The importance of a perfectly balanced diet can only be understood when one understands the benefits of consuming such a diet and the problems that the human body goes through at the hands of an improper diet. The organs and tissues in a human body need proper nutrition to work efficiently and effectively. Apart from supporting the bodily functions in their proper working, good nutrition also helps the body in preventing diseases and the spread of infections in the human body. As per the best nutritionist in Mumbai, without proper nutrition, the body is prone to fatigue, poor performance and troublesome functioning of the organs. Right from the birth of a child, nutrition and a balanced diet is important to override the risks of problems in growth and development of the body. Bad eating habits and an improper diet can lead to a child adapting to a lifestyle that is filled with the risks of chronic diseases and frequent visits to the hospital.
With proper understanding of the importance of consuming a perfectly balanced diet, one comes across the challenge of developing and maintaining a lifestyle that actually includes such a diet meeting all bodily requirements. Needless to say, the requirements of a body differ with age, occupation, lifestyles and across genders. Dietary preferences play a pivotal role in understanding how much of the body’s nutritional requirements exist and how much out of those requirements are being fulfilled by the diet and eating habits of the individual.
A diet that is varied and balanced in a sensible fashion including fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains as well as dairy products and meat products or suitable substitutes for meat products can typically provide all the nutritional requirements needed by the body and even some extra, for a vast majority of people with different backgrounds. However, with the evolution of man along with changed agricultural and cooking practices, some of the nutrient content of the food items is lost in the changed routine and practices. To overcome this loss in nutritional value, pills and supplements can be adopted, however it is essential to realise and understand from the term ”supplement” itself that the sole purpose of such pills is to support and supplement are food in providing the body with its needed nutrient intake.
A sports person, a farmer, a business man, a housewife, a child etc. would have a different requirement for different nutrients based on the kind of work they engage in. For example, proteins would be more essential for sports persons with the aim of building body and muscle. This doesn’t take away from their normal requirement of other nutrients but put up an additional need for certain nutrients and minerals that might have to be supplemented through doctor recommended pills and supplements. The point stays in focussing on the fact that supplements can have added benefits and might be needed under certain particular conditions but cannot be seen as a replacement to the natural sources of our nutrients and minerals. A multivitamin mineral supplement supplying all of the recommended daily need of nutrients for about 10 essential nutrients can actually act as a safety net for people with unstable lifestyles and an unhealthy eating routine. But, again, it is important to understand that no pill or supplement can in any way take place of the food that should ideally provide the nutritional value to the body and any supplement or pill cannot be taken as a permanent source and substitute for improving a poorly constructed diet.
The tendency of all humans to act as self-appointed doctors to see to their small problems have led to non-recommended and non-prescribed use of such multivitamins which could serve as ill advice and increase the levels of certain nutrients to dangerous levels inside the human body. Generally known symptoms of marginal nutrient deficiencies such as reduced appetite, sleepiness, insomnia, irritability, reduced attention span, and malaise among many such other minor problems call for people to directly jump to conclusions and indulge in supplement intake as an all-cure for such ailments. However, consulting an actual medical expert would be the only way of actually knowing and confirming the true cause of such symptoms and the correct way of curing the same. Without a proper and thorough dietary analysis and special nutrient status test, it is impossible and careless to attribute any of these symptoms to a vitamin or mineral deficiency.
As per the best nutritionist in Delhi, the foods that we consume provide many bioactive compounds and dietary fibres that typically cannot be found in the pills and supplements readily available on drug store shelves. These compounds and fibre are necessary for the effective absorption of a lot of minerals and nutrients present in our foods. Even if a person takes a supplement, if the person takes them on an empty stomach without consuming any food, some of the vitamins that are fat soluble wouldn’t be absorbed as well as it would have been if the supplement was actually consumed with a food that provides fat to the body.
It is easy to say now that diet is, without any diet, the key to getting the best of all vitamins and minerals, but in special cases, supplements ca be used to help the human body. It could be the case that a person is doing the best to eat and maintain a healthy and perfectly balanced diet but still suffers certain deficiencies. In such a case, a doctor recommended supplement can be taken while making sure that these pills are taken in addition to healthy diet choices and nutrient dense foods.