Nutrition and supplementation are two terms that are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. Nutrition refers to the process of consuming and digesting food to provide the body with the essential nutrients it needs to function properly. Supplementation, on the other hand, is the practice of taking additional vitamins, minerals, proteins, or fats to ensure that you get all the nutrients you need. Supplementation can be administered orally, through tube feeding, or intravenously.
It can also be designed to provide specialized support to athletes. For instance, some supplements consist of high-protein products such as amino acid supplements, while others contain nutrients that promote metabolism, energy, and athletic performance and recovery. People who engage in intense physical activity may have a greater need for water-soluble vitamins, antioxidants, and certain minerals such as chromium. Sports drinks contain mixtures of electrolytes (salts) that the body loses during exercise and sweating, as well as vitamins, minerals, and herbs that promote performance. Nutritional supplements are products used to improve the diet and often contain vitamins, minerals, herbs, or amino acids.
They are associated with alternative medicine which encompasses a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not considered part of conventional medicine. The main types of nutritional supplements discussed here include herbal medicines, vitamins and minerals, and homeopathic remedies. The use of nutritional supplements has gained popularity in recent years among people with low blood pressure, and these products are widely available in the United States. Supplements can be purchased at a number of sources including retail stores such as pharmacies, health food stores, or grocery stores. They can also be obtained directly from health care providers who prescribe their use including some naturopaths, doctors of Chinese medicine, homeopaths, chiropractors, and doctors. A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement the diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder or liquid. It can provide nutrients extracted from food or synthetic sources to increase the amount of your intake.
The class of nutritional compounds includes vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids and amino acids. Dietary supplements may also contain substances that have not been confirmed to be essential for life but that are marketed as having a beneficial biological effect such as plant pigments or polyphenols. Animals can also be a source of supplement ingredients such as collagen from chickens or fish for example. They are also sold individually and in combination and can be combined with nutritious ingredients. The European Commission has also established harmonized standards to help ensure that food supplements are safe and properly labeled. Calcium supplementation is recommended for older people and women to strengthen bones and prevent bone loss. In addition a dietary supplement must be labeled as a dietary supplement and intended for ingestion and should not be represented as a conventional food or as the sole element of a meal or diet. Healthy eating habits can help optimize nutrition and supplement absorption and nutritional supplements cannot replace a diet that is not nutritionally balanced.
Multivitamin and multimineral supplements may also contain calcium although usually in smaller amounts. Nutritional supplements for animals are generally not subject to pre-market evaluation by licensing authorities to determine their purity safety or efficacy and may contain active pharmacological agents or unknown substances. Herbs can supplement the diet to help overall health or to encourage healing for specific conditions. In addition some supplements such as herbal medications that can stimulate processes in the body are best taken intermittently allowing the body occasional rest periods without the supplement. Little human research has been done on the possibility that dietary supplementation affects the risk of disease. In most cases of patients who die imminently almost all nutritional supplements can be discontinued except those that alleviate specific symptoms. Nutritional supplements such as lutein and zinc have conflicting evidence about their potential health benefits; however they are likely safe.
The possibility of using oral nutritional supplements (ONS) and enteral nutritional supplements should be considered in patients who do not reach the recommended level of protein and energy intake and who have characteristics of PEW such as involuntary weight loss low serum albumin levels and loss of body fat mass and muscle mass. Supplemental products are or contain vitamins nutritionally essential minerals amino acids essential fatty acids and non-nutritive substances extracted from plants or animals fungi or bacteria or in the case of probiotics are living bacteria. The claim to supplement with the branched-chain amino acids leucine valine and isoleucine is to stimulate muscle protein synthesis.
