Real Foods vs Supplements
Are real foods better than supplements?
If so, what are the roles of supplements anyways?
In an ideal world whole foods are better than supplements. Each food provides specific nutrients as well as much needed fiber to keep the gut moving, happy and healthy. When I’m talking about whole foods I mean fruit, veggies, and most of the food that comes from the ground. No, this does not include potato chips. Processed foods are not only damaging our health, but they are causing us to think slower, move slower, and decreasing our ability to adapt to stress. When our body is no longer able to adapt to the stress it creates chronic health problems that are typically satiated with medications or pills to cover the symptoms without solving the actually issue. Which, most of the time, is a nutritional deficiency. Of course there are cases of chronic illnesses due to environmental factors, genetic conditions, etc. , but right now I’m talking about the general public optimizing their function. Let’s be real, eating strictly ‘real foods’ ALL the time isn’t realistic for the general population. The majority of us enjoy socializing, and most of the time that involves alcohol and processed food. Or some of us work multiple jobs just trying to make ends meet, and living off of Red Bull and Cup-of-Noodles. These are the situations that would benefit the most from supplementation. Our body was made to adapt to everyday stress, and to survive. But what if it could also function better?
Another point to mention is that pesticides and other chemicals are depleting the soil of the nutrients, imagine what’s happening to the crops growing on that soil. Not only is the soil being depleted of nutrients, but some medications also deplete the body of certain vitamins or minerals. This is where supplements can be extremely helpful. Bottom line real foods are great, but almost everyone is deficient in something, and in my opinion will only get worse with time.
When using supplements consult with your primary care physician to make sure they will not cause problems with any current health concerns or medications.
Sources:
https://www.thorne.com/take-5-daily/article/who-is-at-risk-for-magnesium-deficiency