5 Benefits of Taking Nutritional Supplements

Nutritional supplements like multivitamins and specialized supplements have been around for quite some time but are they beneficial for everyone?

No doubt, pregnant women and children under the age of five are in need of extra nutritional support, but what about the rest of us? How and when should we look into popping a pill or chewing a gummy to boost our health?

Even though most adults in developed nations don’t suffer from malnutrition, you’d be surprised to know that 94% of dieticians take some sort of nutritional supplement. If these nutritional experts decide that they are worth taking, shouldn’t we?

Let’s talk about seven different benefits of taking nutritional supplements.

1. Cost-Effective

The cost of taking nutritional supplements is much more economical than buying fortified cereals to get your daily vitamin and mineral intake.

According to research, taking a multivitamin with mineral costs about five cents per day, two cents more if you want name brand vitamins.

Eating fortified cereal with a half cup of milk every day would cost you $0.46 per day.

In these hard times, any way to save money is worth it and nutritional supplements can do this for you.

2. Prevent Disease and Sickness

Eating a balanced diet helps to prevent sickness and disease because it gives you a variety of immune-boosting vitamins, minerals, and other compounds but getting a consistent balance of these foods can be hard.

When you take a nutritional supplement, you aren’t leaving this to chance. There are certain supplements that are made especially to bolster the immune system.

When your immune system is strong, you’ll be able to fight off infections from germs, viruses, and even prevent disease.

Another way that nutritional supplements can help prevent disease is by providing antioxidants.

These powerful vitamins help to combat free radicals in the body left behind by the breakdown of food or through the ingestion of chemicals and preservatives.

Free radicals cause many disasters in the body from inflammation to cancer. Taking supplements that can keep these free radicals to a minimum can help prevent many health issues.

3. Balance Nutritional Deficiencies

Did you know that about half of the population in the US are not getting enough vitamin A? About a third of the population are deficient in vitamin C. That number jumps up much higher in the smoking population.

Vitamin E is an especially difficult vitamin to meet the daily requirements with over 95% of Americans not reaching it.

Clearly, even as a society with an economy that provides food for the masses, we could be suffering from nutritional deficiencies.

Nutritional supplements are the easy answer to closing the gap in any of our diets lacking certain necessary nutrients.

4. Help Reverse Certain Health Conditions

There are times when the body needs extra help to beat a disease or health condition.

Aside from the prescription drugs that the doctor prescribes, many times a doctor will advise a patient to increase their uptake of a certain nutrient.

The best way to be sure to get the recommended dose is to take a premeasured and potency checked nutritional supplement.

A few examples of some that might be used to help reverse a developing health condition include calcium and vitamin D to combat osteoporosis or bone loss, folic acid in pregnant women to prevent birth defects, and omega 3’s to prevent heart disease.

5. Boosting Energy Levels

When the body is lacking in a certain nutrient, it can begin to feel sluggish. Regularly taking nutritional supplements that are known to help with metabolism and energy can prevent this.

Vitamin B12 is especially popular to take when energy levels are low. This vitamin is known for helping the body to use the food you eat and turn it into energy.

Citrulline is also a popular supplement to help boost energy levels, especially before a workout.

This amino acid helps to increase the nitric oxide levels in the body which helps blood circulate delivering oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.

Conclusion

We all know that the best way to get our nutrition is through a balanced diet full of fruits and vegetables. Making sure you are getting the right dose of all the necessary nutrients can fail even in the best of diets.

If you do your best to find a nutritional supplement that contains natural ingredients, your body will absorb them better and you’ll be that much healthier.

Clearly, there’s nothing wrong with taking nutritional supplements and most people should consider it beneficial for their health.