Why nutrients are important to people

Essentially, this is because the human body cannot synthesize enough of the nearly 40 essential nutrients needed to maintain functioning and repair damage on its own, and must be obtained from food or supplements. If the intake is insufficient for a long time, everything from poor complexion and low energy to chronic diseases are inseparable from the lack of nutrients.

During the five or six years I have been doing public nutrition consulting, I have encountered too many people who blame "staying up late" and "high stress" for their minor problems such as lack of energy, hair loss, and vulnerability to colds due to seasonal changes. After a real diet assessment, I found that most of them eat takeaways that are heavy in oil and salt every day. Their intake of core nutrients such as B vitamins, high-quality protein, and iron does not even reach half of the recommended amounts. How can they be in good shape?

Nowadays, there is a fierce debate on the Internet about whether to supplement nutrients. One group says that eating well is enough, and the other group says that modern people have problems with their dietary structure and must take supplements. In fact, there is nothing wrong with what both sides say, but they are not combined with the specific situation. If you can really manage to eat one pound of vegetables and half a pound of fruits, milk, eggs, meat and beans every day, whole grains every meal, and there is no problem with gastrointestinal absorption, then you really don’t need to take extra supplements. The natural ratio of nutrients in the food is more suitable for human body absorption. But in reality, most people simply cannot meet this dietary standard: salespeople who travel all the time eat boxed lunches to make ends meet, and friends who are vegetarians are prone to lack of vitamin B12 and heme iron. The calcium and folic acid needs of mothers in the second trimester are more than twice as high as ordinary people. They simply cannot fit in so much food with daily meals. At this time, following the doctor's advice to supplement in an appropriate amount is much more cost-effective than waiting for problems to be recuperated.

There was a marathon enthusiast who often came to me for consultation. He always said that after finishing the marathon, his legs were so cramped that he couldn't go downstairs. He couldn't get over it for three or four days. He always thought that he didn't train enough. After training more for three months, he hurt his knees. Later, he did a nutritional screening and discovered that he had not eaten high-potassium roots all year round in order to control body fat. Vegetables, the magnesium intake was only 60% of the recommended amount. Later, I adjusted my diet, adding a handful of pumpkin seeds every day to supplement magnesium, and drinking half a cup of coconut water before exercise to supplement potassium. Not only did I not have cramps again, my recovery speed after the game was nearly doubled, and even the insomnia I often suffered after exercise was much better.

To put it bluntly, the human body is actually like a car driving on the road. Macronutrients such as carbohydrates and fat are gasoline, which provides energy for work, exercise, and even breathing and heartbeat.； Protein is a component of the car body. It is necessary to repair broken skin and grow muscles. ； Micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals are the antifreeze, lubricants, and circuit fuses in the car. They usually look inconspicuous, but if something is missing, either the power cannot keep up, or the parts wear out quickly, and one day the car may break down halfway. Of course, don’t take supplements as if they are some “magic medicine”. I once met a girl who took an excessive amount of vitamin A in order to whiten herself. Not only did she not turn white after taking it for two months, her hair fell out and her skin turned yellow. After going to the hospital for a checkup, she learned that fat-soluble vitamins will be deposited in the liver. Excessive supplementation will cause burden on the liver and kidneys. Before taking supplements, it is best to make an evaluation first to find out what is missing and what supplements will be effective.