Food or Diet pills?

It has been noticed that up to 65 percent of adult American use multivitamin pills daily. The reason behind, they think that the vital nutrition are not sufficient in food, they are eating. However, healthy people, who perform little physical exercise, can get all vital nutrition from the balanced diet to maintain healthy life.

Natural food provides us a complete balance and no artificial supplement can take it place. Additionally, eating healthy and delicious food is one of the pleasures of our life. Still, 23.7 billion dollar market of food supplements represents the picture of hope that people have associated with multivitamins to maintain healthy life.

Value of food Supplements

Though, food supplements supply vitamins, minerals ant antioxidants to our body, but in fact, they do not supply all the essential ingredients necessary for good health.

Researchers have revealed that we need 42 vital nutrients each day and multivitamin pills provide partial amount of the requirement.

In majority of the people supplements are not needed, if you are taking a balanced diet. Additional nutrients neither provide any extra energy to the body nor extra strength to brain.

Diet pills and disease prevention

Vitamin pills and supplements have their own values, especially during the diseases that are associated with their deficiencies. There are number of diseases that can occur due to vitamin deficiency, these include rickets, beriberi, pellagra etc. These diseases can be largely found in the underdeveloped countries where food lacks some essential vitamins.

The diseases that are prevailing in the American society are not caused by the malnutrition but these have a direct concern with the healthy diet for example cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart problems etc. Need of food supplements exempt, when people develop the habit of moderate eating.

Studies have shown that the antioxidants pills may protect against cancer, however recent studies have shown that the long term use of antioxidant, instead of providing protection, may do some harm. In contrast, use of foods that are rich in antioxidants like, citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables etc have been shown to be protective. Most of the clinical trials have presented no benefits of antioxidant supplements in the prevention of the heart diseases.

Harmful affects of nutrition pills

Heavy doses of high potency vitamins could harm your health. These supplement pills contain ten to hundred times more than the recommended vitamins and minerals and may act as prescribed drug with serious consequences. Intake of excessive supplement may produce some unwanted outcomes such as hair loss, diarrhea and fatigue.

Some other severe affects are renal failure, nerve or liver damage, birth defects in women etc. After a certain level of specific nutrient in the body it starts to work as drug rather than nutrient.

Need of food supplements

Majority of people can easily get their vital nutrition alone from food. Some elements such as calcium and iron require food selection but adequate amount can easily be got through the regular food. There are some conditions that require the multivitamin pills which are as follow:

• Those people who have problem with food intake and some elderly, who hardly meet their nutrition requirement.
• Strictly vegetarian people, who eat no meat, egg or dairy products at all, may develop deficiency of iron, calcium, vitamin B-12 and some essential proteins.
• There is a higher need of nutrients for pregnant and breastfeeding mother, especially calcium, iron and folic acid.

You should use diet pills after consulting your dietitian.