John Myers
Dietary supplements are superfluous with a perfect diet. Unfortunately, today we are usually much too far away from being perfect – at least as far as our diet is concerned. Therefore, high-quality dietary supplements are a good solution to give the body what it urgently needs and what it all too often misses in today’s diet.
What Dietary Supplement Type Are You?
How does your kitchen look? Are you struggling to fit real food with all the supplements? Are tables and cupboards full of cans, bottles, and jars – filled with power pills, lucky dragees, Superman’s muscle shakes, and always the very latest abdominal elixir?
Or do you perhaps swear by a single special dietary supplement from the “All-in-One” brand, which – at least according to the manufacturer – feeds you so well that you theoretically don’t have to eat anything at all? Or maybe you belong to the dietary supplements-are-completely-superfluous faction?
Do we need food supplements or is the usual food enough?
No matter how you are currently equipped with dietary supplements, whether lavish or rather spartan, you may be interested in which vital substances, nutrients, and minerals are so important that you can hardly get along without them these days. Of course, you can also get these super-nutrients through food or – in the case of vitamin D – with the help of the sun.
But you may not have the time or expertise to source and prepare the right meals. And as for vitamin D, you might just be living in the wrong climate zone. And many foods that are really extremely healthy don’t always appeal to the taste buds of the modern world, e.g. B. dandelion or Brussels sprouts.
To cut a long story short: high-quality dietary supplements are not only important, healthy, and almost irreplaceable, but they are also simply practical. Let’s start with vitamin D, the sun vitamin that strengthens the immune system and stabilizes bones.
Vitamin D as a dietary supplement
Together with u. a. Calcium, magnesium, vitamin K and zinc, vitamin D keeps our bones and teeth strong and stable, and protects against sun allergies in summer and against severe flu in winter. In the absence of vitamin D, calcium cannot be absorbed from the gut, which as a result can lead to all of the problems associated with calcium deficiency.
This includes not only long-term bone and tooth problems but also muscle complaints – starting with the vascular muscles, which can lead to circulatory disorders, dizziness, permanent headaches, neck pain, back pain, whole-body pain, and heart failure if the heart muscle is affected.
Even heartburn can show up as a result of a vitamin D deficiency, namely when z. B. the smooth muscles of the digestive system suffer from calcium deficiency and then no longer function properly. Vitamin D deficiency is now associated with many other health problems, even autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Hashimoto’s.
Fortunately, our body produces vitamin D on its own – namely with the help of the sun’s rays on the skin. However, it only does this if the skin actually sees sunlight at regular intervals.
Since many people in industrialized nations unnaturally spend the majority of their daily hours of sunshine not outdoors, but in the office, at university, at school, in the workshop, etc., millions of people suffer from a significant vitamin D deficiency.
The situation gets even worse in winter, especially in the temperate zone. There, in the months when there is little light, the sun – even if it shines – does not even have the strength to stimulate vitamin D formation in our skin.
So in winter, we have to draw on our vitamin D reserves from the summer and hope that they will be enough. However, since the vitamin D storage capacities of our body are usually overwhelmed by the usual long winters and our vitamin D stores are usually exhausted after three to four months, a winter without vitamin D food supplements is typical for the inhabitants of industrialized nations hardly conceivable.
If we can’t really be outside much in the summer, it would become critical without nutritional supplements. The vitamin D deficiency that is widespread today can hardly be compensated for through diet. You would have to make fish liver your favorite dish.
So, vitamin D is one of those dietary supplements that you should take in capsule or drop form at least during the winter or if you belong to the group of people described above.
Omega-3 fatty acids as a dietary supplement
Omega-3 fatty acids are now part of our everyday lives, at least as far as the term appears in advertising, on egg cartons, in bread, and various other convenience products. Whether the amount consumed is then sufficient remains to be seen and depends in particular on the type of omega-3 fatty acids (short-chain or long-chain) and the fatty acid ratio of the rest of the diet.
Anyone who eats a lot of bread, pasta, baked goods, and sweets, likes plenty of sausages, quark, cheese, and pork, and possibly prefers to use sunflower oil can assume that the omega-3 fatty acids contained in the food are by no means sufficient for them.
The foods described simply provide too many omega-6 fatty acids (linoleic and arachidonic acid). The desired omega-6-omega-3 ratio of 2 to 5:1 can therefore only rarely be achieved. On the contrary: today’s ratio is – depending on a personal diet – 17 to 50: 1, which means that 17 to 50 times more omega-6 fatty acids are consumed than omega-3 fatty acids.
Such an imbalance is very likely involved in the now near epidemic-like spread of chronic inflammation and disease. This is because omega 6 (when consumed in excess) is pro-inflammatory, while omega 3 is anti-inflammatory.
In order to quickly correct the imbalance, you should first check your diet and avoid the most unfavorable omega-6 sources (see list above). Instead of pork schnitzel, include sea fish in your menu from time to time, choose coconut oil for frying, hemp oil for the dressing, and olive oil for the vegetables.
If you eat dairy products, add a spoonful of linseed oil to quark or yogurt and turn your usual snack into a valuable source of omega-3. You should also try chia pudding made from tiny chia seeds, which are full of omega-3 fatty acids and provide you with more calcium than milk. However, grind the seeds before using them!
Is all of this too complex for you? Then you should take omega-3 fatty acids as a dietary supplement in the form of oil (algae oil) or capsules.
Probiotics as dietary supplements
Probiotics are friendly bacteria that thrive in abundance in a healthy gut. However, most people use the term probiotics to refer to supplements that contain these friendly bacteria.
In the intestines, the friendly bacteria make sure that harmful bacteria and fungi don’t get the upper hand and that we feel good. It’s only when the good bacteria are depleted that we realize what we had about them when they were there.
We become susceptible to infections, develop allergies or food intolerances, suffer from fungal diseases and skin problems, flatulence, and high cholesterol levels and, to top it all off, we are also becoming fatter. Although all of these symptoms appear to be very different, they can all have the same root cause: an imbalance in the intestinal flora, which is then referred to as dysbiosis.
Dysbiosis often arises as a result of an unfavorable diet that is very carbohydrate-heavy or high in fat and protein and at the same time low in fiber, which is also rich in finished products and dubious drinks (soft drinks, alcohol, coffee, etc.). Dysbiosis can also develop when taking antibiotics – whether to treat a dental problem, a sinus infection, a bladder infection, or a completely different problem.
Antibiotics kill harmful bacteria, but unfortunately also the beneficial intestinal bacteria and thus create the conditions for dysbiosis and subsequent diseases. So better take precautions!
Astaxanthin as a dietary supplement
Astaxanthin is an antioxidant dietary supplement. Antioxidants are also naturally found in our food.
In everyday work and family life, however, there are often far too few hours in the day to deal with nutrition in detail. The healthy breakfast is perhaps still exemplary and consists of delicious alkaline muesli made from tigernut flakes, berries, bananas, and almond butter – sprinkled with nettle seeds and unpeeled hemp seeds.
For the second breakfast, you took a green smoothie to the office and everything is fine for the time being. But then lunch in the canteen is approaching, the cake because it’s my colleague’s birthday and in the evening the ready meal because you’re just exhausted. If there is also an infection or another health problem, the deficiency situation is inevitable.
Even in normal, stress-free everyday life, we need as many antioxidants as we can hardly get from food. In the case of constant mental stress or even overload and especially in the case of illness, we are absolutely dependent on high-quality food supplements. They can protect us in such extreme situations, namely when we have neither the time nor the strength to do so ourselves.
Astaxanthin was specially created by nature for extreme situations: It makes short work of free radicals that want to damage your cells. Astaxanthin increases stress resistance, inhibits chronic inflammation, relieves joint pain, protects the heart, and makes skin more resilient to sunlight.
Aronia berries as a dietary supplement
The Aronia berry is also a highly potent antioxidant and at the same time a holistic dietary supplement. The deep blueberry is the fruit with one of the highest known anthocyanin levels. Anthocyanins are phytochemicals with fantastic effects. They reduce inflammation, thin the blood, and inhibit the development of cancer cells.
The anti-cancer effect of the Aronia berry was shown in a study, for example, in which an Aronia extract was able to reduce the growth of colon cancer cells by 50 percent in just two days. If you take the Aronia berry (e.g. as a juice) to accompany chemotherapy, then Aronia protects the liver and stomach and in this way alleviates numerous side effects.
Since Aronia can also protect against damage from radiation, it is a reliable companion during radiation therapy and even in summer, when the skin needs to be protected from the effects of UV radiation, the Aronia berry should be taken as a dietary supplement at least for a short period of time.
Aronia is very easy to integrate into everyday life. You either eat the dried Aronia berries in muesli or (soaked in water beforehand) in shakes or smoothies. Or you can drink a glass of Aronia juice every day as a dietary supplement. The Aronia berry can also be easily planted in the garden so that you can harvest your own antioxidant berries.
Bitter substances as food supplements
Bitter substances have two special areas: the digestive system and the acid-base balance. Bitter substances ensure that our digestive organs are doing well and that we can digest our meals intensively and thus optimally utilize the nutrients they contain.
Bitter substances regulate gastric juice production, the formation of digestive juices in the pancreas, and promote healthy bile flow.
Bitter substances also support our detoxification organ no. 1, the liver, in an exemplary manner and ensure that its detoxification capacity can be increased and cholesterol levels lowered. Bitter substances help to leave the widespread sugar addiction behind and to develop an appetite for healthy food again.
If there is a lack of bitter substances in the daily diet, e.g. frequent reflux oesophagitis. Bitter substances are often a great help, especially for people who suffer from reflux disease, because another important function of the bitter substances is to keep the closing mechanism between the esophagus and stomach (a muscular stretch-wring mechanism), which is weak in many people, functional. This ensures that when the stomach contracts, no gastric acid gets back into the esophagus and burns it.
Foods with bitter substances are prime examples of enormously healthy foods, but unfortunately, hardly anyone likes them. Or how about dandelion salad, mugwort tea, yarrow juice, and juniper berries (but please chew them pure)?
Slowly get used to bitter substances again. Eat more chicory, endive, and cabbage salads. Increasingly, include dandelion leaves you have picked yourself in your salads and green smoothies. Also use spices rich in bitter substances such as cardamom, caraway, fennel, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon.
Don’t have time to cook or pick dandelions again? Then you could take bitter substances in the form of food supplements. Unfortunately, you can’t avoid the bitter taste either. Bitter substances have a much stronger effect when they can already send their signals through the oral mucosa. Bitter capsules would therefore not be recommended.
On the other hand, a bitter-base powder made from herbs and spices rich in bitter substances, such as e.g. B. yarrow, anise, fennel, mugwort, juniper berries, etc. You can use it to make tea or – what would be much better – take it several times a day (always a few minutes before meals).
Dandelion root extract is also good. It is also taken in the mouth with the tip of a knife, salivated very well, and swallowed after a while. A herbal bitter is also very easy to use. From this, you take only a few drops diluted in water several times a day. Bitter substances are ideally taken before meals.
And never forget: bitter substances are often needed most urgently by those who resist them the most!
Incidentally, bitter substances are also found in abundance in grasses. Don’t eat grass? Then it’s high time!
Grass juices as a dietary supplement
You don’t actually have to eat the weed, but you should drink it. With grass drinks made from cereal grasses, such as B. wheatgrass juice or barley grass juice, you can achieve so much for your well-being with little effort that it is not worth doing without.
If you only consider the advantages of the bitter substances it contains and also thinks of all the positive effects of chlorophyll (the green plant pigment), then these two points should be enough to motivate you to enjoy a weed drink twice a day.
Chlorophyll detoxifies, protects against cancer, eliminates bad body odors, purifies the blood, and accelerates recovery from illness, to name just some of chlorophyll’s most important properties.
In addition, grass drinks are highly alkaline and thus support any deacidification or any other effort aimed at a balanced acid-base balance. By the way, nobody has to drink grass drinks pure. Simply mix the grass powder into your green smoothie, into freshly squeezed orange juice, into almond milk, or – if you prefer it warm and hearty – into slightly cooled vegetable broth.
Magnesium as a dietary supplement
Magnesium is the animator in your body. The mineral keeps your enzymes going and makes sure they do their jobs and function flawlessly. Magnesium is particularly found in green leafy vegetables, amaranth, oats, pumpkin seeds, nuts, cocoa, legumes, and dried fruits (especially dried bananas). How often do you eat these foods? Not that often?
Then you could assume that none of your body is really active due to a lack of animators—that is, magnesium.
You notice that z. E.g. if you don’t really get going, would prefer to lie down in the morning, feel exhausted all day, can’t stand stressful situations, jump out of your skin immediately, tend to have leg cramps and eye twitching, are repeatedly overwhelmed by food cravings, gaining weight and possibly suffering from chronic inflammatory problems ( exhausted and tired ).
However, if you now take a closer look at the properties and effects of magnesium, then the scales will fall from your eyes. You will realize that you need magnesium and you need it badly. Magnesium has anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-regulating, bone-density-increasing, antispasmodic, weight-regulating, and relaxing effects.
Algae as a dietary supplement
Algae grow in the sea and in freshwater lakes. Seaweed is a fabulous spice and gives dishes their distinctive flavor. They go well with rice, with vegetable dishes from the wok, but also in salads or avocado cream. But they aren’t dietary supplements in the traditional sense — like freshwater algae spirulina, chlorella, and AFA algae.
All three are among the greatest chlorophyll suppliers of all time and therefore give you the advantages of the green plant pigment already mentioned under 6. In addition, they provide valuable cell building blocks (unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, and proteins) as well as highly effective secondary plant and algae substances.
They all strengthen the immune system, block cancer, protect against infections, ensure faster regeneration after physical exertion, make stress more bearable, and ultimately help with physical detoxification.
Of course, the interesting question is which of the three algae serves which purpose? It is often said that Afa algae in particular support mental performance, the brain, and the nervous system, while chlorella is used for detoxification and spirulina for general vitalization of the entire body.
Basically, however, none of the algae is better or worse than the other, so you can simply alternate quarterly.
The individual dietary supplement
Now of course you know that every person has a different constitution, a different diet, a different way of life, and therefore also different needs than their neighbor or any other person. Consequently, not all dietary supplements are equally suitable for everyone. And consequently, everyone has to decide – depending on their current situation – which food supplements they need right now and which they don’t.
While the above nine dietary supplements can be useful for almost everyone in our region, the following eight dietary supplements can be selected according to personal needs or simply used as a cure more often a year:
Bentonite
Would you like to detoxify, take care of your intestines, promote your intestinal flora, or get rid of a hangover as quickly as possible after a long night of partying? Then bentonite, the mineral earth that absorbs toxins and harmonizes the intestinal environment, is very suitable. Drink one or two tall glasses of water with every dose of bentonite, and choose a brand of bentonite that is certified as a medical device and thus meets the highest quality standards.
Deacidification
A deacidification program is carried out over 4 to 12 weeks. The aim is to free the tissue from metabolic end products (slags). These slags block the supply and disposal of the cells and thus our vitality. The deacidification now puts the body back in a position to be able to optimally supply each of its cells with all the necessary nutrients and vital substances and to be able to completely drain the cell waste of each individual cell. The cell functions are strengthened and the person regains energy that was believed to have been lost for a long time.
Curcumin as a dietary supplement
Curcumin – the active ingredient in turmeric – has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties and strengthens the liver. Curcumin has long been available in capsule form as a dietary supplement.
Psyllium
Does your digestion leave something to be desired? Then take a small spoonful of psyllium or 1/2 teaspoon of psyllium husk with one or two large glasses of water every morning.
Colon cleansing
Would you prefer the complete preventative package for your intestines, your intestinal flora, and your immune system? Then do a colon cleanse once or twice a year.
Sulforaphane as a dietary supplement
Sulforaphane is a phytochemical found in particularly high amounts in broccoli and other brassicas. The substance has anti-cancer and anti-arthritis properties.
Vitamin B complex as a dietary supplement
In the case of noticeable problems with the skin or nerves, a high-quality vitamin B complex is part of the basic program of any holistic catalog of measures. We also recommend checking the vitamin B12 level, especially if you have gastrointestinal problems or are following a strictly vegan diet.
Protein powder as a dietary supplement
Do you love high-quality proteins? Are you in a stressful phase of life? Do you want to build muscle? Are you recovering from an illness? Is your diet particularly low in protein at the moment? Then go for vegetable protein, such as lupine protein, rice protein, hemp protein, pea protein, or a protein blend.
