With the thousands of supplements on the market today, it can be very confusing to know which ones to buy and which ones to avoid. Many supplements contain ingredients that are not useful for the body, or could actually be harmful. This article gives and overview of some of the essential nutrients for the body.
There are supplements on the market today that contain ingredients that have proven to be toxic to the body. A few examples of these substances include arsenic, tin, aluminum, alcohol and tin. These should all be avoided.
Natural is not always good for you. Just because a supplement is labeled natural, does not mean it is healthy. There are natural substances found in nature that can be harmful to the body. Many prescription drugs on the market today are developed from natural ingredients. Prescription drugs are often toxic to the body with harmful side effects. Supplements can also contain natural ingredients which cause harmful side effects.
Nutrients work synergistically, this means they cooperate with each other to be used and absorbed by the body. They are all needed. The main types of nutrients that are needed by the body are vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water, proteins (amino acids), carbohydrates and lipids. This article focuses on the first three, vitamins, minerals and enzymes.
Vitamins are an organic compound that is required in tiny amounts by an organism. The body can create vitamins, but not in the quantity needed by the body. They must be obtained through diet. Before the 1900’s, vitamins were obtained solely through food intake. Today, they can be found in many stores in chemical or inexpensive pill form. It is still better to get vitamins with your food. Research is now finding out that there are many phytonutrients in addition to the vitamins found naturally in food.
If you are not getting the proper amount of vitamins in your food, “whole food” vitamins are a good choice. These are more like eating food than regular vitamins. The ingredients are more natural. They are more likely to contain phytonutrients, instead of only vitamins.
There are 13 well known vitamins utilized by the human body. Four of them are fat soluble (A, D, E and K), and nine of them are water soluble (8 B vitamins and vitamin C). The water soluble vitamins are easily excreted by the body, while the fat soluble vitamins require the help of lipids to be absorbed through the intestinal tract. This is why one should be careful not ingesting too many fat soluble vitamins at one time as they can get built up in the body and cause harmful side effects. There are two types of vitamin deficiencies, primary and secondary. Primary deficiency is when you don’t get enough vitamins in your diet. Secondary deficiency is when there is another problem which prevents the vitamins from being utilized or absorbed by the body.
Dietary minerals are also important for the human body. These are chemical elements that are present in organic molecules without the four elements carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen. They can be ingested as dietary supplements. An example of this is iodine which is commonly found in iodized salt. There are 17 minerals that are found in the human body. These include calcium, chloride, iodine, copper, cobalt, magnesium, fluorine, iron, molybdenum, nickel, manganese, selenium, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, zinc and sodium.
Enzymes are also essential to the human body. These are complex proteins that cause a change in other substances without actually being changed themselves. They change, sugars, starches and proteins into substances that are better utilized by the body. They increase the rate or catalyze reactions. They are important for all functions in the body. They are found in the stomach (gastric juice), mouth (saliva), intestines (pancreatic juice), blood and every other organ and cell in the body. An example of an enzyme is lactase. This is needed to break down the sugar lactose into galactose and glucose. This allows them to be utilized and absorbed by the body. Lactose intolerance is when the enzyme lactase is reduced or their is absent activity. Enzymes can also be taken as a supplement to help the body.
A proper balance of all nutrients is the key to a healthy body. This will allow proper function and the prevention of disease.
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