The use of food supplements, should be grounded and low therapeutic counseling, supporting their need or no need even if favorable conditions are consistent with the quality of life of the individual.
There is a wide social use of concepts like, orthomolecular nutrition, food supplements, food supplements or nutraceuticals and functional foods; related terms to a large range of products available in pharmacies and specialist, or establishments.
This article seeks to define the concept of food supplement to the meaning of its use, clarify ideas and provide a base, not be based on science, away from understandable to be applied under reasonable judgment criterion.
What are Food Supplements?
The Dictionary of Terminology Health Sciences (MeSH) defines food supplement (dietary supplement) as that product in capsule, lozenge or liquid form that provides essential nutrients, vitamins, essential minerals, proteins, active ingredients from plant or similar nutrients.
Nutritional supplement or nutraceutical, supplement are synonyms for a range of products, presented in dosage form, i.e. at doses in which a unit has known precisely the amount of a nutrient or active ingredient obtained from a food substrate, animal, or plant.
Excluded from the definition of food as such, whether products as raw material, processed, or functional foods and herbal medicine in the form of infusions, decoctions or aromatherapy.
What food supplements you use?
Has a different application the use of allopathic medicine vision; This applies to the rapid elimination of symptoms and has all its meaning in acute conditions or critical, in which the individual has an important functional imbalance. Its use is mechanistic, which is basic act on key points or vital organs of metabolism in risk.
The criterion of nutritional supplementation has enabler character, its valuation makes sense in situations reset functionality, emerging pictures or strictly individual, as a preventive system.
The nutraceutical facilitates functional awaken the body in a natural physiological process and tend to stay in a harmonious situation, enhancing health status favoring the “metabolic self”. It is the vitality of the person itself that facilitates convenient movement and use of the active ingredients of dietary origin.
The meaning of health food supplementation
Supplementation refers to a “post-something” or support concept “something” already exists in this “something” is inescapable balanced diet, occupying the first position in an integrated therapy welfare system.
Fresh, seasonal, proximity, ecological, even better, if they come from biodynamic farming: the following are considered food at its finest vitality. We also consider cooking simple and varied by adjusting the proportions of protein, along with guidelines adapted to our biorhythm.
Under this criterion is known that food has its own personality, and therefore its specific functional activity in our metabolism.
The therapeutic supplementation is meaningless without progressive modulation of food as a fundamental base, situations arising from:
- Active observation of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
- The experiences of Dr. C. Kousmine, Dr. J. Seignalet or Dr. Roger J. Williams, among others, demonstrating the efficiency of a nutritional plan adapted individually.
- Studies chrono nutrition.
Support the orthomolecular nutrition, diet and supplementation combining wisely.
Nutritional support, but a vital force reinforcement from food, supported by well chosen products that compensate deficiencies in situations of lifestyle or specific life periods are not looking.
It makes no sense taking antioxidants for cancer prevention if our diet lacks this approach and our lifestyles are not consistent.
How are they used?
Skill in the wisdom of food supplements is essential both knowledge of metabolic processes, including biochemical mechanisms availability and uptake at the cellular level.
Should take into account the characteristics of intake, and synergies between different compounds to enhance their bioavailability.
Different substances, either amino acids or enzymes, fat soluble vitamins or minerals, and especially water soluble, have very different characteristics in making characteristics.
The use of food supplements, should be grounded and low therapeutic counseling, supporting their need or no need even if favorable conditions are consistent with the quality of life of the individual.
Supplementation is not an alternative to “just in case”, much less a direct substitution of allopathic medicine, “instead of taking a pill … I take another ..”. This focus reflects a trend toward culturally disease, ignoring the real work: aware of our balance and make conscious transformations under our freedom for health.
Current Situation
The comprehensive presentation on different circuits market and variety of brands, required in selecting a tuned technical criteria and objective, apart from considerations of trademarks:
- Getting raw materials and processing.
- Purity.
- Concentration.
- Presentation format.
- Synergies of combinations.
The practitioner’s task is to have an independent information base to provide certainty in using: scientifically reliable data bases, and revisions from which will expand a range of possibilities still incipient.
Every time he has more representative studies on the effectiveness of nutraceuticals, it is little research supported on being obtained results give much security in various applications.
Right now incorporated allopathic medicine increasingly widespread nutritional supplementation, especially in preventive treatment or post-treatment after medical discharge, therefore it has increased knowledge and awareness in the application logic. There is great interest even greater statistical evidence is needed.
Nevertheless, one should not ignore the careful observation and scientific method, both the patient and the therapist / doctor, fleeing from a strictly positivist approach because “the human system” goes far beyond the valuation under a pill-parameter …