Dietary supplements are commonly known as health care products, and many people have opinions on health care products. At present, most dietary supplements in China are controlled by direct selling giants, and direct selling is often associated with pyramid schemes, so many people in China have different opinions on health care products.

However, we should also have a correct understanding of dietary supplements. What is a dietary supplement first? Dietary supplement is a dietary supplement product, which may contain one or more of the following dietary components, a vitamin, a mineral, a herb (herb) or other plants, an amino acid, a food component used to supplement the diet by increasing the daily total intake, or a concentrate, metabolite, component, extract or combination product of the above components. Such as our common calcium tablets, B vitamins, vitamin C, fish oil, lecithin, vitamins and minerals, and dietary supplements for some sub-health symptoms.

why do you need dietary supplements?

First, if you can eat according to the China Residents' Balanced Diet Pagoda every day and eat enough, congratulations, you don't need to supplement dietary supplements. If you can't eat 12 kinds of food every day and 25 kinds of food every week according to the China Residents' Balanced Diet Pagoda, you will have an unbalanced intake of nutrients. You'd better supplement dietary supplements to make up for the lack of nutrients in your food.

Second, the greater the yield, the lower the nutrient content of food. As we all know, Yuan Longping, a rice expert, is a great contributor to our country, and the yield per mu of rice keeps increasing. But as an insider who graduated from an agricultural university, I tell you that the higher the yield per unit area is not the better, because the nutrients in the soil are limited, farmers use a lot of chemical fertilizers, while farmyard manure and organic fertilizer are less and less, and they plant a single species, such as wheat-corn. After five years' continuous planting, the nutrient elements in the soil will decrease. In agriculture, crop rotation is used, while in Russia and the United States, fallow is used to let the land recuperate and even plant alfalfa, which can fix nitrogen and nourish the soil. The stubble is to plant wheat-corn this year, sweet potato next year, cotton the year after next, and soybean the year after next. I remember that this is the way to farm in rural areas when I was a child.

Third, the emergence of anti-nutritional substances. At present, there are more than 2,3 kinds of food additives in China, many of which are extracted from coal tar and chemically synthesized. There are also pesticide, antibiotic and hormone residues in grains and meat, most of which are "anti-nutrients" because they can prevent the absorption and utilization of nutrients or accelerate the excretion and loss of nutrients.

Fourth, environmental pollution, air pollution, water pollution and stress can accelerate the consumption of nutrients in our bodies.

In fact, dietary supplements are very effective in many cases, but they are just called "supplements", which are far from being a substitute for healthy meals. A reasonable diet is the simplest and most effective way to obtain nutrients. Supplements can only play a supplementary role, and cannot replace fresh food and normal diet, nor can they replace drugs to treat diseases.

about the safety and risks of dietary supplements

Many health products contain effective ingredients, which can have a good influence on the body. But we must also be alert to the possibility of unexpected side effects, especially when using new products.

For example, if a person takes it before or after surgery, it may affect the patient's response to anesthesia. Some dietary supplements can also interact with some prescription drugs, which may cause problems. Pay attention to taking nutritional supplements when pregnant or breastfeeding. In addition, children should be more careful when taking supplements.

All of these require you to carefully check the label of the ingredients before buying, or ask about their related efficacy, dosage, way of taking, whether they interact with drugs and their possible side effects.

To sum up, in order to get healthy, we need extra dietary supplements, otherwise, our bodies will suffer from malnutrition, including nutrient deficiency and overnutrition. However, supplements can't replace a healthy diet, so please be aware of this!

According to the fact that Chinese people eat too much polished rice and white flour, it is necessary to increase the intake of vitamin B and dietary fiber. Calcium can be obtained through milk, bean products and other foods or calcium tablets, and fish oil should be supplemented instead of eating fish frequently. Children and middle-aged and elderly people especially need to find out the deficiencies according to their own diets and supplement them appropriately to get the best health.