Are Supplements Harmful or Helpful?
Should you take supplements to help you stay healthy or avoid them because, as some people think, “… they don’t do you any good“?
How many different advertisements have you seen or heard that trumpet the marvels of a particular natural supplement; or listened to a well intentioned person extol the virtues of a newly discovered natural magic bullet that will fix what ails you?
This barrage of information about supplements is overwhelming.
- People, who are looking for ways to address health issues, cling to every word because is may offer a way out of their declining or failing health dilemma.
- Others, for the most part, try to ignore this drone of information because the think they’re healthy.
Both of these choices – looking for a magic bullet to “cure” the ailment, or ignoring the obvious – are exactly the wrong thing to do.
Here’s why.
Please stick with me, this analogy is important.
When I began researching this article, I was also researching current nutritional recommendations for the care and feeding of my horses. Over the years, I’ve found that is far easier to keep them healthy than it is to pay my veterinarian. Consequently, I update my feeding program as new information becomes available.
You’re right, horses aren’t humans – but they are mammals, so please don’t stop reading yet.
To help you keep this into the proper perspective, it is important to know that farmers and ranchers don’t have health insurance on their animals, so most of them are proactive when it comes to keeping the animals in tip-top shape. It is an issue of economics.
The Key to Health is Balanced Nutrition
During my research for the supplement program for my horses, I came across the Purina Mills web-site www.omoleneuniversity.com. Purina maintains an extensive research center to produce cost-effective feed to support the health and vitality of all sorts of mammals.
The Site Points Out:
Optimal health is achieved when the five factors that affect health are in balance.
- There are five basic things that a horse needs to stay fit and healthy: energy, protein, vitamins, minerals and water.
- There are three conditions that affect the way the horse’s body works: deficient, optimal, and toxic. An imbalance of too little of one or more of the factors affecting health creates a deficiency; too much creates toxicity.
- The key to maintaining a healthy feeding program is mineral balance – both macro and trace minerals.
Before humans domesticated horses, they roamed freely on vast ranges. They consumed a vast array of grass, plants and grains to provide the balance of nutrients to stay healthy. Once horses were domesticated, there choices were limited to a confined pasture, hay and grain. Purina strives to formulate their feed to fill the gap between what horses are eating now and what they should be consuming to stay fit and healthy.
The Human Pasture – super markets, fast food, snacks & restaurants
Today, the human pasture is super markets and restaurants. The choices are processed, preserved and packaged food and/or fast food.
The likelihood that the average person can achieve a balance diet is zero. There is going to be a gap between what you are eating and what you should be consuming to stay healthy.
Animals Are Eating Better Than Humans
Just like the horses that Purina study, people need balanced sources energy, protein, vitamins, minerals and water to stay healthy, except human protein needs include both animal and plants. And, just like horses, minerals are the key.
There is one other difference, too. Thanks to thrifty, conscious owners and research like the studies carried out at facilities like the Purina center, horses are consuming a balanced diet; consequently, they aren’t prone to suffering the degenerative diseases that are plaguing people.
People are searching for ways to stay or become healthy
They are looking for and choosing bottles of this and that dietary supplement, purchasing some “talked about” supplements to target a complaint – when what people really need is a wider perspective.
Ask yourself this: “If there are magic bullets to supplement the diet, why are the people at Purina spending so much time and energy to balance the rations owners feed their horses?” The answer is: There aren’t any magic bullets!
Shouldn’t you treat yourself as well and dogs, horses and livestock are treated?
The steps are:
- Get a perspective on what it takes to promote a healthy body. Everyone needs know what it takes to be healthy.
- Next develop a workable plan that includes lifestyle choices, dietary choices and exercise choices that you can reasonably expect to follow.
- Analyze the difference between what you can do and what you should be doing in order to promote and maintain your health.
- Fill the gaps in your program.
Health is: the symptom of providing the nutrition you body needs
More and more people have discovered the benefits of using nutraceutical supplements to provide their bodies the nutrition it requires to flourish. They are combinations of natural ingredients that scientific evidence or documented historical use have shown to be beneficial to human health. Well-crafted nutraceutical supplements combine synergistic natural ingredients, in just the right amount, to help balance the diet.
Protecting Your Health is a Journey – Not a Destination
If you’re comfortable making choices about your supplements, choosing professional grade supplements, like the supplements available from NUPRO, assures you that you are getting the “best bang for your buck.”
If your confused, there are natural health consultants, like the Radiant Health Club at NUPRO, that can help you choose supplements that match your concerns.
