A lot of health consumers are confused by the vast array of different products on the health market and their claims.
Each product promotes it's individual merits and it is very difficult to work out what to buy for general wellness r what might benefit a specific condition.
In this article I will try and answer the main questions that you may have. I should say, however, that I can only talk generally from person experience and from working for many years in the Natural Health field providing customers with the best products for their health.
Definitions
First of all, let's define the terms:
Superfood: Any natural food that contains particularly high levels of nutrients, or one or more specific nutrients considered to be particularly beneficial to overall health or a particular illness or condition.
Vitamins: A specific group of organic nutrients that are present in food considered to be vital to life. Individual vitamins can be obtained from food, also known as phyto nutrients (meaning from plants), or they are sometimes extracted from plants or manufactured in a factory by duplicating the chemical makeup.
Mineral: Groups of inorganic compounds that are derived from food, or water that are considered vital to health.
Multivitamins: A combination of many different vitamins that have been isolated and placed in a combination thought to be beneficial for the health. These are usually manufactured but some are a combination of naturally extracted vitamins.
Superfoods
Superfoods are great for general health. Although many do benefit specific illnesses or body conditions this is because they are foods with a high concentration of nutrients.
In areas of the world where there are food shortages the problem they have is malnutrition or starvation. The food is usually grown in good soil using traditional farming methods. When they get enough food they are usually healthier than the western person, what kills most people in poor countries is malnutrition and disease. In the West we have solved the problem of starvation and disease by industrial farming methods (growing the food in huge fields on the same soil, over and over again, using artificial fertilizers and insecticides to kill the bugs). While this increases the yields of protein and carbohydrate, solving the immediate starvation problem, it also means the soil has no time to replenish its mineral content, meaning there is a lack mineral content in the foods. On top of this antibiotics and other medicines (while essential for fighting disease) also kill the beneficial flora in the intestine and bowel, leading to digestive problems and immune deficiency. Add to this the habit of eating cheap processed food with little or no nutritional content, this all adds up to an epidemic of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and many others deadly conditions.
Superfoods are one answer to this, but it depends on the superfood and where it is sourced from. Broccoli and Spinach are two vegetables that are considered super foods, but the nutritional content varies. It depends were and how it is grown. Vegetables grown organically to the Soil Association standard are the best.
There are many high nutrition content Superfoods out there, it just depends how they are grown. You can make a huge difference to your health by including 5 servings of colored vegetables a day in your diet, be sure to eat a goodvariety to ensure you get all the nutrition you need. There are certain foods however that are Super Superfoods if you like. These are Gobi Berries, Cacao (raw chocolate), Maca, Bee Products (Honey Bee Pollen etc.)Spirulina ( a form of blue/green Algae) ,Blue Green Algae, from Klamath Lake Oregon, Marine Phytoplankton, Aloe Vera, Hempseed and Coconuts. All have benefits; some are beneficial because they have concentrations of special nutrients, some have high concentrations of many nutrients, some contain both.
My personal preferences, in terms of sheer concentration of nutrients are the algae products. Seaweed is a sea alga, so I include this in this category as well.
My personal preference is Spirulina.
To declare my interest, I do sell the stuff, but I was very happy to take the job as I already knew about it and already was taking it myself. So, although I sell Spirulina for a living, I also take it daily. I wonder if McDonald's salesmen eat their product every day. Who knows, maybe they do. Spirulina is particularly good as it is up to 60% protein, fat more than meat or fish, and contains all the essential amino acids and many non-essential ones and is rich in rare nutrients. Check out my website and you can get the full nutritional breakdown there and also a free download of a very good book on the subject. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Superfoods are great for general health, athletes, persons recovering from illnesses, persons with Diabetes, recovering from Chemotherapy, or anyone who simply feels rundown.
Vitamins
Vitamins are very useful for correcting specific imbalances in the body; I personally wouldn't take them for general health. It is far better to get that from taking a good superfood like Spirulina and a variety of fruit and vegetables. You should always consult a qualified health practitioner before taking specific vitamins for a health condition. Some vitamins can also cause an imbalance when taken on their own, B vitamins, for example, taken individually in high concentrations can cause a reaction. Once again, check out carefully the source of your vitamins before buying, cheap low quality vitamin tablets usually aren't worth it, go for capsules as you will be getting more for you money without all the fillers and binders that go into the tablet.
Multivitamins
These are a combination of specific vitamins designed for health. They can be beneficial but the problem is vitamins and minerals work together in combination with each other, along with enzymes. The balances and combinations in food have been evolved over billions of years, little is known about these complex relationships. So once again, diet is a better option for general health.
Minerals
There are a variety of minerals and multi minerals on the market. Some minerals, such as iron cannot be absorbed by some people unless they are in phyto nutrient form. The best way to get your minerals is to eat an algae based product which is rich in minerals, especially the sea algae, but Spirulina is good too.
Summary
In summary, before buying any health product, check its source, is it organic? Where does it come from? Cheap usually means rubbish, this applies when buying anything, but in the case of vitamins and minerals you can spend money and get no benfit, so don't be afraid to ask the supplier specific questions about where the product comes from and how it is grown or made, and read reviews on the internet.
I hope this article is useful.
If you want to ask me any questions, simply contact me via my website
Note, this article can be used by anyone providing I am acknowldged as the author and the entire article is published, including my website link.
