Our body is very sensitive. If you are lacking essential nutrients, something is wrong somewhere. So when it comes to health benefits, many people look to dietary supplements first. Representative examples include vitamins, omega-3, glucosamine and collagen. However, there are many cases in which dietary supplements taken routinely have side effects. In particular, the elderly require even more attention. Experts say that most modern people are not “pathologically” deficient in trace nutrients our bodies need. This means that many of the dietary supplements we take are not actually “necessary” for our bodies.
◇ Nutrients that we consume in excess
There are research reports that omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of heart disease. However, such conclusions are not always drawn consistently. Rather, some studies report that omega-3s do not help reduce the risk of some diseases or relieve symptoms. Many experts also believe that the possibility that supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids in the form of dietary supplements can be of real and significant help in the prevention of chronic diseases is not as great as the general public believes.
Next is collagen, which is often taken by women to prevent skin wrinkling and loss of skin elasticity. However, there is no scientific guarantee that collagen directly reaches our skin or bones. This is because collagen supplements are broken down into amino acids in the stomach. There is no guarantee that the broken down collagen will be synthesized back into skin collagen. This means that a balanced diet, sufficient water intake and proper lifestyle habits to protect the skin are more effective for skin health.
Glucosamine and chondroitin are known to help maintain cartilage health and relieve joint pain. However, it is known that the actual effect is minimal. Rather, regular stretching and strength training are more beneficial for joint health. These two are complementary and are effective in reducing the load on the cartilage and improving joint movement. Therefore, experts say it is better to maintain joint health naturally through regular exercise rather than relying on supplements.
There is a lot of perception that antioxidants prevent aging by removing free radicals. However, in recent studies, appropriate oxygen radicals have been reported to promote “mitophagy”, a process of burning broken mitochondria, and “autophagy”, a process of burning broken proteins within cells. If we can’t even reach the amount of free radicals that is good for our body, excessive intake of antioxidants can actually have a negative effect. This means that it is not right to abuse antioxidants without exercising.
◇ Take food supplements only when absolutely necessary.
The most commonly consumed vitamin D is an essential nutrient for bone and muscle health. As people age, their chewing and digestion abilities decline, and vitamin D supplements become more common. Lack of vitamin D in the blood can also mean lack of physical activity. Vitamin D deficiency goes beyond simple nutritional deficiencies and suggests that a vicious cycle of aging is starting to occur, including overall nutritional status, digestive capacity and muscle health. In other words, even if you increase your vitamin D level with medications, the cause itself will not be corrected. It is also a lesson that you should not blindly rely on dietary supplements just because you are deficient in certain nutrients.
Professor Jeong Hee-won advises: “If there is no ‘morbid evidence’, trace nutrients can be sufficiently replenished through diet,” adding: “The use of dietary supplements should be decided after consulting an expert.” He defines cases in which micronutrient supplementation is clinically significant as follows: Use vitamin D and calcium if you have osteopenia, osteoporosis, or sarcopenia; use iron and folic acid during pregnancy; receiving iron treatment for iron deficiency anemia; and finally, vitamin B12 deficiency due to gastrectomy or vegetarianism. This is when there is a risk of deficiency or deficiency, such as supplementation.
◇ Do not try to fill deficiencies with food supplements.
Professor Jeong said: “Modern people often try to relieve fatigue caused by lack of sleep, exercise or clearing their heads, or in other words, the discomfort caused by a distorted life, with nutritional supplements,” adding that nutritional supplementation is unlikely to help recover from fatigue, I argue. This means that if something is truly effective, it is likely that it has already been classified as a drug.
As he stated, “drugs” are developed to treat or prevent specific diseases, and to be recognized, their effectiveness and safety must be demonstrated through rigorous clinical trials. On the other hand, “food” is literally “food.” Food supplements also fall into this category. Therefore, it cannot claim a clear medical effect. They also say that food supplements are just supplements and are not a substitute for a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. This means that it is not advisable to try to stay healthy by relying solely on supplements.
Many experts also advise that if you really want to improve your health and delay aging, you should first change the habit of relying on dietary supplements. A balanced diet, adequate physical activity, sufficient sleep and adequate stress management are much more important. Since most “micronutrients” are already present in sufficient quantities in our body, it is better to refrain from excessive love of dietary supplements as much as possible.
Reporter Lee Eui-hyeon yhlee@viva2080.com
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