WHY or WHY NOT to EAT SUPPLEMENTS

Many people ask why to eat supplements, when many experts say, it’s not necessary. Those who say, are not well informed and independent nutrition researchers. There are numerous nutritionists and nutrition medicine experts who say, it’s very beneficial.  There are several reasons why it is effective to eat supplements:

  1. People work usually inside and consume about half of the calories what we did when we did in the Stone Age when our body was developed. The need of nutrients however remains approximately on the same level.
  2. Our field soils have weakened and leached during thousands of years and after the washing of several ice times and erosion. Also, many minerals have sunk much deeper into the soils and are not anymore in the reach of the plant roots. Before agriculture time the food of hunter – gatherer had much more nutrients than now. 
  3. The fertilisation farmer adds only the main nutrients, usually no micro nutrients (or very small number) which are crucial for our health.
  4. In the greenhouses the plants are not usually rooted into the soils at all but grow in artificial surface with only few nutrients what are necessarily needed for the growth.
  5. We need close to 30 nutrients, in the normal food many are short for optimum health like selenium, B9 (folic acid), B12, magnesium, zinc, copper, iodine, magnesium etc. vitamin D outside of the tropics is always short for optimum health besides summertime with lots of skin exposure to the sun.  Modern food also has way too little fibre for optimum operation of the gut. We eat 10 – 15 g but should eat 50 g/ 1000 kcal.
  6. Big part of our modern industrial food is very processed and rather old too which weaken the nutrition quality. More than 50 % of the calories of so called common person are “empty” calories meaning that they are processed in the way, which has abolished most of the nutrients from them.
  7. There are lots of poisons, chemical remains, hormone disturbers, heavy metals or industrial wastes in out food. Certain nutrients are helpful to get them out from the body and antioxidants from the supplements help to repair the damage what these harmful substances cause.
  8.  Our body wants to form or build about 3500 different biochemical compounds every day. There are hundreds or enzymes, hormones etc. Each of them is built around one or more micronutrients. If we are at all short of something, it effects more of less to our health, energy, immunity or longevity, at least in the long run. Extra amounts of nutrients come out from the body anyway. 
  9. There are thousands of studies, where well planned nutrition program helps in the growth, health and sustainability both animals and humans.
  10. All cattle producers know that keeping animals without well designed supplement program is out of the question even if they would get the purest organic fodder. The same goes with humans too. We have precisely the same nutrition based biochemistry and it´s needs in our body.
  11. For reproduction only, we humans would not need supplements. Most of us however, want also to have long and healthy life and senior years. Slowing down aging and preventing degenerative illnesses can be done with good lifestyle, nutrients included. Many value that and are ready invest in it. There are well engineered solutions to treat and prevent many particular aging or health risks with holistic ingredients. Smart and health conscious people want to use those and improve the quality and length of their life. 
  12. The work life nowadays is very stressful because of several reasons. We know that stress is a triggering factor in many degenerative illnesses. The science knows several herbal products or nutrients or special foods which calm down stress and this way improve productivity.
  13. The science knows helping supplements against most modern degenerative illnesses as prevention and even as cure. Unfortunately, the big audience is unaware about this, because there is large nutrition ignorance even among educated people and there are strong commercial players who make money from ill people.

The supplements cost some and it is important to know what to take. The intake needs to be based on expert know how or laboratory tests. The number of reduced ill days and increased energy however “earn” multiple times more than the supplements cost.
The talks: “we do not benefit from supplements”, can be ignored as populistic propaganda. Results of the science say other. Eating supplements is safe, no deaths. Eating the medicines properly (properly) is dangerous. In USA, taking medicines is the the fourth common reason for death. Casualties’ number is over twice as high as in the traffic.

Veli-Jussi Jalkanen                                                                                                    Preventive Health Expert