency can mimic Schizophrenia. If you or someone you love starts showing symptoms of Schizophrenia then supplementing with B12 could prevent being labeled by the medical profession. If you eat little or no animal products it is more likely that you will develop a deficiency.

Other vitamins that modern man is typically low on include Vitamin D, Omega 3 fatty acids, probiotics, selenium, magnesium, and CoQ10.

If you are unsure if you need any of these you might consider taking a micronutrient test. This is a blood test that shows the level of different nutrients in your blood. It would be a great start to determining what supplements you need to be considering.