“What would you like madam?” (Pause for large intake of breath)
“Can I have a Grande iced skinny decaf latte, a Tall skinny Frapaccino with an extra shot and Hazelnut syrup but no cream and a Vente English Breakfast tea, 2 teabags and room for milk. To go. Please.”
That sounds complicated doesn’t it? But it’s a doddle compared to the intriguing but highly complicated world of supplements. For example, the results of a study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre have just been published. They conclude that taking a multivitamin regularly reduces your risk of dying from heart disease by 16%, but if you take Vitamin E it reduces it by 28%. Vitamin C doesn’t reduce it at all so there’s no point in taking that, right? But wait, the same study concluded that a multivitamin doesn’t improve your overall mortality at all, but Vitamin C does.
And don’t most multivitamins contain Vitamin E and C anyway?
Take Glucosamine for your joints, L-Carnitine for your heart, anti-oxidants for aging, and essential fatty acids for pretty much everything. Not to mention probiotics, salvestrols, xanthones, and of course the vast array of herbal remedies.
There are such a huge number of different options, studies, claims – both real and bogus – that it’s easy to throw your hands up in despair and the fit-to-burst cupboard of pills, capsules and tablets with them.
But in doing that, you are also cutting off a whole world of excellent health giving products that have been used by cultures around the world for centuries with dramatic effects. So while I completely sympathise with the magnitude of the task, I do err you to spend time wading through the information to find the right supplements for you.
Everyone is different, with different needs and even priorities within those needs. Careful research on well known but open minded websites is essential (the level of suspicion amongst traditional health information providers is both astonishing and wholly unfounded). But there are certain supplements that are so far reaching in their benefits that it is easy to recommend to everyone.
Essential Fatty Acids are one – good for your brain, skin, joints and heart – and if you can, choose one with the correct balance of omegas and inclusive of fish oils. Vitamin C is another – dosage is important here so go for high strength but with an alkaline mix (e.g. magnesium) so it’s kind on your tummy. And finally probiotics whenever you’ve had an illness – although because this is such a big industry, choose your brand carefully. Probiotics are extremely fragile so everything from strength to casing should be considered.
But the best measure of you supplement regime’s success is how it makes you feel. You may not know if you’re reducing your chance of dying of heart disease or not, but within weeks on the right regime, you’ll notice a difference. Your cold not last as long as usual? You didn’t wake up in pain after a day’s walking?
Sam worked in the health and fitness industry for over 15 years and became more interested in the role diet and nutrition plays in people’s health, so her studies took her in a more nutritional direction. She now works at Totally Nourish, who sell essential fatty acids.
Article Source: U Publish Articles
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