By Thomas Doucet

To Your Health

To Your Health: General Supplements

Jun 1, 2022 | 10:58 AM

PRINCE GEORGE—In 2015 Stats Canada reported that just over 47 per cent of Canadians over the age of 19 consumed nutritional supplements in the previous month. They are very prolific in our lives in culture but for those who don’t know what are nutritional supplements?

“Supplements are actually designed to supplement all the gaps of nutrition that are not filled in by your food. So if you are eating whole foods you are going to be getting a lot of vitamins, minerals and nutrients but if you are eating a diet that is composed of processed foods, stuff out of a fridge or freezer typically you are going to have to fill the nutritional gaps,” said Cara Roberts, Owner Active Body Nutrition PG

They come in all forms from vitamin water, to powders to pills. Nutritional supplements have been used since the 1920s to try and fill gaps in our diets. With the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies from around the world, what kind of supplements should the average person even consider?

” I feel very strongly that everyone should be on a good multivitamin pack. One of the reasons for a pack is you will be able to get a really good dose in different pills instead of having it all compressed into one pill. I love to do fish oils and Omega-3s,” said Roberts.

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With supplements like vitamins available to anyone should you be worried about any dangers when it comes to taking supplements?

“There is going to be dangers with anything if you have an underlying medical condition. We chat with our customers and learn what they are doing with their bodies. If they have a crew of doctors we will advise that they take their labels with them and make sure their body is okay with that, but as far as a generally healthy person most things available over the counter are generally safe,” said Roberts

If you do have medical conditions experts like Cara always recommend talking with your doctor before starting on any new supplements. Taking the correct and recommended doses is also very important. Overuse of any supplements can be dangerous. While supplements can help with a healthy lifestyle they are no replacement for the real thing.

“So in our opinion whole food is king. You want to get as many of your macronutrients, which are going to be your carbs, fats and proteins as well as your micronutrients, your vitamins and minerals from whole food. A lot of people have very busy lives, they have a hard time eating things and groceries are getting very expensive too. I always encourage people that if they want to throw a shake in their day, they shouldn’t make it just a protein shake. They also should put an energy source in with it like a carbohydrate or a fat and we can explain that or they can even pair it with a whole food,” said Roberts.