At different stages of our lives, meeting our vitamin and mineral supplements can be difficult. As we age, our bodies need more and less of certain vitamins and minerals to meet our individual needs. Some adults begin to develop iron deficiency, among other common examples. You may not even know there is a need for a nitric oxide boosting supplement, but there is!
Getting your entire source of nutrition through food often isn’t enough. The same can be said for only taking supplements. This isn’t usually enough either. Through a combination of good diet habits and healthy vitamin intake, you’ll find yourself in a much better position.
How Vitamins and Minerals Are Digested
Understanding how our body digests vitamins and minerals is very important. Some processes can look very different depending on how and when you consume these necessary nutrients.
Through Food Consumption
When you consume food, your digestive process works hard to separate the nutrients and vitamins for your body while digesting the food. The process works so that your body absorbs and takes exactly what it needs and gets rid of anything it doesn’t. In other words, you can overdose on certain supplements. Having said that, you also won’t add any benefit passed certain needs.
Through Supplementation
But some vitamins and supplements can be really tough to get through diet alone. That’s why they can be taken in their most pure form through supplementation. The difference is that when your body digests vitamins and minerals through this process, it may have a harder time getting rid of some nutrients. This can be harmful to your body.
Iron and Vitamin A are two examples where you can actually get too much, even if you have a deficiency. This is often why a combination of diet, supplementation, and natural sources is a good idea.
Keep in mind that those who participate in certain diets or lifestyles, such as fasting, may need extra supplementation.
How Do You Supplement Nutrients and Vitamins?
The first step to figuring out what vitamins and minerals you may need is to go see your primary care physician or doctor. They will be able to tell you from your lab work and blood samples where you need to make adjustments. In some areas, you may be high in some nutrients, and in others, you may be low.
From here, you can work to find a reputable supplementation company that can provide the gaps you’re missing.
Finding The Right Brands
It’s easy to grab supplements over the counter nowadays, but this doesn’t always mean they’re the best option. Even FDA-approved supplements can sometimes include ingredients that aren’t beneficial for us.
One key factor to consider when choosing supplements is how they’re made. Products crafted using the right pharmaceutical machinery manufacture are often held to higher standards, ensuring quality and consistency in every dose. This level of precision helps eliminate concerns about contamination or subpar production.
Here is what you should look for in your supplementation process.
Certified or Accredited
The Food Drug Administration is the first credited source that you want to make sure is labeled on your chosen supplementation. For athletes, they often also look for NSF Certified For Sport. This means that they won’t have any ingredients that would be banned by WADA.
It’s important to use these reliable certifications because your supplements should be well-tested for their ingredients This is especially true for any CBD products or supplements.
Pure Forms of Ingredients
What ingredients are listed certainly matters. But another factor that some people forget is how pure the ingredients are. For instance, if you need more protein but get a protein mix that has so many ingredients, it can dilute the strength of the nutrients you need.
Reviews
Sometimes reviews are an underrated tool. While the supplement brand should list side effects, sometimes certain supplements have hidden ingredients that cause certain reactions. The easiest way to tell if anyone has had trouble with the brand or specific supplement is to check out the reviews.
Finding a Balance
Some nutrients and essential vitamins can be found naturally, such as Vitamin D. A good healthy amount of sunshine can help with that. A good multivitamin usually helps top off most vitamins and nutrients we are missing as adults. But, to get more specific, a lab test can help find any deficiencies.
From there, you can work to choose the right brands to have well-balanced health. Exercise also plays a critical role in health, as diet and supplements can’t always make up for the benefits of moving around.