Health epidemics like rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes are sweeping the nation and nutritional advice has been more conflicting. Does keto diet help? Should you be vegan? Should you take supplements?
The supplements vs food debate has been going on ever since pharmaceutical companies realized nutrients can be bottled and bring benefits to the community. Supplements are often recommended by doctors and health workers for different issues. Should you focus more on supplements? Or pay attention to what you eat?
Are supplements better than getting nutrients from food?
Vitamins and minerals might be insignificant but they play an important role in correct functioning of our bodies. This includes creating red blood cells to keep our eyes in top condition. Deficiencies in different vitamins and minerals can lead to severe, negative effects. One of the examples is iron deficiency, which can cause fatigue, heart palpitations and many other symptoms.
What kind of vitamins do you need? And what’s the difference between whole food and synthetic vitamins?
You may think of ways to be healthy, such as meditating to minimize stress, go on a run, get some exercise or make a nutritious meal. You may still have low energy or other underlying health issues. Vitamin supplements can fill in the gaps where your diet may be lacking, but what’s the difference between synthetic and natural whole food vitamins?
Here’s the difference between synthetic and natural whole food vitamins:
Synthetic vitamins: Made from chemicals to mimic the natural way your body absorbs nutrients from food
Whole food vitamins: Usually they are condensed and concentrated from fruits and vegetables to make natural vitamins for your body
Vitamins are organic molecules you need, but your body can’t product them
You used to be able to get all the vitamins necessary for your body solely from healthy diet, but now, our food is less nutritious. Even avoiding food with GMOs, having organic produce, our food still contain less nutrients than in the past. Thus, vitamins are still necessary because of the current food production process.
Our soil is stripped of its nutritional value due to the depletion of the fields because of overuse, repeat planting in the exact area, causing the soil unable to renew itself. The current trends are causing the soil to be depleted at a rate of 10 times the amount more than it can replenish itself. That’s why farming methods is essential. Conventional farming techniques compensate by adding pesticides and fertilizers, but end up harming the harvest products. Pesticides limit the action of beneficial microbes in the soil to regenerate and help plants produce nutrients. Whilst the fertilizers do not take into account all the essential trace minerals or organic components, containing only certain key chemicals. When your body is not ingesting enough, it will only crave more and more, just because your body wants to get more nutrients.
Algae Superfood – Whole Food Nutrient for Everyone
If you have been immersed into the healthy food world, superfoods called Spirulina and Chlorella will not sound foreign to you. But what exactly are they? And is there any differences between the two?
Both Spirulina and Chlorella are micro-algae found in bodies of water, containing all the essential powerful nutrients to boost your immune health as well as healing other ailments of the body. Spirulina, the bright blue-green algae, is incredibly rich with nutrients and full of protein, antioxidants, amino acids, vitamin B12, iron, minerals and chlorophyll. Whilst chlorella has a bright green colour and contains high amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates.
It’s often recommended to take spirulina and chlorella to get the maximum benefits from these two superfoods due to their high levels of chlorophyll and different cell structures. Both also complement each other to detox and flush out toxins, pesticides and heavy metals from the body. Many people also experience body energy improvement as a result taking these two superfoods regularly, and especially those above 50 years old, who faced with nutritional deficiencies, restricted diets and low energy levels. Brain function enhancement is another benefit of these superfoods. The fatty acid GLA is reported to be responsible for brain function improvement, including increase in memory, mental focus and stamina.
Spirulina and Chlorella are the best sources of nutrients known to man. Thus, taking both together brings uncountable health benefits to us. They contain all the nutrients the body needs in natural form and in optimal ratios. Say bye-bye to nutritional deficiencies and say hello to a healthier you.
References:
1. Bito T, Okumura E, Fujishima M, Watanabe F. Potential of Chlorella as a Dietary Supplement to Promote Human Health. Nutrients. 2020 Aug 20;12(9):2524. doi: 10.3390/nu12092524. PMID: 32825362; PMCID: PMC7551956.
2. Finamore A, Palmery M, Bensehaila S, Peluso I. Antioxidant, Immunomodulating, and Microbial-Modulating Activities of the Sustainable and Ecofriendly Spirulina. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017;2017:3247528. doi: 10.1155/2017/3247528. Epub 2017 Jan 15. PMID: 28182098; PMCID: PMC5274660.