INTEGRATORI O ALIMENTI? - IoBoscoVivo Srl

SUPPLEMENTS OR FOODS?

In recent years, the use of food supplements to combat tiredness, to prevent colds, natural supplements to lower cholesterol, supplements for diabetes or immune system supplements, vitamin D supplements, etc. has become increasingly popular. they can find an infinity, for every need and/or condition for which the consumer deems it necessary to hire them.

First of all, let's clarify: the Ministry of Health tells us that "Food supplements are: food products intended to SUPPLEMENT the common diet and which constitute a concentrated source of nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, or of other substances having a nutritional or physiological, in particular, but not exclusively, amino acids, essential fatty acids, fibers and extracts of vegetal origin, both monocompound and multicompound, in pre-dosed forms".

We can say that these are products that should SUPPLEMENT OUR DIET, and therefore fill the gaps that a normal healthy diet cannot fill due to subjective issues that vary from person to person.

The purpose of their use is to prevent states of malnutrition and for this reason supplementation should only be taken into consideration if our usual diet is not sufficient to satisfy the needs of certain nutrients.

What we must always keep in mind is that our health, psychophysical well-being and the efficiency of the body depend on a correct intake of nutritional principles taken during meals. Too often, the importance of a balanced diet is overlooked, which is fundamental for all those who want to stay healthy. Physiological balance largely depends on how we eat and when we do not consume the right amount of calories and nutrients, situations of underweight or overweight or nutritional deficiencies can occur.

In reality, what happens more and more often is that each of us makes a "self-prescription" of these products, based on hearsay or advice we find on the web, without first evaluating the real need for that particular vitamin or mineral or other nutrient we are taking. This happens because we perceive supplements as substances without side effects as they can be purchased without the need for any medical prescription, leading in some cases to taking too high doses and using incorrect methods and therefore being unsafe for our health. Furthermore, in some cases, even if it does not produce damage, the integration of certain substances in non-necessary conditions can be useless as our body simply eliminates them and in this case the damage is only in economic terms given the high cost of these products.

So what is better to choose?

There is a lot of difference between taking a substance from food rather than taking it isolated in a supplement!! In fact, in the food each component acts in synergy with other macronutrients and/or microelements contained in the food itself, and this contributes to the absorption and assimilation process as well as influencing the effects related to it.

To demonstrate this there are several studies published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition for example in relation to the supplementation of β-carotene supplements and the risk of cancer. What emerges from these studies is that there is a significant correlation between supplementation with β-carotene in capsules and an increased risk of developing various forms of cancer including lung, stomach and prostate cancer, a situation which is instead totally reversed by proving protective if the intake of β-carotene occurs through diet and therefore through the consumption of foods rich in β-carotene.

To conclude, it is good to say that nutrition, in most cases, represents the best choice to be able to take in all the substances our body needs and in the appropriate quantities. This does not mean demonizing the use of supplements which in some cases may be essential but it is important to use them consciously and under medical supervision.

So why don't you try actual shiitake mushroom as a food instead of looking for shiitake mushroom supplements? Or instead of taking a vitamin D supplement, why not choose foods naturally rich in this vitamin? You will thus be able to benefit from all the nutritional characteristics of the product as well as feeling greater satisfaction in being able to eat something concrete and really good!!

Discover dried and granulated IoBoscoVivo Shiitake mushrooms on our website, organic foods rich in vitamin D and a source of fiber and proteins! https://shop.ioboscovivo.it/collections/all

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