Nutritional Supplement

Nutritional Supplement
A Nutritional Supplement is a substance that you can put into your body in order to balance your nutritional needs. Nutritional supplements are becoming very popular due to its effectiveness. They are an ideal way to get the vitamins and minerals required by your body. The food you take today is not sufficient to provide enough nutrition needed by your body. Adding a simple nutritional supplement to your diet can help you to keep healthy and fit.

Benefits of Nutritional Supplements

• Nutritional Supplements aid in the body’s abilities to ward off disease and sickness. When the body has a proper nutritional balance, it is better able to fight off infections or sickness.
• Nutritional Supplements provides your body the fuel it needs to enhance re-growth and healing within the body.
• A right Nutritional Supplement can also aid in the body’s ability to burn off fat and increase metabolism. When this is the case, it is easier to lose weight and stay healthy.
• A Nutritional Supplement helps you to fight against the aging process. As you grow older you lose bone density, muscle mass, and nutrients at a quicker pace. Because your body is beginning to change, it needs more vitamins as a part of its daily diet. This helps the body to maintain its natural nutritional balance.

Including Nutritional supplements as part of a diet can help your entire body system to work properly.

Nutritional Supplements and Vitamin supplements for the Eyes

Eyes are the most precious part of the human body. Without this the whole world is black. It is very powerful sense in the human body. To keep this secure and healthy there are many herbal supplements, nutritional supplements and vitamin supplements.

We can protect our eyes and improve our eye sight with the help of some nutritional supplements, vitamin supplements and regular exercise. We should consume the recommended vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that we need in order to keep our eyes healthy. There are few nutrients that are known to be especially associated with visual health.

Antioxidant vitamins are very good for eyes. It helps to combat free radicals. The primary antioxidant vitamins include Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E. In addition to their important action against free radicals they promote healthy cells and tissues in the eye. These vitamin supplements are effective in maintaining the good health of the eyes.

In addition to the vitamin supplements that promote visual health there are several minerals that have been determined to play a significant role in the good health of the eyes. Zinc, Selenium, Manganese and Copper are the important minerals that serve to regulate sight, smell and taste. Combination vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc and copper prevent vision loss in older age.

Nutritional supplements do have a place in maintaining proper health, and disease prevention. Nutritional supplements can certainly help in maintaining the eye sight, but they are no substitute for proper, balanced eating, 7-8 hours of good sleep, regular exercise, and stress reduction.

Those seeking to benefit from nutritional supplements designed to promote visual health and healing should familiarize themselves with the most common vitamins and minerals in these supplements. Consulting an eye specialist and licensed nutritionist would be very helpful in planning the nutritional supplements for the eyes.

Know more on nutritional supplements and various vitamin supplements for easy and effective natural cures for all common health problems from acidity to yeast infection.

Dietary Supplements – All You Need to Know

Our body needs a balanced diet to get all the nutrients required by the body. For that one should eat a variety of food. Foods that contain green vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy products, meat, fish and little bit of fat normally meet this requirement. But when these foods fail to meet the nutritional needs, you require dietary supplements.

Before going in depth about dietary supplements, you should know little more about what exactly is a dietary supplement?

A dietary supplement is actually compensating for vitamins and minerals in food by consuming capsules, pills or liquids. Dietary supplements include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs or botanicals, an extract or a combination of these as a part of their ingredient. It is not a natural way of taking nutrients and does have some side effects.

So, the next question that may come in your mind is when do you really require a dietary supplement?

Some of the common reasons for taking nutritional supplements in an artificial way are gaining weight, healing after a surgery and bone fractures, recovering from illness and for strength during cancer. It is always recommended to take nutrients in a natural way but at times you have to also take dietary supplements. You should always remember not to take these dietary supplements for a very long duration as they do have negative effects.

Next thing to know is who all actually require dietary supplements?

• It is recommended for certain age groups such as people above 50 years so that they get extra strength as with age the body becomes weak.

• It is recommended to those you do not take proper diet.

• It is taken by pregnant women or nursing moms as they require extra nutrition.

• It is prescribed to the ill and people who have undergone some surgery.

Dietary supplements are supplements and are not meant to replace some of the food needed in a healthy daily diet. Thus, remember that no dietary supplement can ever replace a healthy diet.

Note - Looking at your physical health, a dietitian can help you decide to take a particular dietary supplement. It is always best to consult a doctor as the dietary supplements have side effects and may be they do not suit you.

Know more on dietary supplements and various nutritional supplements for easy and effective natural cures for all common health problems from acidity to yeast infection.

Why Are Herbal Supplements So Popular?

Due to poor handling and manufacturing practices, much of the food we eat is depleted of its important vitamins, minerals and other nutrients before it even hits the store shelves. So, although you can get a majority of the nutrients your body needs from the foods you eat, chances are you are not getting it from your current diet.

That's why herbal nutritional supplements are so valuable...they offer a safe and effective way to ensure that you get everything your body needs to perform at maximum efficiency and they can also help treat a variety of ailments at the same time.

It's important to note that not all herbal supplements are created equal. Because government regulations are quite lax, there are a number of unscrupulous marketers out there selling subpar supplements that either don't contain what they claim to or contain too much ingredient, which can be dangerous.

If you are looking for herbal dietary supplements, make sure you research the company thoroughly to ensure a safe product. Look for a certificate of analysis (COA) for each ingredient, and make sure the company adheres to strict GMP manufacturing processes. These are the same strict guidelines that the pharmaceutical companies have to follow.

Herbal nutritional supplements are available in many health stores as well as online, so there are a lot of options for you. Some herbal supplements are sold as separate products, but you can often reap more benefit from a comprehensive formula with several herbal extracts along with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, cofactors and other important nutrients.

Talk to your doctor or nutritionist and decide if herbal nutritional supplements are right for you. You might find that they are just what you are looking for!

Find Herbal Supplements for natural health care. Also read easy and effective Home Remedies for common health problems!!

Vitamins Sources and Deficiencies

Vitamins are very vital for the growth and development of the human body. They are found in natural foods. A good diet virtually ensures an abundant supply of vitamins. Sometimes due to certain medical conditions, the body is deprived of certain vitamins, leading to a deficiency.

Vitamin A deficiency is a common disease in poorer parts of the world and causes night blindness. Vitamin A is found in fish, liver and green vegetables. Failure to consume sufficient quantities of meat, milk or milk products leads to a deficiency in Vitamin B12. This deficiency causes megaloblastic anemia and, if severe enough, can result in irreversible damage to the nerves, liver and intestinal tract. A person can experience hallucinations, memory loss, eye disorders and anemia.

Vitamin C, found in green vegetables, berries and citrus fruits, helps prevent infection, enhances immunology and can help prevent cancer. A lack of Vitamin C can cause anemia, bleeding gums, muscle degeneration and blood clots. A deficiency in Vitamin D affects the bones, heart, kidneys and the thyroid gland. Common symptoms are irregular heartbeat, Osteoporosis and brittle and fragile bones. Vitamin D also enhances the immune system.

Vitamin E is found in vegetable oils, whole grains, spinach and milk. A deficiency may cause an enlargement of the prostate gland, gastrointestinal disease, impotency and decreased circulation. Vitamin E helps prevent cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Vitamin K plays an important role in the formation of bones and blood clotting. It also converts glucose into glycogen for storage in the liver. A lack of Vitamin K leads to a low platelet count and poor blood clotting.

Folic acid is essential for the formation of red blood cells and is vital for normal growth and development. Folic acid is found in beans, beef, barley and chicken, amongst others. A deficiency of folic acid causes depression, anxiety and birth defects in pregnant women.

Vitamin deficiency can treated by recommending dietary regulations, oral supplements, or by injections. Oral supplements are useful for those unable to consume food rich in vitamins. Injections are useful for persons with diseases that prevent absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.

Why Do You Need Vitamin Supplements?
You all know that fruits and vegetables you eat are the natural sources of vitamins, minerals and nutrients then - What is the need of a vitamin supplement? With the pace of time lifestyle of the people are rapidly changing. Poor food choices, processed foods, sodas and excess sweets have become the norm for millions. Besides, even with a well-balanced diet, studies find that food nutrient values have been declining for decades because of soil depletion. So it is very essential today to choose a right vitamin supplement to fill the nutritional gap that arises due to improper diet.

Some Common Vitamin Supplements

• Vitamin A Supplements: It helps to maintain healthy vision, keep your skin healthy and boost your immune system. In simpler terms, this vitamin keeps your skin healthy, protects against wrinkles and acne and helps fight off infections and other unwanted diseases.

• Vitamin B12 Supplements: It helps to enhances muscle strength, provides energy and helps your nerves function properly. Insufficient amounts of vitamin B12 can lead to health complications such as fatigue, weak muscles and severe depression.

• Vitamin C Supplements: It serves a number of purposes including healing wounds, boosting your immune system, protecting artery linings and preventing cataracts.

• Vitamin D Supplements: It is helpful for babies who are breastfed since breastfeeding does not provide adequate amounts of this vitamin. Vitamin D has also been known to help fight osteoporosis.

• Vitamin E Supplements: It helps protect against heart disease and some forms of cancer. It also boosts the immune system and helps in healing injuries and wounds. Some studies prove that this vitamin also helps boost the immune system of elderly people.

• Vitamin K Supplements: It strengthens bones and is known to help fight osteoporosis.

So a right vitamin supplement can help you to attain a better health and energy, freedom from illness, improved sexual vigor and slowing the aging process.

11 Nutrients: Why You Need Them

Beta Carotene

What it does: In the body, beta carotene is converted to vitamin A, a nutrient essential for healthy vision, immune function and cell growth. It also acts as an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals. How much you need: There's no RDA for beta carotene.

Food Sources of Beta Carotene: Eat plenty of dark green vegetables and orange vegetables and fruits (papaya, mango) weekly to meet your vitamin A needs and reap beta carotene's potential antioxidant benefits.

Vitamin B12

What it does: Vitamin B12 is used in making DNA, the building block of genes, and in maintaining healthy nerve and red blood cells. How much you need: 2.4 micrograms a day for people 14 and older provides all the body needs--although some researchers have argued that a daily intake of 6 micrograms would ensure absorption.

Food sources of Vitamin B12: B12 is bound to protein, so foods like meat, fish, eggs and dairy products like yogurt and milk are the principal sources.

Chromium

What it does: Chromium is required by the body for the process that turns food into usable energy, helping insulin prime cells to take up glucose. How much you need: Despite disappointing findings on chromium supplements and weight loss, the body still needs it. The daily recommended intake for adults is 50 to 200 mcg.

Food sources of chromium: Best sources of chromium are whole-grain breads and cereals, meat, nuts, prunes, raisins, beer and wine.

Vitamin K

What it does: Vitamin K is used by the body to produce an array of different proteins. Some of them are used to create factors that allow blood to coagulate--critical in stemming bleeding and allowing cuts and wounds to heal. How much you need: The current recommended daily intake of vitamin K is 90 micrograms for women and 120 for men. Luckily, vitamin K deficiency is extremely uncommon.

Food Sources of Vitamin K: Kale, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, arugula, green leaf lettuce, soybean oil, canola oil, olive oil and tomatoes.

Potassium

What it does: Potassium is involved in almost every vital body process: maintaining blood pressure, heart and kidney function, muscle contraction, even digestion. How much you need: Surveys show that most Americans get less than half the recommended amounts of potassium, which is 4,700 milligrams (mg) daily for adults and teens.

Food sources of potassium: Foods that are closest to their original states are best, so be sure to choose whole, unprocessed foods as often as possible, especially fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, fish and lean meats.

Magnesium

What it does: Necessary for some of the body's most basic processes, magnesium triggers more than 300 biochemical reactions--most importantly the production of energy from the food we eat. How much you need: Around 300 mg/day (women) and 350 mg/day (men), with the upper limit for supplemental magnesium at 350 mg.

Food sources of magnesium: The mineral is abundant in avocados, nuts and leafy greens including acorn squash, kiwi and almonds.

Vitamin C

What it does: Researchers have long known that vitamin C is an essential building block of collagen, the structural material for bone, skin, blood vessels and other tissue. How much you need: The current recommended daily intake for men is 90 mg and for women it is 75 mg. The body can only absorb a maximum of about 400 milligrams a day.

Food Sources of Vitamin C: Virtually everything in the produce section including oranges, green bell peppers, strawberries, broccoli, cantaloupe and tomatoes, turnip greens, sweet potatoes and okra.

Vitamin D

What it does: Early on, most of the concern focused on bones, since vitamin D, working along with calcium, helps build and maintain them. How much you need: Official recommendations now call for 200 IU for children and 600 IU for people over 71, with other groups falling somewhere between.

Food sources of vitamin D: We rely on fortified milk and breakfast cereals to get most of our dietary vitamin D. Apart from a few kinds of fish, including herring and sardines, there aren't many natural food sources, which leaves supplements and direct sunlight.

Folate/Folic Acid

What it does: Folate is necessary for the production of new cells, including red blood cells. Folate deficiency remains a major cause of spinal-cord defects in newborns. How much you need: Many dietitians recommend taking a multivitamin with 400 mcg of folic acid; 1,000 mcg per day is the safe upper limit for folic acid.

Food sources of folate: Rich sources of folate include liver, dried beans and peas, spinach and leafy greens, asparagus and fortified cereals.

Zinc

What it does: Zinc is integral to almost every cell of the human body, from keeping the immune system healthy to regulating testosterone. How much you need: The recommended dietary intake for men is 11 mg/day, for women 8 mg/day.

Food Sources of zinc: Oysters, cooked beef tenderloin, turkey, chickpeas, roast chicken leg, pumpkin seeds, cooked pork tenderloin, plain low-fat yogurt, wheat germ, tofu, dry roasted cashews and Swiss cheese.

Vitamin E

What it does: Scientists have not yet elucidated all of vitamin E's roles, but they hypothesize that it has a role in immune function, DNA repair, the formation of red blood cells and vitamin K absorption. How much you need: The RDA in men and women is 23 IU, or 15 milligrams, and because many E-rich foods come from nuts and oils, some low-fat diets may be inadequate in vitamin E.

Food Sources of Vitamin E: Wheat germ oil. Sunflower seeds, cooked spinach, almonds, safflower oil and hazelnuts. Learn more about health and Nutrients.

Antioxidant Food Supplements

Antioxidant supplements play a protective role for our general health including the health of our hair. Antioxidants supplements are supposed to slow down the oxidation reactions which are brought about by the free radicals. The Free radicals are highly reactive unstable atoms generated in our body that can damage cells leading to a number of diseases and ageing.According to the Free-radical theory of aging, these highly reactive oxygen species (ROS), damage the DNA, proteins and other cellular structures like the cell membranes and cell organelles.

The reaction of free radicals within cells, and subsequent damage has been linked to a range of disorders and chronic diseases including cancer, arthritis, atherosclerosis, alzheimer's and diabetes and inflammatory conditions

Antioxidants are able to slow down or block these dangerous reactions in the body. They do it either by reacting with intermediates and halting the oxidation reaction directly. They react with the free radicals and prevent the oxidation reaction from occurring.

Antioxidants supplements can be taken as dietary supplements or taken as tablets and capsules. Studies suggest those dietary antioxidants supplements provide a range of are benefits for our health. However, excess antioxidant supplementation may be counter-productive.

Diet carrying antioxidant supplements

A healthy and balanced diet containing antioxidant supplements plays a pivotal role in retaining your hair’s health. Some of the herbal nutrition supplements and some fruits which contain antioxidants serve as natural medications for hair loss.Antioxidant food supplements are found in various forms – vegetables, fruits, grain cereals, legumes, nuts, etc. The sources of antioxidants include fruits (berries and peppers, apple skins, cider, wine), vegetables (spinach, tea leaves), fungi (mushrooms), whole grain cereals (hops, barley, millet and maize), nuts (pecans, pistachios, almonds), beans (cacao including chocolate, coffee).

Polyphenol antioxidants

This type of antioxidant is characterized by the presence of several phenol functions. It is found in a wide array of phytonutrient-bearing foods. Examples include - most of the legumes; fruits like apples, blackberries, cantaloupe, cherries, cranberries, grapes, pears, plums, raspberries, and strawberries; vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, celery, onion and parsley. All the above are rich sources of polyphenol antioxidants.Alternative sources of polyphenol antioxidant include red wine, chocolate, green tea, olive oil, bee pollen and several grains.

Antioxidant vitamins

Some of the vitamins that are good sources of antioxidants,. the antioxidant vitamins are--vitamins A, C and E.

Vitamin A

The animal form of vitamin A is retinol. It is a yellow, fat-soluble antioxidant vitamin found in animal foods such as eggs, liver, whole milk and fortified foods like fat-reduced milk, cereals and breads. Vitamin A, are the dark-colored pigments found in plant foods like fruits and vegetables (especially dark green leafy ones) and include spinach, cantaloupe, carrots, sweet potatoes and squash.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a natural antioxidant helpful in maintaining healthy hair. Sources of this vitamin are foods such as citrus fruits, kiwi, pineapple, tomatoes, green peppers, potatoes with their skins and dark green vegetables. The daily recommended dose for vitamin C is 60 mg.

Vitamin E

It increases scalp circulation which is crucial for hair growth. You get vitamin E from foods like wheat germ oil, soybeans, raw seeds ad nuts, dried beans and leafy green vegetables. The daily recommended dose for vitamin E is up to 400 IU.