Health supplements are a common addition to many diets and in some situations they can be a powerful solution to certain health problems.  However, the internet is simply flooded by advertisements promising quick relief from various ailments.  How would you even know if one is legitimate or if it just has a lot of fake reviews? 

Often, vitamins are touted as some kind of wonder pills.  On the other hand, the benefits of taking properly balanced micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) is a trending topic among physicians and patients alike.  Bio-available (absorbable) vitamins and minerals support all processes in the body, if they are formulated and balanced in the right way.

The problem is, there are a lot of well-marketed supplements that don’t make the cut.  Plus, you may feel that you get all the nutrition you need from your food. 

Unfortunately, you probably don’t.

Nutritional Deficiencies Are Serious, & They Affect Most of Us

Dietary health supplements were originally developed to help people overcome nutritional deficiencies.  The yardstick for measuring deficiencies depends on who you ask.  For instance, if you ask the government, or your average medical school professor, adults only need about 600 IUs of Vitamin D per day to be healthy.  If you consult over 100 studies focused on nutritional deficiencies and how they affect mental health, you’ll find that the recommended value for Vitamin D is closer to 3000 IUs per day.  Plus, you need the right amount in order to properly absorb 600mg per day of Calcium, according to the research. And that’s just Vitamin D. There are 39+ other essential nutrients required for optimal health. Are you getting all these daily?

That’s not all.  Dr. Bruce Ames, the world-renowned expert on nutrition says that deficiencies in even just a FEW vitamins and minerals cause damage in the body much in the same way that chemicals and radiation do, wreaking havoc on our cells.  Could it be that the increased rate of disease and dysfunction in the world might be slightly correlated to our declining diets and gaping nutrient deficiencies?

Quite possibly.

In short, health supplements are essential for most people, but only as long as they are effective and balanced.  Look for one that captures these attributes, according to Nutritional Psychiatry experts:

-At least 10, preferably more minerals and vitamins
-Individual ingredient doses exceeding the RDA (government minimum)
-Balanced ratios
-High bio-availability
-High quality control
-Absence of ingredients that interfere with meds (such as citrus bioflavinoids)
-Availability of peer-reviewed studies on safety and efficacy 

We recommend finding broad-spectrum micronutrients and taking them daily for a month to see the differences in your mood, sleep quality and stress levels. You may find that you never want to be without them again.