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โDonโt eat anyยญthing your grandยญmothยญer wouldnโt put on your plate.โ Itโs an adage that has been transยญlatยญed and rewritยญten over time and in difยญferยญent places.The premise is simยญple, eat healthy, balยญanced, home-cooked meals, and youโll get all the nutriยญents you need to live a long and healthy life.But how many of us take the time to prep meals and ensure weโre getยญting the right balยญances of foods?.The fast-food indusยญtry rakes in a few hunยญdred bilยญlion dolยญlars each year in the Unitยญed States alone. That numยญber could be in the trilยญlions worldยญwide when you take into conยญsidยญerยญaยญtion snacks such as chips and chocoยญlate bars, and not only fast-food restauยญrants.So it would come as no surยญprise that we as a species are lookยญing for a faster way to satยญisยญfy our hunger and nutriยญtionยญal needs. Maybe thatโs why the supยญpleยญment indusยญtry pulled in a whopยญping 30 bilยญlion dolยญlars last year in the US.That raisยญes a lot of quesยญtions regardยญing the necesยญsiยญty of these supยญpleยญments. Are they effecยญtive? And if they are effecยญtive, is there a limยญit we should be taking?There are thouยญsands of difยญferยญent types of supยญpleยญments sold in health food stores and superยญmarยญkets across the world. While it would be imposยญsiยญble to anaยญlyze them all, there are, in fact, some staยญples that are found in most households.Letโs take a look at some of the most comยญmon supยญpleยญments sold and see if they belong in your cupยญboard or not.
Vitamins and Multivitamins
These supยญpleยญments are by far the most popยญuยญlar among those sold across the world. You can go into almost any houseยญhold across any first-world counยญtry and find some vitยญaยญmin botยญtle in the home.Mulยญtiยญviยญtยญaยญmins are a key favourite among conยญsumers simยญply because the conยญcept sells itself. With one small pill, you can fill your basic vitยญaยญmin needs.Othยญer peoยญple choose to buy vitยญaยญmin pills sepยญaยญrateยญly as they come in much highยญer dosยญes than those found in a mulยญtiยญviยญtยญaยญmin. For examยญple, the averยญage amount of Vitยญaยญmin C in a mulยญtiยญviยญtยญaยญmin pill is anyยญwhere between 70mg โ 200mg. Vitยญaยญmin C tablets, on the othยญer hand, range from 500mg up to 1000mg.How does your body react to these vitยญaยญmins?. Well, that mostยญly depends on what you eat and how much of these nutriยญents youโre getยญting from your food intake.Someยญone folยญlowยญing a strict vegยญan diet would have to go much furยญther than just takยญing a mulยญtiยญviยญtยญaยญmin every day.Due to the omitยญtance of aniยญmal food prodยญucts. It is strongยญly recยญomยญmendยญed that vegยญans supยญpleยญment with a variยญety of essenยญtial vitยญaยญmins they no longer conยญsume through meat, eggs, and dairy.The two main vitยญaยญmins are B12 and D3. Vegยญans who ignore recยญomยญmenยญdaยญtions to supยญpleยญment with these two vitยญaยญmins could end up with seriยญous health consequences.But what about someยญone who eats a healthy and balยญanced diet?. Is it necยญesยญsary to supยญpleยญment with 1000mg of vitยญaยญmin C per day? The answer is no.One orange alone gives you all the vitยญaยญmin C you need in one day. Along with fibre, which helps with digesยญtion, someยญthing not found in a vitยญaยญmin C pill.If youโre eatยญing lean cuts of meat and fish, you do not need supยญpleยญmentยญing vitยญaยญmin B12 or D3. A healthy and balยญanced diet usuยญalยญly does the trick.If you find youโre not able to eat healthy meals regยญuยญlarยญly. Anaยญlyze your rouยญtine and see where changes in your schedยญulยญing can be made. Priยญorยญiยญtize your time towards preparยญing healthy food options before you reach for a botยญtle of pills.
Greens Plus Products
This parยญticยญuยญlar item has takยญen the supยญpleยญment indusยญtry by storm over the last two decades. Its popยญuยญlarยญiยญty has sky-rockยญetยญed with sevยญerยญal brands offerยญing their verยญsion of a โGreensโ supplement.Due to its high nutriยญent conยญtent, The โgreen-lineโ of supยญpleยญments is conยญsidยญered to be a superยญfood.Is it comยญpleteยญly necยญesยญsary to have in your diet? The short answer is no.Is it benยญeยญfiยญcial to include in your daiยญly diet? The fact of the matยญter is yes; it is. These supยญpleยญments conยญtain vitยญaยญmins and minยญerยญals that are not usuยญalยญly conยญsumed in a regยญuยญlar diet such as barยญley grass, spirยญuliยญna, and othยญer disยญease-fightยญing antioxidants.If youโre searchยญing for a brand to purยญchase, and you find that youโre overยญwhelmed with the options availยญable. Stick with the prodยญucts that are NON-GMO, organยญic, and low-heat processed. The low heat proยญcessยญing preยญvents and nutriยญents from being destroyed if they were proยญduced in highยญer temยญperยญaยญtures. Proยญtein powยญders also adverยญtise low heat proยญcessยญing for this same reason.
Glutamine
While gluยญtยญaยญmine has always been conยญsidยญered an athยญlete supยญpleยญment, it does have some pracยญtiยญcal uses for the averยญage person.Gluยญtยญaยญmine is the most abunยญdant amino acid found in proยญtein and is responยญsiยญble for the repaยญraยญtion of musยญcle tisยญsue as well as enerยญgy durยญing intense exercise.But how necยญesยญsary is it for an averยญage perยญson to conยญsume? Does it proยญvide any benยญeยญfits to a non-athlete?Well, the fact is that gluยญtยญaยญmine does a lot more than help to repair musยญcle. Gluยญtยญaยญmine helps to fuel our immune cells and keep our immune sysยญtem runยญning properly.If you have digesยญtive issues, gluยญtยญaยญmine may also be a supยญpleยญment youโd want to conยญsidยญer. Someยญone who sufยญfers from โleaky gut,โ a conยญdiยญtion in which the intestiยญnal walls develยญop weakยญness and perยญmeยญabilยญiยญty. Would benยญeยญfit greatยญly from supยญpleยญmentยญing from gluยญtยญaยญmine as it helps to strengthยญen our intestiยญnal cells.Itโs imporยญtant to keep your intestiยญnal walls strong and unwantยญed bacยญteยญria out.For healthy adults, gluยญtยญaยญmine is most likeยญly not going to be necยญesยญsary since your body does proยญduce some amounts, and the rest can be obtained through propยญer dietary choices.But if you sufยญfer from immune defiยญcienยญcies and intestiยญnal probยญlems, gluยญtยญaยญmine supยญpleยญmenยญtaยญtion is someยญthing you should strongยญly consider.
Protein Powder/Meal Replacement Shakes
Whether youโre an active perยญson who devotes a few hours each day to trainยญing, or someยญone who simยญply doesnโt have time to eat while workยญing, proยญtein powยญders and meal replaceยญments make for a conยญveยญnient way to hit your macros.Usuยญalยญly, all it takes is to add some water or juice to the powยญder in a shakยญer cup and voila!In mere secยญonds you have your ready-to-drink meal all set.Genยญerยญalยญly speakยญing, proยญtein powยญders tend to be lowยญer in carbs and fats and highยญer in proยญtein, whereยญas meal replaceยญments are a healthy dose of carbs and proยญteins and may even conยญtain some levยญels of fat (although not much).Proยญtein powยญders are availยญable in many difยญferยญent forms for faster (Isoยญlates, Hydrolyzed) and slowยญer absorpยญtion (Conยญcenยญtrates, caseins).Genยญerยญalยญly speakยญing, the faster absorbยญing proยญteins should be conยญsumed when the body is in the utmost need of replenยญishยญing, i.e., immeยญdiยญateยญly after training.The slowยญer absorbยญing proยญteins are typยญiยญcalยญly takยญen before periยญods of fastยญing, i.e., before bedยญtime, to proยญvide the body with a time-released source of proยญtein while the body rests and repairs.So how necยญesยญsary are these shakes for the averยญage perยญson? The fact is not very necยญesยญsary at all.A semi-active perยญson who trains with modยญerยญate intenยญsiยญty a few times a week can get all the nutriยญtionยญal requireยญments they need from a balยญanced diet.A couยญple of hours of meal prepaยญraยญtion a few times a week should be more than enough time for someยญone to preยญpare the food they need for the next 2โ3 days. Comยญbine that with some servยญings of fruits and maybe a few healthy take-out options, and youโre all set.A more active perยญson, on the othยญer hand, may want to conยญsidยญer keepยญing a proยญtein shake in their daiยญly nutriยญtion plan. If youโre the type of perยญson who trains intenseยญly every day, havยญing a shake after a hard workยญout is a fast way to get musยญcle-buildยญing proยญtein into your system.Furยญtherยญmore, an athleteโs proยญtein needs are much highยญer than the averยญage perยญson. And getยญting all your proยญtein from aniยญmal sources might be a litยญtle tirยญing for your digesยญtive system.Proยญtein shakes have come a long way from their origยญiยญnalยญly chalky-tastยญing days. They digest a lot more easยญiยญly due to low heat proยญcessยญing and added enzymes. Now there are high-qualยญiยญty vegยญan proยญtein sources on the marยญket that give you more variยญety and less depenยญdence on aniยญmal proยญtein powยญders (whey, bovine blood sources).
Final thought!
Supยญpleยญments should be conยญsumed as a way to supยญpleยญment the nutriยญents and macros youโre missยญing when schedยญulยญing issues or health probยญlems that make it necยญesยญsary to take them.If your daiยญly rouยญtine makes it comยญpliยญcatยญed for you to preยญpare healthy meals, anaยญlyze how you spend each day and try to devote some time to meal preparation.If health issues are the probยญlem youโre facยญing, be sure to conยญsult with your physiยญcian before startยญing with any supยญpleยญment regimen.In this artiยญcle, we touched on just a few of the most popยญuยญlar items sold over the counter. There are many more supยญpleยญments out there that can benยญeยญfit or harm you dependยญing on the dosยญes you take, and some will have no effect whatยญsoยญevยญer and be a total waste of money.Before buyยญing into the hype and throwยญing your monยญey away, do a bit of research on the supยญpleยญments youโre interยญestยญed in takยญing. And always do your best to find the nutriยญents you need in Grandmaโs home cooking. ๐
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