Are Health Food Supplements Really Effective?
It seems health food supplements are the enduring fad these days and they are easily available over the counter. Many are openly advertised to mitigate, treat or sometimes even cure a certain illness or debilitating condition. Some even promise to ‘help cure’ a long list of illnesses or nutritional deficiencies commonly suffered by many people.
Labeling Health Food Supplements
But are they really effective? Health food supplements, to be labeled as such, must contribute to the dietary needs of the individual, in the form of minerals, vitamins, fatty or amino acids. As such, they are classified in the United States as food but in other countries that may be considered drugs. The difference lies in the specific countries laws, and not in the item itself.
Furthermore, they need to fulfill any or a combination of the following functions:
1. rectify a nutritional deficiency to ‘normal’ levels
2. enhance a foodstuff’s nutritional contents
3. complement a regular diet.
The first refer to food supplements that are taken directly in the form of tablets, capsules or tea to provide nutrition not otherwise available due to allergies, intolerance or similar reasons. Such health food supplements are ingested in lieu of drugs, and in such cases function like medicine.
In the second, the health food supplement is added to the foodstuff, which is labeled ‘fortified’ by the element. There are often seen in baby formulas (fortified with iron, etc.), those for the elderly or pregnant women (fortified with calcium), and the common, ubiquitous iodized salt and toothpaste with fluoride.
The last is probably the most common and most recognized. Like the multivitamin supplements and similar items that contain ordinary health nutrients, these health food supplements may also be derived from quaint sources like mushroom, fruits, tree parts and leaves. Often they contribute trace minerals or other substances that act directly on the body metabolism like anti-oxidants, or help body organs perform their function better.
Weighing the Pros and Cons of Health Food Supplements
But do they work? Many do, such as niacin in bread; Vitamin D in margarine and other foods; calcium, iron and other minerals in beverages and many other instances that we take for granted. However, there are others, especially those newer faddish concoctions, that has been proven to be of no or very low nutritional value, yet are touted as beneficial to the body.
Sometimes, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Flavonoids, for example, which are found in many plant foods, have been trumpeted by a soy sauce company as beneficial to health. However, studies have shown that in terms of volumes, the intake of salt could be ten times that of flavonoids before the flavonoids’ effect is felt. In short, you may not die of cancer, but you would surely succumb to cirrhosis of the liver because of the amount of salt ingested.
So, are health food supplements really effective? They are, most of the time though indiscriminate use is not advised.
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