Do You Really Need to Take Supplements? The answer is YES!
The health and wellness industry is booming and there are more companies making supplements than ever before. But are supplements really worth the hype (and price)? We take a look at why nutritional supplements are worth it and what you should consider when choosing one or more nutritional supplements.
Do you really need supplements? The simple answer is YES! There are many reasons why this is the case. So we'll try to bust some of the myths and tell you why supplements can benefit your health and well-being. (More information on Aarja Health products can be read here... )
People experience more stress
Be it family, financial, work war or pandemic related, people are feeling higher levels of stress (and rightfully so). But what does stress have to do with supplements? Well, first of all we have to consider the diet. When we consume a variety of nutritious, whole foods, it is safe to assume that supplementation may not be necessary because the diet would contain the necessary nutrients to support health.
When the body is exposed to stress, however, our digestive capacity is significantly affected. So even if you eat healthy foods, your body may not digest them properly, making it much more difficult to absorb the nutrients. In this case, supplements can provide nutrients in highly accessible forms that are easy to digest, absorb and assimilate. With little to no effort, the body can get the nutrition it needs to deal with the effects of stress.
Food is not what it used to be
We may not want to admit it, but foods just aren't what they used to be. We use pesticides and chemicals to mass produce food. We choose products to be able to produce large quantities, not for quality or nutrient density. Agriculture favors what is easy to harvest, not what is best for our bodies. But what does this mean for us?
The soil is constantly drained of nutrients due to the requirement to produce food to feed billions of people. So the soil that once nourished our plant life now lacks the natural nutrients and minerals it was once full of. For our food, this means less nutritious products and that animals (and people) get less nutritional value for the food they eat. Although there are small farms that focus on sustainable farming practices, it is not economically possible for most people to eat this way, or for most farms to grow this way. What can you do about it? Support sustainable agriculture whenever possible and supplement your diet with safe, effective nutrients to fill the gaps left by our current diet/food.
Our digestive health affects our ability to absorb and assimilate nutrients.
With the increasing use of antibiotics, our digestive capacity as a whole has been significantly affected. What many people don't realize is that our gut bacteria play an important role in digesting food, but also in producing nutrients that help us maintain optimal health. The bacteria in the small intestine, for example, are known for their importance in the production of B vitamins, which not only help us in the metabolism of food, but also our mental health.
So when these bacteria have been wiped out several times over the course of our lives through various antibiotic treatments, each time our gut has to rebuild a fragile and incredibly important ecosystem that supports our well-being. In addition to this, our less fiber-rich diet with the rise of the Western diet means less prebiotic "food" for the bacteria to live and thrive on. This can lead to significant changes to our gut microbiome that favor pathogenic bacteria that are harmful to health and digestion. It is thus not only the digestive process that is affected, but also the bacteria that produce useful nutrients become fewer, while bacteria that produce harmful substances increase - a triple negative result!
How to choose a safe and effective dietary supplement
Of course, not all supplements are created equal. In fact, some are even more harmful to health than beneficial. Why? It's all about the ingredients. While some brands maintain reputations for safe and pure ingredients, others are less concerned about quality. While some brands take time and care to create supplements without unnecessary additives, others can't be bothered. But with this huge variation in quality, how can you be sure you're choosing a good quality supplement? There are a few things to look for in supplements:
Openness and transparency
It's usually a pretty good indication of quality when a company is open and honest about its production methods. If they are proud of their facilities, the origin of the ingredients and are happy to give customers an insight into the manufacturing process, you can be sure that they at least have high standards when it comes to cleanliness.
List of ingredients
If you look at a supplement's ingredients list and see a whole bunch of extra ingredients (besides the nutrients claimed on the label), that's usually an indication of declining quality. Why? Because all these extra additives also have to be processed by the body. Not all have health benefits, and many are actually harmful to health. So one has to ask how does supplementing with all these additives affect the body? Is it even worth taking?
Quality assurance
Unfortunately, what you see on the label is not always what you get. In many cases, the actual content of active ingredients can be very different from what is stated, so you can get much less (or much more) than what you paid for. If you want to support your health in a safe and effective way, this is simply not acceptable. Companies with a good quality assurance program therefore test each raw material to ensure that they are exactly as expected.
Certifications
If the company and/or manufacturer has spent time and effort maintaining food safety certifications, that is another good indicator of quality. As health and safety certificates are both expensive and time-consuming to maintain, companies that are more interested in profit than efficiency will focus more on bottom line than achieving a higher standard than required.
So where does Aarja Health stand in all this? We at Aarja Health are proud to own our own factory which was once used for manufacturing pharmaceuticals. Over the years, we have maintained the high standards originally established in the factory and we pride ourselves on overseeing every part of our production with multiple levels of quality assurance and testing. In addition to this, we are pleased to show you how experienced our production teams are - with their knowledge, commitment to safety and over 40 years of experience, Aarja Health has become a brand known for outstanding quality.
Who should use dietary supplements?
Of course, there are some cases where supplements may be more helpful than others. For example, a generally healthy person eating a good diet would not need to supplement as much as someone with a digestive disorder. But supplementation is a good way to make sure the body has everything it needs for optimal health. So who should use supplements? It can be argued that everyone can benefit from certain nutritional supplements depending on lifestyle and health goals, but cases where the need for nutritional supplements is increased include:
- Anyone with a diagnosed nutritional deficiency.
- Anyone with reduced digestive capacity or digestive disorder.
- Those who have undergone gastrointestinal surgery.
- People who have a restricted diet or who eat a limited amount of food.
- People who want to get pregnant (especially mothers-to-be).
- Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- People who eat few whole foods.
- Athletes or people who place higher demands on their bodies.
- People who are often sick or have chronic diseases.
- Anyone taking a medication that inhibits the absorption of nutrients.
The list could go on and on. There are many cases where supplements can be beneficial to health, of course. So will you start taking supplements this year? We leave it up to you! If you decide to do so, choose Aarja Health products where you can be 100 percent sure of the highest quality.
Do you really need supplements? The simple answer is YES! There are many reasons why this is the case. So we'll try to bust some of the myths and tell you why supplements can benefit your health and well-being. (More information on Aarja Health products can be read here... )
People experience more stress
Be it family, financial, work war or pandemic related, people are feeling higher levels of stress (and rightfully so). But what does stress have to do with supplements? Well, first of all we have to consider the diet. When we consume a variety of nutritious, whole foods, it is safe to assume that supplementation may not be necessary because the diet would contain the necessary nutrients to support health.
When the body is exposed to stress, however, our digestive capacity is significantly affected. So even if you eat healthy foods, your body may not digest them properly, making it much more difficult to absorb the nutrients. In this case, supplements can provide nutrients in highly accessible forms that are easy to digest, absorb and assimilate. With little to no effort, the body can get the nutrition it needs to deal with the effects of stress.
Food is not what it used to be
We may not want to admit it, but foods just aren't what they used to be. We use pesticides and chemicals to mass produce food. We choose products to be able to produce large quantities, not for quality or nutrient density. Agriculture favors what is easy to harvest, not what is best for our bodies. But what does this mean for us?
The soil is constantly drained of nutrients due to the requirement to produce food to feed billions of people. So the soil that once nourished our plant life now lacks the natural nutrients and minerals it was once full of. For our food, this means less nutritious products and that animals (and people) get less nutritional value for the food they eat. Although there are small farms that focus on sustainable farming practices, it is not economically possible for most people to eat this way, or for most farms to grow this way. What can you do about it? Support sustainable agriculture whenever possible and supplement your diet with safe, effective nutrients to fill the gaps left by our current diet/food.
Our digestive health affects our ability to absorb and assimilate nutrients.
With the increasing use of antibiotics, our digestive capacity as a whole has been significantly affected. What many people don't realize is that our gut bacteria play an important role in digesting food, but also in producing nutrients that help us maintain optimal health. The bacteria in the small intestine, for example, are known for their importance in the production of B vitamins, which not only help us in the metabolism of food, but also our mental health.
So when these bacteria have been wiped out several times over the course of our lives through various antibiotic treatments, each time our gut has to rebuild a fragile and incredibly important ecosystem that supports our well-being. In addition to this, our less fiber-rich diet with the rise of the Western diet means less prebiotic "food" for the bacteria to live and thrive on. This can lead to significant changes to our gut microbiome that favor pathogenic bacteria that are harmful to health and digestion. It is thus not only the digestive process that is affected, but also the bacteria that produce useful nutrients become fewer, while bacteria that produce harmful substances increase - a triple negative result!
How to choose a safe and effective dietary supplement
Of course, not all supplements are created equal. In fact, some are even more harmful to health than beneficial. Why? It's all about the ingredients. While some brands maintain reputations for safe and pure ingredients, others are less concerned about quality. While some brands take time and care to create supplements without unnecessary additives, others can't be bothered. But with this huge variation in quality, how can you be sure you're choosing a good quality supplement? There are a few things to look for in supplements:
Openness and transparency
It's usually a pretty good indication of quality when a company is open and honest about its production methods. If they are proud of their facilities, the origin of the ingredients and are happy to give customers an insight into the manufacturing process, you can be sure that they at least have high standards when it comes to cleanliness.
List of ingredients
If you look at a supplement's ingredients list and see a whole bunch of extra ingredients (besides the nutrients claimed on the label), that's usually an indication of declining quality. Why? Because all these extra additives also have to be processed by the body. Not all have health benefits, and many are actually harmful to health. So one has to ask how does supplementing with all these additives affect the body? Is it even worth taking?
Quality assurance
Unfortunately, what you see on the label is not always what you get. In many cases, the actual content of active ingredients can be very different from what is stated, so you can get much less (or much more) than what you paid for. If you want to support your health in a safe and effective way, this is simply not acceptable. Companies with a good quality assurance program therefore test each raw material to ensure that they are exactly as expected.
Certifications
If the company and/or manufacturer has spent time and effort maintaining food safety certifications, that is another good indicator of quality. As health and safety certificates are both expensive and time-consuming to maintain, companies that are more interested in profit than efficiency will focus more on bottom line than achieving a higher standard than required.
So where does Aarja Health stand in all this? We at Aarja Health are proud to own our own factory which was once used for manufacturing pharmaceuticals. Over the years, we have maintained the high standards originally established in the factory and we pride ourselves on overseeing every part of our production with multiple levels of quality assurance and testing. In addition to this, we are pleased to show you how experienced our production teams are - with their knowledge, commitment to safety and over 40 years of experience, Aarja Health has become a brand known for outstanding quality.
Who should use dietary supplements?
Of course, there are some cases where supplements may be more helpful than others. For example, a generally healthy person eating a good diet would not need to supplement as much as someone with a digestive disorder. But supplementation is a good way to make sure the body has everything it needs for optimal health. So who should use supplements? It can be argued that everyone can benefit from certain nutritional supplements depending on lifestyle and health goals, but cases where the need for nutritional supplements is increased include:
- Anyone with a diagnosed nutritional deficiency.
- Anyone with reduced digestive capacity or digestive disorder.
- Those who have undergone gastrointestinal surgery.
- People who have a restricted diet or who eat a limited amount of food.
- People who want to get pregnant (especially mothers-to-be).
- Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- People who eat few whole foods.
- Athletes or people who place higher demands on their bodies.
- People who are often sick or have chronic diseases.
- Anyone taking a medication that inhibits the absorption of nutrients.
The list could go on and on. There are many cases where supplements can be beneficial to health, of course. So will you start taking supplements this year? We leave it up to you! If you decide to do so, choose Aarja Health products where you can be 100 percent sure of the highest quality.
