Being in a perfect health condition is a goal worth pursuing. With the development of the supplementation industry, this is not so hard to achieve, in addition to eating healthy and being physically active, of course.

When it comes to supplementation, there are three main principles you need to understand and follow.

• Getting nutrients from food and natural supplements – Fruits, vegetables and meat all contain the nutrients the human body needs to function properly. They are natural supplements of nutrients. Vitamins and minerals are all present in the food we eat everyday. The problem is, we can’t really eat that much food in order to take the recommended amount of nutrients per day. It’s expensive and impossible. Moreover, it’s proven that people that have a diet consisting entirely of purified nutrients (meaning they take a lot of supplements a day) don’t have optimal health, because they’re missing the coordination inherent in food. For instance, it has been proven that lycopene, the supplement that is taken to protect prostate tissue, has smaller effect that the everyday consumption of tomato.
• Get nutrients in their natural occurrence – Industrially produced supplements differ a lot from the natural ones. For instance, folic acid, or commonly known as vitamin B, which is present in many types of foods, but is an abundant ingredient in yeast. Folic acid is the industrial form of folate, while it’s natural occurring is called tetrahydrofolate. The important thing is that folate is a crucial ingredient to be taken during pregnancy, and folic acid is needed for prevention of neural tubes. Now, folic acid converts into folate, but that conversion is really poor in humans and, folic acid doesn’t pass the placenta, which means the baby is not getting it. Moreover, folic acid is believed to increase the risks of cancer. But, since folic acid is much cheaper than folate, it’s often what you’ll get from supplements like multivitamins for example.
• Be selective – Whether multivitamins are really beneficial is debatable, considering the fact that they are an industrial product. There are studies for example, that have shown that multivitamins not only are not beneficial, but can even cause harm. The problem with multivitamins is in the balance of quantity of nutrients; many contain very little amounts of good nutrients like magnesium, and more bad ingredients like folic acid, therefore, causing imbalance in the organism that can lead to potential diseases.

So, what should you take?

Generally, the ingredients that require the intake of large quantities of food to reach the recommended amount per day, should be taken as supplements. Those ingredients are:

• Vitamin A or Retinol – Vitamin A is essential for the assimilation of proteins, minerals and water-soluble vitamins. It also acts as an important antioxidant, protecting the organs of harmful free radicals. It’s mostly needed for good and healthy skin. The recommended daily amount is 2600 IU, although even more than that is not harmful. Vitamin A is naturally found in liver. People don’t and can’t consume liver as often as to satisfy the daily intake of vitamin A which is why it’s good to take it as a supplement.
• Vitamin D – People mainly get vitamin D from the sun and from food, especially sea food. Vitamin D goes in combination with vitamin A, as it reduces the toxicity of the retinol.
• Magnesium – It is probably the most important nutrient. There is no disease that is not connected with magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is much needed for strong bones and cell membranes, as it reacts with calcium and enhances it’s action. Although it is mostly found in nuts and seeds, it is best to take it as a supplement since by eating too much nuts and seeds you’ll intake too much polyunsaturated fats.
• Vitamin C – Vitamin C is the ingredient much needed for building structural components in the body and maintaining the level of glutathione, an important antioxidant. Acerolla is filled with vitamin C, and to get 400 mg a day you need to consume a lot of these natural supplements.
• Iodine – It is important for proper thyroid functioning, to prevent brain damage and to strengthen the immune system. A lot of people have an iodine deficiency, so it’s good to take it as a supplement.
• Selenium – It is present in organic meat, organic fish and Brazil nuts. It’s recommended to take it as a supplement because of the high level of omega 6 linoleic acid, which you want to limit significantly.