by Raine Saunders

Created on: August 15, 2009

Although it is important to obtain vitamins and minerals from eating healthy foods, most of us need supplementation to fill in the gaps where diet leaves off. In modern life, multiple factors affect why we do not receive adequate nutrition simply from eating, such as busy schedules and ever-present temptations to eat unhealthy, processed foods. In addition, nutrient content of modern food is compromised due to soil erosion, processing, pollution, and changes in farming methods. According to the FDA, we must intake more fruits and vegetables in a day than most of us are capable of consuming. If eating a perfect diet seems difficult - if not impossible to maintain -the best way to ensure you receive more of what you need to stay healthy and reduce risk of disease and illness is through proper supplementation.

Are you confused and overwhelmed?

In the health food market there are many vitamin and mineral supplements from which to choose, and most people take supplements not knowing exactly what their bodies need. There is also a vast difference between high-quality vitamin and mineral supplements and those manufactured with lesser attention to ingredients, and which contain fillers and chemicals. There are a variety of products available in many different price ranges. All claim to provide health benefits. How do you know which products are good quality? Just as everyone has unique needs and requirements, each product offers different benefits. Some products offer little to no benefit, and not all products work for everyone. That's why taking something you buy from the store without knowing whether you need it can be a waste of time and money. It can also offset your health in a negative way.

The right choice for your body

A supplement from a whole-food based, organically-produced source containing phytonutrients and co-factors will provide more benefits for health than a synthetically-produced one. Phytonutrients are specific organic components of plants which promote health. A co-factor is an organic molecule or ion (usually a metal ion) required by an enzyme for its activity. These are elements found in foods which allow their nutrients to become available to your body. Whole-foods based products provide nutrients necessary for health from a source in which those nutrients are naturally found. Synthetically produced vitamin and mineral supplements contain isolated nutrients with lower potency that are produced in a laboratory, and are inferior to the naturally-occurring

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