Saturday 14 December 2013

Food Supplements: 6 Good Reasons to Take Them

From personal experience, I have found out that people who do not use supplements is because they do not have a good opinion about them. Supplements are not only the powders and pills bodybuilders take. Supplements can be taken from anyone for various reasons. The purpose of the supplements is to supplement your diet: they provide your diet with what it is missing. Why do I think your diet might be missing anything??? Read below...


1. Insufficient nutrients in our food

I am sure this is not the first time you are hearing this. But now it is time to start paying attention to this fact. The food we buy nowadays does not come from grandma's garden as it used too. It comes from green houses and genetically modified crops, seeds, etc. A tomato you buy at the local supermarket chain does not contain the same nutrient values as a tomato grown in your private garden (nor it tastes like one!). The fruit does not contain the same amount of vitamins and anti-oxidants. The levels of minerals and the quality of the fats is not the same. This is why do not get surprised if you still get sick sometimes although you do eat a lot of veggies and fruit. Here is one good reason everyone has to take supplements - to give to the organism the amount of nutrients it needs to be healthy and to function properly. 

2. Poor food preparation 

Here is another reason which has come just as the first one because of the technological developments. I really like gadgets and technologies but, damn, I do not like the commercial ways in which they are used. Do you have an idea how many households in your country have microwaves? In the two countries I live probably 95% of the households do own one!(1) Did you also know that warming up at a high-temperature in the microwave can "kill" the nutrients in your food (2)? Next time when you decide to use the microwave make sure you at least put it at a lower temperature or just use the stove instead. 

3. Obesity / Weight Loss

Now, this is important. I guess some of you might be immediately thinking about those pills that promise you to lose weight whatever you do - workout or not, eating well or not. Let's clear this up. It is impossible to lose weight if you keep on eating the wrong things. When you want to lose weight, you need to increase the amount of protein intake. Protein helps you keep the muscle while you are burning the fat and, according to some researches(3), satisfies hunger better than carbohydrates. Therefore, supplementing your diet with protein helps you lose more weight and get a fit and healthy look. 


4. Athletic performance

Athletes need to perform. And in order to perform at the highest of their abilities, they need fuel. Food is the fuel of the body. It gets stored in the body in the form of glycogen. So getting some calories before a training is important to increase performance. Supplements can give you the right amount of calories right before the workout without making you feel heavy.

Another reason why athletes take supplements is because they need a higher amount of protein to replenish their body and recover their muscles after trainings.(4)

5. Bad Sleep


There are also natural food supplements that can help you sleep better. The good sleep is vital for your body functions! When you sleep deep you get increased mental performance, focus and increased metabolic rate. The latter means that you also burn more calories during the day. Therefore, you should tackle your insomnia problems if you are aiming to lose weight as well as if you have any kind of stress in your life. 


6. Hormone imbalances


Many males have insufficient levels of the male hormone testosterone and this prevents them from gaining muscle mass. On the other hand, the exceeded levels of the female hormone estrogen in both women and men is what makes it hard to lose the extra fat. 


Do you have your 'stubborn' areas? Meaning do you have areas that seem to be keeping the fat more than other parts of your body? Depending on which is the stubborn part of your body, you can define which hormone is imbalanced. Therefore, taking the right supplement in this case is crucial for losing the stubborn fat. (5)



Tip: Always check out the labelling when you buy supplements you have not used before. It is an idea to also check out internet about opinions of people who have used the brand. Make sure you take natural supplements, like the ones you can find here: http://www.mywinwebpage.com/92561/index.aspx




References:
1) More than 90% of the American households do own at least one microwave: http://www.housewares.org/pdf/mw/mw_v3n4.pdf


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