Why You Should Take Nutritional Supplements

[Guest guest]

You have permission to publish this article electronically

or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are

included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be

appreciated - send to wes@....

Title: Why You Should Take Nutritional Supplements

Word Count: 669

Author: Wesley Atkins

Email: wes@...

Article URL:

http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=3129

The article is preformatted to 60CPL.

Why You Should Take Nutritional Supplements

Copyright 2005 Wesley Atkins

Few things have been as controversial as nutritional

supplements have been recently. Depending on who you

listen to, they are either the answer to any problem you

have or they are the devil incarnate. The truth about

nutritional supplements, though, is really somewhere in

between.

Nutritional supplements are more widely used now than in

other time in history. This is because many people have

turned to nutritional supplements in order to fill the gaps

in what they know to be unhealthy diets that don’t meet the

minimum daily requirements for many, many necessary

vitamins and minerals. Others have turned to nutritional

supplements in order to enhance everything from their

workout regimes to their memory and mental functions.

Considering the controversy over whether it’s safe to take

nutritional supplements or not, you probably wonder just

what you can really expect from taking nutritional

supplements. Do they have any real benefit?

The fact is that taking nutritional supplements in their

recommended dosages is extremely helpful for everyone from

infants to elderly people. The methods used to grow and

process our foods have changed drastically in the last 100

years. In many cases, this means that the food itself is

deficient in many essential, basic vitamins and minerals.

Add that to the fact that people are so time-starved today

that many of us practically live on meals out of paper bags

makes taking nutritional supplements almost mandatory.

Taking vitamins and other nutritional supplements is a good

way to be certain you get all the proper vitamins and

minerals you need daily.

However, nutritional supplements should never be used as a

substitute for a good diet. Eating at least three (and

many experts recommend five) well-balanced meals and two

well-balanced snacks per day is still the best way to be

sure you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals your body

needs to stay fit and healthy. Adding nutritional

supplements to good eating habits simply goes the extra

mile to see that you’re getting all the nutrients that your

body needs each day.

There are many high-quality multi-vitamins available at

your local drugstores, as well as through many online

sources. The key thing to remember when you decide to take

(and you should!) nutritional supplements of any kind is to

take them only as directed. Those directions are put on

the bottles and packages for a reason—to ensure the

vitamins and other herbal supplements are taken correctly.

This is vital for any nutritional supplement you take to be

both as safe and effective as it should be. Too high doses

of anything can cause side effects you aren’t expecting and

don’t want. When you take more of any vitamin or

nutritional supplement than the manufacturer recommends you

take daily, then you run the risk of taking more than your

body can effectively and safely process in a twenty-four

hour period of time. Any risk of taking too much or of

unwanted side effects is slight, though, for nutritional

supplements when they’re taken as directed. Even slightly

higher dosages, in most cases, will have few side effects

because your kidneys will flush them from your system,

which keeps your body from absorbing too much of any one

vitamin or mineral. Still, to be totally safe, take

nutritional supplements exactly as instructed.

If you’re still uncertain as to whether you should take a

nutritional supplement each day, ask for your doctor’s

advice. This is particularly true if you’re on any

prescribed medications. It is possible for some

supplements to decrease the efficiency of some prescribed

medicines and to interact with them, causing unwanted side

effects. However, despite many news headlines you may have

read, this is rare, especially when nutritional supplements

are taken as directed.

Taken properly, nutritional supplements are an excellent

way to ensure your body has all it needs to be healthy.

Just be sure to use them to supplement, not substitute for,

a good healthy diet.

About the Author:

Wesley Atkins is a fitness and nutrition coach and owner of

http://www.nutritional-supplements-advisor.com which aims

to cut through the hype of supplements and gives you the

facts on each. He is also a successful author of “The Low

GI Diet Breakthrough” ebook available at:

http://www.lowgidietbreakthrough.com