Holistic nutritionists are people with an interest in healing people through the use of whole and natural foods. They tend to avoid (or at least try to) traditional forms of Western medication in favor of natural alternatives.
Holistic nutritionists focus on the client’s health and wellness as a whole. This means that their treatment programs aim to fix the mind, body, and soul instead of curing a specific symptom or disease.
Why is it important to take supplements?
Many people are not educated sufficiently in nutrition to be able to feed themselves a balanced diet. Supplements are an easy way to ensure you are getting the optimal nutrition that your body needs. This can help to keep you healthier and can even prolong your life.
Supplements should not be taken as a replacement for a healthy and balanced diet. The nutrients found in supplements are known as micronutrients – vitamins and minerals. In food, you also find some of these, but more importantly, you will get your macronutrients. These are things like carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. You need a good balance of both micro and macronutrients to stay healthy.
Multivitamin
In an ideal world, your diet would give you all of the vitamins that you need. With the ever-presence of processed foods, this is seemingly moving further and further out of reach. Food hygiene standards, while being very important for public safety, can lead to many nutrients from the soil being washed off of your produce.
This means that you are likely to be missing out on a wealth of nutrients that can be hugely beneficial to your overall health. We advise taking a multivitamin daily to ensure you are meeting all of your nutritional needs.
You should look for a multivitamin that contains the vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B6, B12, magnesium, and calcium. These are all vital to your immune system health and will help to maintain your energy levels.
B-complex vitamins
As mentioned above, the most important B vitamins are B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, and B12. You may know some by their other names – thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and biotin. B-complex vitamin deficiencies can have serious health implications so it is important to ensure you are supplying your body with adequate quantities.
Vitamin D
The most common source of vitamin D is the sun, although many people do not receive enough from this. It is estimated that over 100 million Americans are vitamin D deficient.
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is used to regulate the immune system, help absorb calcium, and protect against a wealth of other diseases. It is vital to maintain bone density and strength.
Vitamin K2
Vitamin K2 is also key in the maintenance of optimal bone health. It helps the cells of your body to absorb calcium into the bone instead of your soft tissues.
Omega-3 (EPA and DHA)
We have all heard of Omegas, but who knows what they actually are? There are 2 main forms, omega-6 and omega-3. The ideal diet will have a 1:1 ratio of these fatty acids, but the average American is actually intaking more of a 15:1 ratio. This is due to the consumption of seed oils such as canola, sunflower, and corn oils.
You can get many vegetable sources of Omega-3s in the form of ALA and LA (alpha-linoleic acid). These are short-chain fatty acids and need to be converted to EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in the body. This is a very inefficient conversion, meaning that flaxseed oil is probably not your best bet for Omega intake.
We advise taking a fish oil supplement instead, as this will help to give you a more readily available source of Omegas. If you are vegetarian or vegan, consider an algal supplement. There are also many EPA and DHA supplements suitable for vegetarians and vegans nowadays.
Magnesium
Magnesium is an essential mineral for the correct functioning of your body. There are over 300 enzymatic systems within your body that require magnesium to operate. It is what is known as a cofactor, a substance that helps to perform the reaction.
These reactions include protein synthesis, control of blood glucose levels, regulation of your blood pressure, and muscle and nerve function. As well as this, magnesium is vital for DNA and RNA synthesis. Magnesium is also required for creating glutathione, an antioxidant that helps to reduce inflammation and support the immune system function.
It is a good idea to look for an oxygenated form of magnesium. This will absorb faster and will be more effective when alkalizing.
Probiotics
These are commonly found in foods such as sauerkraut, but you can purchase robotic supplement powders or capsules too. Holistic nutritionists tend to recommend soil-based probiotics for optimal results.
This is because soil probiotics are closer to the natural compounds our ancestors would have had before the introduction of chemicals and pesticides. Incorporating these into your diet will help to balance and support the gut microbiome.
Rhodiola
This is an adaptogen, something that helps the body (particularly the neuroendocrine-immune system) respond to and cope with stress. Studies are being done into Rhodiola supplements and they suggest that the substance may be able to promote homeostasis within the body.
It is believed that it can help to promote regrowth of cardiac blood vessels following cardiac events and prevent heart attacks due to stress. It can also restore antioxidants in the liver and control immune responses to inflammation.
Turmeric
This is a great supplement that helps to fight inflammation in the body. This is because of the chemical compound curcumin found inside the spice. This is a phytochemical which helps to reduce the risk of heart diseases, diabetes, chronic fatigue, and cancer.
If you suffer from inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis and joint pain, this is a great supplement to include in your diet. If you are incorporating turmeric into your food, add a little black pepper to promote curcumin absorption.
