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What is nutritional supplementation?
The term nutritional supplementation covers any addition to a diet that is intended to improve overall nutritional status. Daily vitamin pills are the most familiar example of such supplementation. In medical parlance, however, supplementation is regarded as the use of specific nutrients to correct or prevent malnutrition or some other nutrition-related problem.
Why is nutritional supplementation important to nutrition?
In the United States, malnutrition is relatively uncommon, thanks largely to our variety and abundance of affordable food. Still, there are instances in which malnutrition is a serious concern requiring dietary intervention. Circumstances or disorders that increase the risk of malnutrition include:
- Cancer, AIDS, and other wasting diseases. These diseases increase nutritional needs by disrupting normal digestion and metabolism. They may also alter taste and result in a loss of appetite. Supplementation is directed to providing additional calories as well as increasing the intake of certain vitamins and minerals.
- Malabsorption syndromes and food sensitivities. These often result in chronic diarrhea and/or vomiting, which may require supplementation.
- Alcoholism. Alcohol interferes with the absorption of several essential vitamins. In addition, many alcoholics consume inadequate diets, exacerbating their malnutrition.
- Anorexia nervosa and other mental disorders. The self-starvation characteristic of anorexia nervosa requires intensive nutritional therapy. Patients suffering from depression, dementia, and other mental illnesses may also consume inadequate diets and require nutritional supplements.
- Surgical and medical treatments. Operations
Good sources of nutritional supplementation
- Pharmacies and many supermarkets offer nutritionally balanced food substitutes.
- Hospitals and nursing homes usually provide nutritional supplements for patients who need extra nutrients.
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that interfere with the ability to eat normally increase the need for nutritional supplements. The side effects of radiation therapy and numerous drugs may also increase nutritional needs.
- Miscellaneous illnesses.
Fever, infection, an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism), chronic diarrhea, anemia, and pancreatic disease are among the numerous disorders that increase nutritional needs.
- Aging. Aging often brings dental problems, loss of appetite, and reduced senses of taste and smell, all of which may result in malnutrition.
How much nutritional supplementation do I need?
This can be determined only by your doctor or a clinical dietitian. Unfortunately, many people resort to self-treatment by taking high-dose vitamins and minerals or high-calorie food substitutes. Such self-treatment can lead to nutritional imbalances and can worsen rather than correct malnutrition.
What happens if I don't get enough nutritional supplementation?
Nutritional supplementation is most important for people who are unable to consume a varied, balanced diet that provides adequate calories, vitamins, and minerals. In such circumstances, the body turns to its own reserves for survival. For example, protein from muscle tissue and stored fat are converted to glucose, the body's major fuel. This leads to muscle wasting, a rapid loss of weight, and metabolic problems, including the buildup of toxic substances called ketones—by-products of rapid or excessive fat metabolism — in the body.
Malnutrition that depletes the body's fat and protein reserves can result in death by starvation. In fact, many deaths from cancer, AIDS, and other
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wasting diseases are actually from starvation.
Even if the body obtains adequate calories, a chronic lack of specific nutrients or an inability to utilize them can lead to deficiency diseases. For example, a lack of protein can result in kwashiorkor, a serious deficiency disease that is most common among children in famine-stricken developing nations. In the United States, deficiency diseases occur mostly among people who have medical problems that affect food intake or digestion.
What happens if I get too much nutritional supplementation?
Healthy individuals who consume an adequate diet do not require supplementation. Even so, millions of Americans take daily vitamin and mineral pills. In the majority of cases, these supplements are not needed, but they are probably harmless so long as the supplements do not exceed the recommended dietary allowances (RDA's) established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences.
Excessive use of calorie-enriched food substitutes can lead to unwanted weight gain. High doses of vitamins and minerals can lead to a potentially dangerous accumulation of these substances in the body. This is especially true of vitamins A and D, which are stored in the liver.
Should I take nutritional supplementation?
You should take nutritional supplements only if your doctor or a registered dietitian recommends them.
Advice about nutritional supplementation
- Any unexplained weight loss warrants seeing a doctor.
- Chronic diarrhea, vomiting, or other gastrointestinal problems may be due to a malabsorption syndrome, intestinal parasites, or food sensitivity and should be investigated.
- Many diseases and medical treatments alter nutritional needs and may require supplementation. A registered dietitian or physician trained in nutrition should be consulted.
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