The Importance of Health and Well-Being Through Nutritional Supplementation

April 6th, 2012

What is good health? Good health is simply the absence of disease. If this definition holds true, then almost all of us could not qualify for “good health” in the long run. This is because as we get older, we develop long-term illnesses such as hypertension, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Many of us wonder why this is so; why we fall prey to a lot of diseases as we get older. This is because our body slows down its metabolism as we grow older. As a result, we are overloaded with toxins and waste products which we could not eliminate due to a slower metabolism and gradual failure of our organ systems.

A slow metabolism is caused by improper nutrition and lack of exercise. We are surrounded with automated devices which cause us to become lazy. We watch too much television, we stare for long hours in the computer screen; we load our refrigerators with microwaveable food and our cupboards with canned and heavily-processed food. We are too lazy to walk to our offices, too lazy to go out and take a walk, too lazy to cook nutritious food, too lazy to go to the market and buy fruits and vegetables.

Little do we know that all these things kill us day by day. Lack of exercise slows down our metabolism and makes us accumulate fat in our abdomens. We continually eat heavily-processed food containing polyamines, too much salt and other dangerous chemical by-products of heating plastics and metals.

We age early. We accumulate these waste products and toxins in our bodies and our organs get overworked and later on, fail. As a result, our immune system fails us and we fall prey to a lot of diseases. We turn to prescription drugs which add toxins and poisons to our bodies. Our body fails, we develop long term diseases and we do not survive for a long time.

Our modern lives have many demands. We need to work in order to survive. We want to give our best to our families and loved ones. We want to live comfortably in wealth. We know that we need to shop for healthy food and that we need to eat nutritious fruits and vegetables daily. But what can we do? We work too hard because of our commitments. We want to earn money and survive so we work hard. We have limited time to prepare healthy food.

It is in this context that we may say that we are in bad need of nutritional supplementation. But why, you may ask.

First of all, unhealthy lifestyles brought about by the economic crisis are enough to deprive us of much-needed nutrients. If we have any nutritional deficiencies, we could easily succumb to illnesses. Nutritional supplements that contain important vitamins, minerals, nutrients, herbs and other elements could strengthen your immune system.

Doctors and even the FDA will agree that certain populations need daily nutritional supplementation. These special groups of people include the elderly, young children, pregnant women, women of reproductive age, people with medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, heart problems, and high cholesterol; people who are taking medicines long-term and those who are constantly dealing with stress. Thus it seems everyone needs nutritional supplementation.

Of course, nutritional supplements are not a substitute to a healthy balanced diet. Still, ideally, we need to eat from the basic food groups everyday. Unfortunately, because of this economic crisis we are in, we lack the time to prepare and cook these foods. Thus, to most of us, quality nutritional supplements hold the answer.

Diabetic Dietary Supplements – The Importance of Bitter Melon Extract in Managing Type 2 Diabetes

January 17th, 2012

Nutrition, exercise, and medication are the main tools used to manage type 2 diabetes. But sometimes these tools don’t seem to be enough, and this is where diabetic nutritional supplements and remedies may come in. Natural remedies for diabetes typically contain a variety of exotic-sounding plant extracts and nutrients. Each ingredient plays its own role in promoting better health. Let’s take a look at one ingredient that you may find in a supplement — bitter melon extract.

First, we need to understand how important it is for diabetics to keep tight control over blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and kidney disease in the U.S. Heart disease and stroke are epidemic among persons with this condition. Painful nerve damage is also a frequent result. However, all of these complications can be delayed or even prevented when diabetes is strictly managed.

It’s not easy to maintain balanced blood glucose levels, but it’s crucial. That’s why every diabetic supplement contains ingredients that help control or lower blood sugar and improve the way your body uses insulin. One such ingredient is bitter melon extract.

Used in traditional Asian medicine for many centuries, bitter melon is a tropical fruit that is gaining scientific attention. It seems to have several important benefits for persons with diabetes. First, it may lower fasting blood sugar and improve glucose tolerance. In addition, it appears to have properties similar to your own natural insulin. It may help repair cells in the pancreas, supporting the body’s natural production of insulin. Bitter melon may also assist the liver in utilizing glucose.

Bitter melon extract is only one of many botanical substances that appear to improve blood sugar control. Banaba leaf extract, cinnamon bark, and cayenne also seem to be helpful in this way. You are likely to find several or all of these ingredients (plus many others) in a properly formulated diabetic nutritional supplement. When you go shopping for such a product, review the detailed product information and note how many different ingredients it contains. In general, more is better, because the nutrients tend to work more effectively in combination.