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Many people believe that instead of eating healthy foods, they can simply use supplements and get everything that they need. They believe that the supplements give them all of the nutrition that they are not getting from foods; however, whole, varied foods are the best way to get all of the nutrition that you need. That is not to say that supplements are bad; in fact, they can be a healthy part of a good diet as long as they are only part of it. When supplements become the majority of the diet, however, they may be displacing other nutrient sources.

Look on the average American’s bookshelves and it will be a safe bet that on a very large percentage of them you will find books that advise avoiding sugar or fat or carbohydrates completely. You will see books that teach you how to live a totally meat free diet. You will see how to avoid dairy products or gas producing foods or any number of foods, food groups or nutrients. What you are not likely to find at all, however, is any kind of information that tells you how to avoid protein. These books do not exist for a number of reasons:

You may have seen those great big jugs of powder in the pharmacy section at your favorite drugstore and wondered what they are all about. Those jugs are filled with protein supplements, which are great for everyone from dieters to athletes to junk food addicts, and also for anyone who is concerned about good health.

Concentrated protein supplementation is highly recommended for bariatric patients for two specific reasons. The primary reason is to aid short-term recovery after bariatric or weight reducing surgery. The secondary is for maintaining long-term good health.

There are many people who have either food allergies or food sensitivities. Some also develop a food aversion; however this is a physiological disorder than a physical one. Food allergies affect 2-8% of all children and nearly 2% of all adults. Most will have more than one food allergy at a time (Source: Nutrition MD).

Diabetes is a disorder caused by the pancreas’ inability to release enough insulin to handle the blood sugar in the body during digestion. There are three types of diabetes: Type I, or juvenile diabetes, Type II, also called adult onset diabetes and Gestational diabetes. Each type of diabetes has its own considerations and warnings for good health. Proper nutrition is important no matter what type of diabetes has been diagnosed.

It has been suggested that protein supplementation for anorexics is not a viable cure for the condition. This is because anorexia nervosa is a serious psychological condition in which stick-thin girls with not an ounce of body fat believe themselves to be too fat. This is not a condition that can be cured by diet, but some of its symptoms can be partially controlled by diet if the patient can be persuaded to take it.

Heart disease affects millions of people including the sixteen million people that die from some form of the condition every year (Source: Natural News). There are a number of different ways of dealing with heart disease including lifestyle changes and medications. In some cases, surgery may become the only option if the heart disease has progressed. In 2006, there were 450,000 coronary bypasses performed and in 2007 there were 2200 heart transplants (Source: The Texas Heart Institute Information Center).