Overview
A great aid to nutrition and health, supplements are used by many in many different forms. Some people have them just as part of their routine to maintain a healthy lifestyle and others have specific supplements that are being used to help with certain health conditions. There are a lot of different kinds of supplements and one can choose the one that they need. The prices vary just as much as the number of supplements and the brands that produce them.
Description
Supplements have been used for thousands of years in various forms; first people would take herbs given by the holistic doctors of ancient times; today certified physicians recommend supplements one can purchase in the form of tablets and capsules.
Given that supplements are comparatively milder in action, it may take time for the effects to be more noticeable.
The different kinds of supplements
The broad classification could be minerals, amino acids, oils, enzymes, vitamins and herbs. The minerals include things such as magnesium, zinc, iron and folate. The amino acid segment has supplements such as arginine, glutathione and glutamine. Oils are used as supplements as they have the nutritional value from whatever they are extracted, one of the most common is fish oil. This contains Omega-3 which helps with heart health and more.
Enzyme supplements one can take include lipase, amylase or papain. For vitamins, one can find supplements that have individual vitamins as well as multi-vitamins. The individuals have a single kind so it could be vitamin-C, vitamin-K and so on. The multi-vitamin can be a mix of the various vitamins packed into one tablet so you have a mixed range to get nutrition from.
Herbs are another form of supplement that are used to get natural health benefits from various plants. This list is huge and can include anything from ginger to turmeric, to Ginko Biloba to ginseng, elderberry, ashwagandha and many many more. All these various plants have their own specific advantages.
Outside of these main categories, it is also common to find precursors to hormones, such as 5 HTP which is used by the body to make the hormone serotonin.
Comments
People have found supplements to help with many ails, but they are usually not wonder cures for severe illnesses. The idea of having supplements, in general, is to consistently have one or the other; making it more about a healthy lifestyle that helps your body. One has to choose based on what their needs are, some are good for inflammation, look after nerve health while others are used to improve one's joints. Given the wide array of options, you could find a supplement for almost whatever your needs are.
Some people may have a reaction to specific supplements and should be careful; herbs may cause allergic reactions for some people.
The price of supplements varies a lot. Prices are different for different things and then also depending on what brand produced them. One could find cheaper alternatives to almost all of them but they may not be as effective as their more expensive counterparts.
