Nutritionist and personal trainer Looi Hong Keat thinks we do and tells us why.

What are supplements?
Dietary supplements are meant to supplement our daily food intake with nutrients that we don’t eat enough of or do not obtain from our diet. Certain nutrients are necessary for our wellbeing but our requirements depend on our lifestyles, so each individual has different needs.

Supplements can include substances such as vitamins, minerals, enzymes, essential fatty acids, herbal preparations, amino acids and phytonutrients (nutrients derived from a plant source). All of these supplements will promote the function of the immune system, act directly against bacteria and viruses, reduce inflammation, and are associated with the treatment and prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease and any other malady affecting the health or wellbeing of an individual.

Some people believe they can get all of the nutrition they need from diet alone, but many other people feel that taking dietary supplements is important to their health. Some people want a general multi-vitamin just to be sure they are getting enough of the nutrients they need and other people take individual dietary supplements in doses high enough to be used as treatment or prevention of diseases. The question is who needs supplementation? Many people swear by individual or multi-vitamins and religiously pop their pills as recommended on the label. However, do we really need them and what are the health benefits?

Understanding the value of RDAs

To fully understand why our diet does not provide enough of the nutrients that our body needs for optimal health levels, we must first understand the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA). The RDAs are levels set by our government for various nutrients considered to be desirable for good health. But are these levels appropriate, and will even higher levels of certain nutrients benefit us? The RDAs were first developed when the U.S. government began questioning the nutritional value of military rations distributed to their soldiers in World War II. By analyzing the average diet, the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board came up with a suggested minimum and then added an upward adjustment to theoretically ensure optimal health.
The RDAs are biased in favour of the conventional level of intake. They are not based on how people should eat to maintain optimal health. Rather, they have been formulated to represent how we eat. Take for example the most unreasonable recommendation from the RDA – vitamin C. The RDA of 60mg is merely a representation of the amounts of daily vitamin intake necessary to prevent vitamin deficiency diseases.

Do we eat enough?

Most nutritionists and dieticians constantly advise us to include whole fruits and vegetables into our diet to obtain fibre, which is good for our digestive system, instead of seeking nutrients from beverages, extracts, tablets, pills and such, which contain almost no fibre. Basically, they suggest we grab an apple instead of grabbing the vitamin bottle. Take heed of this wisdom as eating many fruits and vegetables will ensure that you get plenty of vitamins, antioxidants and fibre.

According to the Nutrition Society of Malaysia, we are advised to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables everyday. A serving of fruit is about the size of your fist and would include an apple or a banana. However, many of us don’t get five servings a day. Therefore, most of us are extremely vulnerable and susceptible to infections and illnesses, resulting in a need for taking supplements to keep us healthy.

According to an article published in 2002 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Harvard researchers David Fletcher, M.D. MSC and Kathleen Fairfield M.D., DrPH, reported the following: "Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone. It appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements."

When we take supplements, the nutrients and antioxidant properties will protect our body effectively from free radical damage. Free radicals can come from poor diet, physical activity, as well as a high body fat percentage, exposure to sun, pollution, cigarette smoke and stress. Even when we breathe, we take in oxygen and generate free radicals as a result. These free radicals can then roam throughout the body causing damage to our cells. This cell damage can impair our body's ability to fight against illness and other irreversible damage such as cancer, coronary heart disease, eye degeneration and inflammation.

Antioxidants from our diet and supplements will protect against these by rendering free radicals harmless. In our body, a comprehensive network of antioxidants work together to protect our body effectively from free radical damage.

The antioxidant network consists of two kinds of antioxidants – intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic antioxidants are made in the body, often from nutrients we obtain in our diet such as the antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GPX, and catalase), L-glutathione and Coenzyme Q10. Extrinsic antioxidants cannot be made by our body and so must be obtained from our diet. Examples of extrinsic antioxidants include vitamins E and C, alpha-lipoic acid (found in meat and vegetables such as spinach), carotenoids (found in fruit peels such as tomatoes), and flavonoids (found in fruits and vegetables).

How to choose the right supplements?

There are many medical professionals that say multivitamins are a sham and a waste of time and money. But in such a competitive world, most of us cannot afford to get sick as we have to work. As such, we need to focus on optimal health so that we can function properly.

One of the key factors towards great health is recognizing that what’s lacking in our diet must be replenished with either more nutritious food or adequate supplements depending on our specific needs. In addition, for recreational athletes wanting to get the most from training, everything from simple multivitamins to complex amino acids to sports drinks will ensure that you have enough energy levels to train and perform to your optimal potential.

Regulating safety

Most of the foods you see on Malaysian supermarket shelves and the drugs your doctor prescribes for you are regulated by a government organization called SIRIM. This organization ensures that many foods and drugs adhere to certain safety standards. But not all dietary supplements are watched over by SIRIM, so some supplements still make their way on to shelves without the necessary approvals. This means that there are products out there on the shelves that have not undergone the necessary safety tests, and hence, could potentially be harmful to the consumer. So if you decide to incorporate supplements into your daily diet, always ensure that the dietary supplements have met safety and quality standards through independent organization certifications such as

Consumerlab.com and Nsf.com.

Disease prevention is always better than cure. People see a major difference when they take drugs such as a flu pill but no obvious differences when they take dietary supplements. Dietary supplements provide a gradual, safer and more natural alternative to drugs without high strain on our kidneys and liver. Besides disease prevention, an adequate intake of proper nutrients can also have positive effects on mental health, behaviour, stamina and cognitive function.

What to take?

Fish Oil

Marine fish oil, for example, is rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). They are the two principal fatty acids found in fish, which belong to a family of essential nutrients known as omega-3 fatty acids. The body can manufacture both EPA and DHA from another essential fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) — found in flaxseed oil, canola oil, soy oil and walnut oil — but only to a limited extent. EPA and DHA are very important for the proper function of the brain and nervous system. New mothers especially, need enough of these micronutrient supplements during lactation and pregnancy because most of the nutrients are directed to their baby first.

CoQ10

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is produced by the human body and is necessary for the basic functioning of cells. CoQ10 levels decrease with age and are low in patients with chronic diseases such as heart conditions, cancer, diabetes and HIV. CoQ10 supplements have been widely used for the treatment of heart disease (especially heart failure), gum diseases, and also breast cancer.

Multivitamins

Multivitamins help bridge the nutritional gaps found in most people's diets. If you decide to incorporate vitamin supplements into your daily diet, always remember to include a blend of multivitamins and minerals e.g. vitamin C, E, D and B complex. Just as an example, vitamin D is formed by an interaction between the sun's rays, and skin oils. Without supplementation, we may be at risk of inadequate vitamin D if we spend most daylight hours indoors, especially if you work in an office from 9am to 6pm daily. However, this vitamin is also a regulating factor in calcium absorption. Without vitamin D and magnesium, the calcium we consume is wasted. This explains why we need to take more than one type of antioxidant and vitamin – to ensure that supplements are mostly absorbed into our body, instead of becoming expensive urine.

Potential Risks

While multivitamins can be a valuable tool to correct dietary imbalances, it is worth exercising basic caution before taking multivitamins, especially if any medical conditions exist. Many supplements contain active ingredients that can have strong effects on the body when combined with certain medication, hence, it is always very important to inform your doctor about what supplements you are taking when medication is being prescribed. Here are a few examples of dietary supplements believed to be detrimental with specific drugs:
• Calcium and heart medicine (e.g. Digoxin)
• Vitamin K and a blood thinner (e.g. Coumadin).

Maintaining a healthy immune system includes getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, reducing stress and avoiding environment pollutants that damage our health. A balanced diet, an adequate amount of exercise and right supplements will ensure that we live a long and healthy life. A balanced lifestyle is what you want to maintain so that you can do what you want to do in life positively and full of energy!

Did You Know?

Nutritional deficiencies can lead to very important health problems. Some examples: edema (protein deficiency), rickets (vitamin D deficiency), scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) and anaemia, an iron deficiency.