Food Supplements: Helpful or Harmful? Part One

Many people take supplements of one form ortreatments. The body cannot use, and does not
another to ensure they are getting what may beaccept, isolated nutrients. It requires specific
deficient in the food they eat. To be useful to thecombinations working together synergistically
body, a supplement must be of an organic originbefore they can be recognized as food.
and contain enzymes. It must be derived fromBottom line-synthetic vitamins are harmful. Tests
natural food sources. Vitamins and minerals mustwith rats fed synthetic vitamins found that they
be delivered in trace amounts, as they are indied sooner than rats given nothing to eat. The
whole natural food. This way, the body can utilizesynthetic, incomplete supplements stimulated the
them to correct deficiencies without causing otheranimals' systems, increasing their metabolic rates
problems.and literally causing them to "burn up" or wear out
What food on earth can you think of thatat a faster rate.
contains 500 mg of any vitamin or mineral?Despite the preceding caveats, supplements can
Nature only provides nutrients in small andplay an important role in paying back deficiency
balanced combinations. Any supplement thatdebts to the body created by years of nutrient
comes in mega-doses stimulates the body anddeficient food consumption.
creates an imbalance in the system.The body hasWhen selecting vitamin and mineral supplements,
to work hard to eliminate the excess, and in themake certain they come from whole organic food
process, further depletes its supply of othersources, contain enzymes, and have been made
essential nutrients.with minimal processing. Such supplements may
A person might ask, "How can that be? When Iwork with the body slowly, but they also work
take certain vitamins in larger doses I feel better."surely and continuously, without the stress of
That may be true; the good feeling comes fromincreased metabolism to remove unnatural,
stimulation, just like when people who drink coffeeincomplete, and toxic substances.
are stimulated by the caffeine. You feel betterA diet of natural, raw, organic, ripe, and fresh or
because the body has increased metabolism inundercooked foods provides the body with
order to eliminate the supplement, which in thatvitamin and mineral supplies with their complete
form and quantity, is toxic.synergistic components. Good supplements can
Over time, such doses cause more deficiencieshelp make up for nonorganic foods that are
and wear the body down. The same stimulativemineral deficient.
situation applies to some herbal supplements and