All recommendations regarding the healthy food nutritionists said that the main sources of vitamins and minerals for humans should be food. Supplements are advised to take only when necessary to receive the substance from the diet for some reason is impossible. Before you start taking them, you must get a clear idea of ​​what supplements and how they affect the body.

Supplements or conventional foods?

On any package with bioadditives it says that they can not substitute for a full, varied diet, because they contain substances can not exactly mimic the vitamins and minerals, which are composed of fruits, vegetables and other products. So if you eat right, receiving dietary supplements can be useless.

The benefits of eating before the usual bio-additives:

• The best nutritional value. The food contains a complex of vitamins and minerals. For example, in orange have vitamin C, beta-carotene, calcium and other substances in such a combination, and such a concentration that they can replace one or supplement.
• Dietary fiber. Vegetable products - fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains - contain large amounts of dietary fiber, as well as - a variety of nutrients. Fiber is an essential part of a healthy, balanced diet. It is required for normal digestion, and furthermore, fiber helps prevent certain diseases, such as type II diabetes and heart disease Heart disease - symptoms of heart disease . Moreover, dietary fiber is very effective against the constipation.
• Safeners. Fruits and vegetables contain special substances - phytochemicals that protect against cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and hypertension. Many products are also sources of antioxidants - substances that protect the body from damage caused by free radicals.

Who needs food additives

If you are healthy and eat right - that is, into your diet includes a variety of foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, dairy products, meat and fish - you probably do not need supplements. Typically, they are recommended for people who belong to one of the following categories:

• Women who plan to become pregnant How to Get Pregnant: Recommendations to help . They should take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid a day. We must remember that supplements should not replace, but rather complement the folic acid that a woman receives from her diet;
• Pregnant women should take prenatal vitamins, which must contain folic acid and iron;
• People over age 50 are advised to take supplements that contain vitamin B-12.

Supplements can also be useful to you if you:

• Consume less than 1600 kcal per day and / or in your diet lacking nutrients;
• You are a vegan or vegetarian, and thus your diet is varied enough;
• You are very heavy bleeding during menstruation;
• You are diseases that affect the absorption or conversion of nutrients in the body, e.g. - chronic diarrhea, food allergy and food intolerance, as well as various liver diseases Liver disease: when the natural filter faltering Gall bladder, intestines and pancreas;
• You had surgery for gastro-intestinal tract, and therefore your body can not properly absorb vitamins and minerals.

Ask your doctor what supplements and how much you should take. In addition, it is necessary to know in advance about the possible side effects and how supplements interact with medications. For example, supplements containing vitamin K, can reduce the effectiveness of drugs, blood thinners, and supplements with antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, may make it less effective chemotherapy.

How to choose and take supplements

Read the information on the packaging. Before you start taking any supplements, you need to know exactly how often and in what doses should be taken, how many nutrients contained in each dose, which components are part of the drug, and so on.

Avoid too large doses. Choose supplements that will provide you with 100% RDA of various vitamins and minerals, but no more (the dose of some dietary supplements can contain up to 500% of the daily norm of various nutrients, but to take them in such quantities is not necessary).

Check the expiration date. If the package with Supplements Unknown shelf life, do not buy it. Immediately throw away the supplements, which passed the expiry date.

Watch your diet. If the total amount of nutrients coming into your body through food and supplements that significantly exceeds the norm, it can lead to various side effects. For example, excessive intake of iron sometimes causes nausea, vomiting, and even lead to damage to the liver and other internal organs. An excess of vitamin A can cause headaches, and eventually may lead to side effects such as the disruption of the liver and decrease bone density; misuse of biological supplements with vitamin A during pregnancy can cause severe birth defects in the child.