Dietary Supplements Misunderstood

 

Dietary supplement can interchangeably be called nutritional supplement, vitamins or minerals supplement. As the name suggest – they are taken, intended to add nutritional value to a diet. Supplement comes from the word supply, after all…in this sense to supply a deficiency and can be taken in the form of pills, powdered drink, some times as herbs. But, it is not always the case, some take supplements to boost particular bodily functions. For one, athletes may take electrolytic drinks which contain sodium and potassium – needed for fluid balance. Too much sweating (and many other factors) can cause dehydration, in an athlete’s or fitness buff’s case, they need to retain an amount of the mentioned minerals to avoid such.

   

Creatine or amino acids are also popular examples of supplements, taken in to build muscle mass. And, this is where misunderstanding of supplements comes in. While “facebooking”, a friend tagged me in a post asking what I had for dinner, says she’s a but hungry. I jokingly replied that  I only have protein shakes to offer. She asked back “are you weightlifting?” — My friend readily assumed that protein shakes are only for bodybuilders…which is partly true but in my case, it is a supplement to add up protein in my diet and help repair muscle tissues just after workout, which is what it is mostly taken for. Normally, I’d have protein bars but protein shakes are great to have too.

Another misconception people tend to have about supplements comes with the notion of taking them as drugs – linked to those abused substances. Just like when one hears “steroid” – thoughts of illegal implications we hear from news and such comes to mind. (Argggh, what media can do.) Just the same when one hears supplements for military the thought of Captain America getting all bulky from such a tiny frame may be recalled. ^_^ It is but perhaps normal for any man in the service to have supplements and perform at their best in any given situation. To keep them awake when patrolling at night and make them fit and ready. But, I’m not really knowledgeable of the stuff they take so let me put a period to that.

Supplements should not be seen in a negative light, even the people of old used natural ways to supplement their diets, take ginseng (still is used today) and limeys for example. Ginseng’s supposed benefits are for aphrodisia, stimulants, type II diabetes, or for sexual dysfunction in men. Limeys are lemon juice or lime juice to the sailors’ daily ration of watered-down rum (known as grog), in order to prevent scurvy. Thing is, one must know when and why he or she should take supplements and before doing so it is best to consult a nutritionist and dietitian. And as with everything, moderation is the key.