Never think that supplements can take the place of the minerals and vitamins that are obtained from the normal daily servings of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish.

They are not substitutes. If they were, they would be called so, and not be known as supplements.

Despite some debatable evidence that a balanced diet is becoming increasingly lower in essential minerals and vitamins as a result of intensive farming over many years, supplements are not yet able to provide all the nutrients and other advantages that a balanced diet of naturally produced foods gives to our health and fitness.

There is an enormous diversity of opinion about the merits and consequences of taking vitamin and mineral supplements.

Attitudes range from enthusiastic support to outright condemnation of the practice. The difficulty is in deciding whose opinion is right and whose is wrong from amongst the host of qualified and self appointed experts.

Our conclusion is that unless there is proven medical evidence that a supplement can cause harm in any specified circumstances, that the labeling gives clear guidance to recommended dosage, and that any appropriate warning of conflict with any drugs or medication is also indicated then there should be no problem.

Taking vitamin and mineral supplements could, some argue, be one of the healthiest options and good insurance against heart disease and cancer you could adopt.

Read the label, adhere to the recommendations and if in doubt seek medically qualified advice.

There are two types of athlete

• The highly trained competing at the top level
• The recreational athlete

These two categories are subdivided into the various sporting activities that they take part in.

The dietary supplements that the two types of athlete require are different and within the sub categories this also holds true but without the same importance. Athletes competing at the top level of their chosen sport will have coaches, dietitians and nutritionists  to maintain and improve their competitive edge.

They will be on carefully monitored diets and supplements to maintain their bodies at the peak of fitness.

The recreational sportsman has to rely on his own resources.

Whatever our recreational sport and whatever our standard we all have a desire to excel, to improve and to win. Apart from a natural ability, such as a good eye or fast reactions, not many will be content to plod along without making some effort to perform just that bit better, be a little more competitive.

That means that we must pay attention to improving our fitness and mental focus.

The first answer that comes to mind is physical training and practicing our sport and this is absolutely the correct initial approach. At the same time our competition and our team mates are likely to be thinking along the similar lines.

If they are not you are very likely to over take them in the pecking order. It is just as probable that they will be putting in more or less the same effort as you.

So the next logical step forward in this competitive arena is to seek out additional ways to improve performance and to do this we only have to look at what the professionals do to tweak their abilities.

What they do is take nutritional supplements for athletes!

There are muscle growth, best supplements for stamina, best supplements for increasing energy levels, best supplements for injury recovery, exhaustion recovery, the list goes on and on, but most are not practical for the recreational sportsman.

The options for us fun athletes need to be narrowed for practical purposes.

Research has shown that the amount of essential minerals and vitamins that we obtain from our every day food is gradually diminishing. The reasons are given elsewhere on this website.

These substances that are so vital to the efficient functioning of our bodies and minds can be obtained from the variety of vitamin and mineral supplements that are commercially produced.

About 150 million people in the United States are thought to be taking nutritional supplements including vitamins and essential minerals.

An ever-increasing number of medical professionals are recommending a regular regime of multivitamin and dietary supplements to compensate for the lack of natural sources in every day diets to encourage good health.

Active sportsman can top up with extra amounts of vitamins and mineral supplements that are considered to be best for their particular sporting activity but take care not to over indulge.

Moderation is necessary as in some instances excessive exposure to certain supplements can cause problems, some of which can be serious.

The body also imposes its own limitations on the amount it needs so overdoing the supplements just becomes a waste of money.

Research the supplement market to find the products that will suit your particular needs, for example there are certain supplements essential for muscle development that will be helpful to weightlifters and other sports that have an emphasis on strength, similarly for runners needing stamina etc.

Just be sure that all the supplements and vitamins are manufactured to pharmaceutical standards and check the labels in the unlikely event that the product contains traces of any substances banned in your particular sport.

From time to time a scare story that lays the blame for a serious reaction, sometimes leading to death, from taking a nutritional supplement hits the headlines.

Apart from excessive overdosing, which with any foodstuff or drink, however harmless, can cause problems that can be fatal, there seems no hard evidence to suggest that pharmaceutical grade supplements approved by the USFDA can be dangerous

A number of herbal supplements are recognized to have side effects in some individuals but then even Aspirin, regularly prescribed to thin the blood to avoid strokes, can be a cause of stomach ulcers.

The fact is that there are few effective medications that have no adverse side effects in certain circumstances, but as a golden rule the benefits are considered to outweigh the risks.

In the United States, as in most developed countries, there is legislation in place to ensure that all food and drugs comply with strict standards.

Supplements are categorized as food products and must clearly state on their packaging all the ingredients and their amounts.

Furthermore the USFDA imposes upon manufacturers of Liquid V supplements the requirement that labels should indicate any possible side effects.

In a recent year the USFDA received some 13000 reports of bad reactions to dietary supplements but it seems that the reports were anecdotal, unverified and prone to error.

If every report was accurate and represented an adverse reaction, however slight, to a dietary supplement this would represent less than one hundredth of one percent of the 150 million Americans reportedly taking daily dietary supplements.

The media can be considered responsible for the over hyping of reports of dangers from taking nutritional supplements and of course they have no responsibility to verify or authenticate the accuracy of their sources.

As they say ´´bad news sells newspapers´´

Any reports of supplement dangers must be and are taken very seriously and it is the responsibility of the US Food and Drug Administration and the equivalent agencies in other parts of the world to investigate and, if necessary, ban the distribution and sale of any supplement proven to pose a danger.

One note of warning, do not be tempted to use a sun bed or visit a tanning parlor to top up on Vitamin D.

Although a primary source of Vitamin D is sunlight, the UV rays emitted by the sun and artificially in sun beds, too much exposure can lead to skin cancer and premature skin ageing.

Studies have shown that the bodies absorption of Vitamin D from UV rays is self limiting.

About 20 minutes a day exposed to reasonable sunlight is sufficient. The preferred way to absorb Vitamin D is from natural sources such as milk, oily fish, fortified cereals and margarines, liver, beef and eggs or essential nutritional supplements.

By sticking to the dosage advice given on the manufacturers label it is extremely unlikely that there will be any exposure to danger from taking any pharmaceutical grade vitamins and supplements.

As in all our eating habits moderation and the addition of daily supplements can lead to a healthy and toned body and that wonderful feeling of physical well being.

Our bodies need a regular input of proteins, carbohydrates and fats together with a variety of necessary vitamins and minerals.

Together these dietary supplements provide the fuel to enable our bodies and brains to function actively and efficiently, to regenerate skin, muscle, blood, bone, and tissue that make up the vital organs and to ensure the workings of our immune defenses.

Any deficiency will show up sooner or later by the malfunctioning of one or more of our body systems leading to the onset of disease.

The basic fuel that provides us with mental and physical energy is our everyday food intake that should consist of a healthy balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats.

The vitamins and minerals essential to maintaining efficiently functioning organs that convert food into energy, produce hormones, act as anti oxidants, detoxify, fight infection, clot blood, regenerate skin and heal wounds, in fact all the multitude of functions that are necessary to maintain a healthy body are provided by the essential vitamins and minerals.

Many adults will, at some time in their lives, embark on a weight loss program that will mostly likely be a diet sometimes combined with exercise.

Many diets, particularly the crash kind, will not contain any or sufficient of the nutrients that are vital to maintaining health.

It is important that pharmaceutical grade multivitamins and supplements are regularly taken as a part of the weight loss regime.

As time goes by the medical profession is becoming increasingly concerned about the risk factors associated with the deficiency of many types of vitamins in so many people that leads to chronic illness.

Whether you lead a sedentary lifestyle or are an active sports person take your supplements.

It is no accident that the coaches of top athletes and other major sport stars put so much emphasis on a balanced daily diet with added vitamins and mineral supplements .

What Are Supplements?

Supplements, also known as Dietary Supplements should not to be confused with other food or drug products.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) together with similar national authorities throughout the world have introduced legal definitions and [tag-tec regulate]regulations[/tag-tec] for the production and marketing of Supplements that must be observed.

In the US the Dietary Supplement Health And Education Act of 1994 gives the following definition:-

The term Dietary Supplement means a product (other than tobacco) intended to supplement the diet that bears or contains one or more of the following dietary ingredients:

(A) A vitamin

(B) A mineral

(C) An herb or other botanical.

(D) An amino acid

(E) A dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the dietary intake.

(F) A concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of any ingredient described in clause (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E).

Supplements are intended to be taken by mouth in the form of a pill, capsule, tablet or liquid.

The product should be clearly labeled on the front panel as being a dietary product.

Unlike the labels of drug manufacturers that may claim their product will diagnose, cure, alleviate, mitigate, treat or prevent a disease, the labels of dietary supplements may only feature that the product has health benefits, nutrient content claims or structure/function claims.

This legislation has been introduced in the US to ensure that manufacturers and distributors do not mislead the public with false or misleading information.

It is a sensible precaution to check that the labels of any supplement packaging broadly comply with the FDA requirements irrespective of the country of origin or intended purchase.

Who Should Take Supplements And Why?

In the United States studies have shown that roughly half the adult population take a daily multivitamin and/or mineral supplementation]. There has also been some debate over whether this is a safe and effective or a harmful practice with inconclusive results.

Many medical practitioners take the view that a daily regime of pharmaceutical grade multivitamins can at worst do no harm and can be a benefit in supplementing the vitamins we should be absorbing from a healthy diet.

So Just How Healthy Is Our Diet?

It does not matter how much so called healthy eating we do and by that we mean natural fresh fruit, fish, vegetables and meat and the avoidance of all processed or preserved food the inescapable fact is that the vitamin and mineral levels in all foods, unless produced by strictly organic farming, are diminishing year by year.

Many studies have shown that the average American is not getting enough nutrients and as a result there is an ever increasing number suffering from chronic diseases, and that includes a growing number of younger people suffering from ailments such as high blood pressure and diabetes previously considered as adult diseases.

So many in the US are grossly overweight due to the over consumption of food that it is hard to appreciate that they are not absorbing adequate quantities of vitamins and other essential nutrients.

The problem has arisen due to the fact that intensive farming methods, the application of chemical fertilizers, the spraying of pesticides, and the use of preservatives to extend the storage and shelf life of fruit and vegetables have all contributed to the loss of essential nutrients in those foods that we take for granted are good for our health and well being.

For example researchers have found Hamburgers that contain traces of up to one hundred pesticides and Broccoli that contains only one sixth of the amount of calcium compared to fifty years ago.

Dealing with all these toxins and deficiencies adds a further load to the bodies already diminished reserves of vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients.

As it has been shown that taking a daily pharmaceutical grade multivitamin and mineral supplement is most unlikely to any harm, it seems obvious that this is becoming increasingly vital to the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle and the avoidance of debilitating chronic diseases.

We strongly believe and advocate that everybody should consider taking a regular dietary supplement and wherever possible eat only organically farmed produce.