Nutrition and supplementation plays a major role in the overall health process. The 20th century brought about some major medical developments in the sickness industry, which helped fight infectious disease, improved the effectiveness of antibiotics and immunizations and resulted in a doubling of the average lifespan.

However, the older you get the more medication you seem to need and the sicker you become. So where's the benefit to living longer when your quality of life deteriorates?

The 21st century is focusing medical developments on the wellness industry - helping people live better and live longer through natural yet scientifically developed nutritional supplements.

Wellness is more than just the absence of disease, it causes cellular radiance; radiating good health from the inside out because you are giving your body everything it needs so that every cell functions at its very best.

The foundation of good health is good nutrition which means making sure your body has all the macro nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fat) and micro nutrients (vitamins, minerals, trace elements) it requires to function like a well oiled car.

Our current food supply has some major challenges. Many people live in remote areas and food loses a lot of its goodness and suffers as a result of the lengthy transportation of food to these remote areas. Fast food outlets are everywhere. People are too busy to cook so they eat away from home or choose takeaway foods that are higher in calories, animal fats, salt and sugar. And many foods that are available are so processed that they have minimal nutritional value and micro-nutrients. This is why there is a strong focus on the importance of dietary supplements to provide what's missing from our food.

When it comes to micro-nutrients (vitamins, minerals, trace elements) it's important to give your body no less than exactly what it needs or it will not function properly. All of those important processes your body performs daily through your liver, kidneys, digestive system, heart, stomach etc will labor under the lack of lubrication and nutrition. Just like putting cooking oil in your car engine, it may run okay for a while but eventually, after numerous and expensive problems with the motor, it'll come to a grinding halt.

The Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of any micro-nutrient (as indicated on the bottle) states the minimum amount of each nutrient your body requires in order to prevent a deficiency. Your body is a very clever machine so if you give it more than it needs it will eliminate the excess efficiently. Provided that the products are natural, it is very difficult to overload it.

In order to obtain even minimal nutrition from your food, it is recommended that you eat 5 to 7 servings of fruit or vegetables daily; a near impossible feat for busy people. In fact, with the way food is today, it's a fact that you need to consume around 4,000 calories of food per day in order to get all the nutrition your body needs. That is around 3 times more than an average man or woman needs in order to maintain a healthy weight, so not only is it expensive, you will get fat in the process.

People often say "But I should be able to get all the nutrition I need from my food" and they're right, they should. But they can't and they don't.

In addition to the lack of micro-nutrients in our food through over-processing, food also lacks fiber and nutrition but is higher in calories so people feel less full from their food choices, they eat more, suffer cravings and so begin the ongoing cycle of over-eating whilst becoming malnourished. A strange concept isn't it?

There is a lot of conflicting information out there but a key thing to remember in your own quest for wellness is to do what you enjoy and what feels right.

Your body is repairing itself every single hour at the cellular level so if you decide to begin taking supplements, make sure they work at the cellular level - that they repair the cellular membrane which is effectively like re-building yourself from the inside out.

The sooner you give your body what it needs through supplementation the better you will feel and the sooner you will reach a point of wellness in your life. When you're well and you know what your body is capable of, you can do anything, and the path to wellness you once ambled along, becomes one down which you run, kicking your heels up as you go!


About the Author

Sarah Ross is a Weight Loss and Wellness Mentor who has a passion for helping people improve their health and quality of life through good nutrition. For more information please visit the website: www.regain-your-life.com