Taking Supplements In Healthy Eating For Weight Loss

Many people feel that taking supplements is a healthy thing to do. Few realise the inherent dangers associated with many of them. Athletes and people who are trying to lose weight are possibly the most affected. The reality is that if you practice healthy eating for weight loss or for fitness, you don’t need much in the way of supplementation.

Vitamin D, folic acid, calcium and vitamin E are common supplements and can all wreak havoc in your body causing weight gain, hormonal imbalance, lack of healing and pain, to mention only a few problems.

Vitamin D is the newest boy on the block. Everyone seems to be taking it. Even natural therapists advocate it. Yet it is a poor mimic of mother nature. It is easy to overdose on it. The effects over long term use are still largely unknown, but overdose symptoms include heart related problems, lack of growth, fatigue, organ malfunction and hypertension and many more.

Folic acid is very different from folate. Folic acid is the synthetic supplement. Folate is found in healthy food. Folate is an essential nutrient for good health. But some studies link folic acid to an increase in colon cancer, while others link it to an increase in lung and prostate (by as much as 50%) cancer.

Calcium supplements are particularly dangerous as they have the opposite effect to the one that they are taken for – they cause weakened bones and increase the risk of fractures. Blood tests can show an increase in calcium, but the bone density tells a different story.

Vitamin E is another essential nutrient in its natural form. It is an antioxidant, scavenging free radicals. However, the synthetic form has the opposite effect – it has a pro-oxidant properties.

Mother nature does not isolate nutrients. They are combined in a complex package called food. Healthy food. Humans still don’t fully understand the complexities and interconnectedness of the nutrients in food.

Instead of taking synthetic supplements, learn to eat healthy food. This will provide your body with the bulk of its nutrient needs. To top up, use a quality, plant based superfood supplement. Healthy eating for weight loss and for fitness and endurance is the key to a balanced lifestyle. It promotes natural health, fitness, weight loss (if necessary), hormonal balance, natural growth and prevents disease. It is impossible to overdose on healthy supplements, as the surplus to your body’s requirements are simply excreted.