Nutritional Health Supplements Guide

Archive for the ‘Super Supplements’ Category

It is one of the most recent health supplements that has reached such fame, and there is a reason for that. This is even thought to be the reason behind the French Paradox – a weird fact that the French live a healthy life even if they are known to smoke, and eat an unhelahty diet. They drink a lot of red wine that is the most common product made out of grapes – a fruit that is rich in resveratrol. After many many years of scientific studies the researchers have come to the conclusion that resveratrol is to blame for all this, hence there is a whole new industry refining and packaging it as anti-aging supplements. (more…)

When reading or talking about nutritional health supplements, you will often hear terms like herbs, herbal supplements, and botanicals being thrown around.  To most of us, these terms often have very vague meanings and we do not understand what, exactly, a botanical or herbal supplement is.  Well, lucky for you, you’re about to learn all about herbal and botanical nutritional health supplements.A botanical is a plant or part of a plant that is used for its medicinal (or therapeutic) properties.  Herbs are just certain types of botanicals, and nutritional supplements that are made from botanicals and herbs are often referred to as botanicals, botanical supplements, herbal supplements, or herbal remedies.  Many botanicals are manufactured, packaged, and sold as dietary supplements.

Botanical supplements can be prepared, packaged, and marketed in several different forms.  Many are sold as a tea, which is a dried form that the consumer later adds boiling water to.  Herbs and botanicals can also be found in their original plant or root form.  Many supplements contain extracts from herbs and botanicals and are sold in pill, capsule, or tablet form.

Many of the most popular nutritional supplements sold today are actually botanicals and herbal products.  Green tea, ginkgo biloba, and ginseng root are all common examples.  Ginseng, for example, is sold as a ground up root, in a tea form, and as an extract in the form of pills and capsules.  And while green tea has been around for centuries, new marketing such as green tea weight loss has created a surge in popularity. recently. (more…)

Among the many benefits people seek from taking various nutritional health supplements, increasing or maintaining memory and cognitive function (i.e. “brainpower”) is one of the most sought after reasons for taking nutritional supplements.  Nearly all of us would like to increase our memories and mental abilities, so let’s take a look at which health supplements are touted as food for the brain. 

• Antioxidants, especially Vitamin C and Beta Carotene.  Antioxidants protect cells throughout your entire body from oxidative stress and free radical damage.  Basically, this means that antioxidants protect your cells from premature damage and death, including those all important brain cells.  A natural antioxidant supplement may help protect your brain and, consequently, your memory and cognitive ability. 
• B Vitamins.  While it is generally a good idea to take a good multi vitamin supplement for your general health, your B Vitamins, particularly B6, folic acid, and choline, have a significant impact on your mental ability and memory.  Some studies even show that choline may be helpful in preventing memory loss to due the natural aging process.  If you are not getting these important B Vitamins with your multi-vitamin, you may want to make sure you get them from a seperate nutritional health supplement.
• Omega 3 fatty acids.  Omega 3 fatty acids are the trendy supplements today.  They are attributed with a wide variety of benefits, especially with cardiovascular benefits and preventing heart and stroke problems.  Omega 3′s also have been shown to boost mental abilities and cognitive function, perhaps through its cardiovascular role and improving bloodflow to the brain.  Omega 3′s are most commonly found in fish.  Since it is difficult for many people to get adequate omega 3′s from diet alone, many people turn to omega 3 supplements or fish oil supplements.

While many brain boosting nutrients are found naturally in the diet, very few people are able to get adequate amounts of these nutrients naturally.  If you are looking to boost your brainpower, taking nutritional health supplements with these nutrients would be a smart bet. 

One of the hottest selling nutritional health supplements today are fish oil supplements, which are also known as omega 3 supplements.  But why is everyone going crazy about fish oil and omega 3 fatty acids?  Well there is a whole laundry list of reasons why.  However, this much is definitely clear:  if you are not currently taking fish oil capsules, you need to get on board and pick up some omega 3 nutritional supplements right now!

While the popularity of health supplements in general continues to grow, the sales of fish oil supplements is exploding at an even faster pace.  Fish oil supplements are important because they contain omega 3 fatty acids, a type of fat that has all kinds of great benefits for your health.  Recent research has uncovered several possible benefits of omega 3′s, accounting for the popularity of these nutritional health supplements.

Benefits of Omega 3 Fish Oil

Omega 3 fatty acids are actually a type of fat that is necessary for your survival.  However, most of our diets include very little omega 3 fats, and way too much other types of fat (omega 6′s, etc.).  Recent research has shown that supplementing your regular diet with fish oil capsules can lead to some of the following health benefits:

• Lower Cholesterol.  Omega 3′s work to lower your “bad” cholesterol.  If you don’t know what this means for your health, let me just say this.  A healthier cholesterol basically means much less chance of stroke, heart attack, heart disease, hypertension or high blood pressure, and a much longer, healthier life!
• Less Inflammation. Omega 3 nutritional health supplements act as anti-inflammatories.  This means less pain and can help fight inflammation related disorders such as rhumetoid arthritis.  Reduced inflammation also promotes circulatory, or vascular, health.
• Better Mental Health. Fish oil has been shown to help alleviate symptoms of depression and to boost overall mood in many studies.  Another possible benefit uncovered by research is more focus and mental energy.
• Prevent Cancer. Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to help prevent several types of cancer.

The evidence is clear: omega 3 nutritional supplements can help you feel much better and lead a much healthier life.  If you are not already, you should start supplementing your diet with omega 3 fish oil as soon as possible.  Fish oil capsules are definitely a do it all, essential nutritional health supplement.

Most people who are bodybuilding, weight training, or training for any type of sport use nutritional health supplements to help them train more effectively and efficiently.  In this article, we will primarily focus on bodybuilding supplements for those who are trying to get stronger, get bigger, and gain muscle in general.  Nutritional supplements are absolutely crucial if you are doing any kind of weight training.  These supplements are nothing like steroids and are, for the most part, totally safe and healthy.  However, you will not even come close to getting the results that you want from your training efforts unless you take at least a couple of these weight training supplements.  Let’s take a look at some of the most common supplements taken by your average weight trainer.

• Protein.  Protein is a basic nutrient that is required for human life, but it is also essential to building muscle.  While we all ingest protein with in our daily diets, we need much larger amounts of protein when trying to build muscle.  Most experts recommend ingesting between 1 and 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.  So, if you weigh 100 lbs, you would want to intake between 100 and 150 grams of protein per day.  However, too much protein can be hard on your kidneys, so do not go overboard and be sure to drink plenty of water. I will add a full article about protein eventually, but generally why protein is the most effective type. 
• Creatine.  This is probably the most popular bodybuilding supplement in history, and for good reason.  Creatine is proven to quickly and effectively promote gains in muscle size when combined with a weight training regimen and proper diet.  Studies have shown that creatine can increase energy, strength, and muscle mass and also reduces recovery time.  A pretty amazing supplement!  Creatine occurs naturally in the body in small doses.  Side effects of creatine supplements could include dehydration and cramping, and it is also speculated that creatine may be tough on the kidneys.  It is important to drink plenty of extra water while taking creatine and even after you stop taking it, since it builds up in the body.  Avoid excessive heat and use caution when performing extensive aerobic exercise: be sure to drink extra extra extra water and fluids!

If you are new to weight training and/or do not want to spend a lot of money right away, a protein supplement would be the one product you should definitely get.  If you do not get enough protein, you simply cannot build and maintain muscle.  After protein, creatine is the next must have bodybuilding nutritional supplement.  The effects will speak for themselves.  After these two, you may want to consider some of these other bodybuilding supplements as well. 

• Nitric Oxide.  Also known by its chemical symbol NO, nitric oxide has recently become quite popular among bodybuilding and weight training supplement enthusiasts.  NO is a gas that has many, many functions in the body but, essentially, can work to increase the flow of blood in the body.  Increased blood flow translates to more nutrients and energy being delivered to the muscles, resulting in less fatigue and longer, more effective workouts, and longer muscle building phases in the body. 
• Testosterone Boosters.  Testosterone boosters are easily the most controversial nutritional supplement mentioned in this article.  Proponents claim these products boost the natural production of testosterone in the body while, unlike steroids, staying within the “normal” range of testosterone.  Some critics claim these products are largely ineffective while, on the other end of the spectrum, others claim these products are practically legal steroids.  Despite these criticisms, testosterone boosters such as ZMA continue to be best sellers for manufacturers of nutritional health supplements. 

People take nutritional health supplements for numerous reasons. One of the most popular reasons is to slow or stop the aging process.  Society today is obsessed with youth and preserving it as much as possible.  As a result, the sale of dietary supplements aimed at curbing the aging process has boomed in the past few years.  Which nutritional supplements are useful as anti aging agents and how do they work?  Read on to find out.

Antioxidants are nutrients that, in general, help to absorb free radicals in the body.  These free radicals are thought to cause “aging” and many aging related diseases and conditions, particularly many cancers.  Some even go so far as to believe that free radicals play a large role in the actual aging process, causing many of the outward signs of aging such as wrinkles.  By increasing your intake of antioxidants, some believe it is possible to significantly slow the aging process and gain protection against aging related cancers and diseases.

Many vitamins such as vitamins A, C, and E are types of antioxidants.  However, there are numerous other types of antioxidants, and different antioxidants are needed to absorb the many different types of free radicals that occur in the body.  A healthy, well balanced diet can provide many such antioxidants.  However, to truly help slow the aging process, many turn to an antioxidant supplement for their health and anti aging needs.

Some other important antioxidants found in health supplements include:

Acai Juice or Acai Berry: This is a powerful antioxidant that has rapidly gained popularity.  You can read more about Acai juice benefits here.

Ginkgo Biloba. Ginkgo is one of the most popular nutritional health supplements in the world, and is taken for everything from increased memory and brain power, eyesight, hearing, better circulation throughout the body, and more energy.  Ginkgo contains very powerful antioxidants.

Green Tea. An important source of antioxidants thought to help circulation and heart health, Green Tea is also touted as important to your overall well being.

Turmeric, Hawthorn, Red Clover, and Bilberry. These dietary supplements are all contain important antioxidants that promote better circulation and cardiovascular health, digestion and liver health, and eyesight.  These supplements also all include various anti aging properties.

Alpha Lipoic Acid or ALA.  ALA is one of the most powerful antioxidants, and is crucial to inhibiting the aging process.  The nutritional health supplement ALA works in tandem with Vitamin C and Vitamin E to help keep you looking and feeling youthful and healthy.

Vitamins are essential nutrients for all living organisms.  Most vitamins, however, cannot be produced naturally in the body in sufficient quantities and, therefore, must be obtained in the diet.  Still, most people do not ingest the recommended amounts of vitamins in their regular diet.  For these people, nutritional health supplements are an important and vital source of vitamins.  Humans require a total of thirteen different vitamins.  Vitamins A, D, E, and K are all fat soluble, meaning they are absorbed in the intestinal track with the help of fatty acids or lipids.  Vitamin C and the entire group of B Vitamins are water soluble:  they are easily dissolved in water.  

A long term shortage in your vitamin intake can result in malnourishment, disease, and death.  A chronic vitamin deficiency in the body can often lead to avitaminosis, which is any disease caused by a long term vitamin deficiency.  For example, up until 1749, many sailors suffered from a disease known as scurvy while they were away at sea.  The condition caused bleeding, severe pain, and death, and the cause was unknown.  Finally, in 1749, it was discovered that eating citrus fruits would prevent the disease entirely.  Scurvy was simply the result of a Vitamin C deficiency.  With some vitamins, there is also the danger of an overdose.  If you are taking several different vitamin supplements, you should be sure to make sure you are not taking too much of any one vitamin. 

Taking vitamin and multivitamin supplements is a great way to maintain or improve your health and nutrition.  Still, it is important to choose your supplements very carefully.  However, it is also important to understand that a multivitamin alone is not the answer.  Nutritional health supplements should be included as part of a well balanced, healthy diet to each maximum benefit for your health.