10 Best Nutritional Supplements To Stay In Top Shape
When food can’t provide the nutrients your body needs, you turn to supplements. Here are the best nutritional supplements available.
The internet seems to know your nutritional needs more than you as it pushes ads of nutritional supplements when you scroll down Instagram or any other social media platform.
The mantra for Gen X is to stay Fit N Healthy and achieving this goal sometimes needs a gentle nudge given by the nutritional supplements.
A lot of supplements promise you a miraculous transformation into Captain America or Wonder Woman but we know better than that.
Not every supplement is for everyone and before you place the “click to buy” button, you must know which ones you actually need.
Let’s look at 10 of the best nutritional supplements you can take to stay in top shape.
The Best Nutritional Supplements On The Market
Here are the 10 best nutritional supplements you can take to get in shape and stay fit in the long run:
1. Creatine
The work of creatine is to enable your muscles to produce energy that helps you exercise longer and recover faster thereafter.
It improves your performance and endurance during your intense workout sessions.
The main purpose of creatine is to supply energy that aids in muscle contraction.
Although a diet rich in meat, beef, and fish provides creatine to the body, it can still be taken as a supplement.
Creatine monohydrate is one of the most widely used forms of this supplement and is also the cheapest. This form improves the strength of the large upper and lower body muscles.
2. Vitamin D
The best part about this supplement? You can have it for free. All you need to do is sit in the morning sun for a few minutes every day!
But if the weather or your lifestyle doesn’t allow you to soak in the sunlight, you must take a Vitamin D supplement.
In fact, during the pandemic when going outside for sunshine wasn’t an option, taking this supplement became even more important.
Other vitamin supplements that you can take are Vitamin B12, Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid), Vitamin C, and Vitamin A to name a few.
3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Vegetarians are more likely to have an omega-3 fatty acids deficiency than those who include fish in their diet.
Staying fit does not only collude to your physical health but to your mental health as well.
Studies have shown that people who eat an omega-3 fat-rich diet have a 75 percent less chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease.
Taking omega-3 fatty acids supplements helps in blunting body fat synthesis and reducing inflammation. This can, in turn, soothe your sore muscles and joints.
You can take an omega-3 fatty acids supplement in the form of a capsule but if you have trouble holding it down, you can also go for the liquid form.
4. Casein – Whey Protein
Bodybuilders who want to maintain a good nitrogen balance in their bodies go for milk protein which includes 80 percent casein and 20 percent whey; the ideal combination for them.
While casein is a slow protein that takes 7 hours to deliver amino acids, whey is a faster protein that does its job in 90 minutes.
When a protein is absorbed quickly, the liver oxidizes its amino acids quickly and it aids in increased protein synthesis.
Casein prevents the excess breakdown of protein because it is a slow-acting protein.
The newer formulations of casein-whey proteins have a minimal amount of lactose and are good for lactose-intolerant people.
5. Glucosamine And Chondroitin
Although both glucosamine and chondroitin are naturally present in our body, they can be taken as a supplement to improve your health.
They help in soothing the pain in sore joints and connective tissues while also helping in the healing process. This healing process includes repairing the tissue and preventing further tissue destruction from happening.
These supplements would not give you immediate results as glucosamine takes time in reducing the pain and starting the healing process.
6. Antioxidants
You’ve heard this term being used loosely for every nutrient, right from vitamins and minerals to flavonoids.
Although antioxidants are found in fruits and vegetables, we do not get them in sufficient quantity. Hence, the need to take them in the form of supplements.
Antioxidants work against the oxidation caused by exercise. During a workout session, the metabolism is enhanced, producing toxic oxidants.
These are tackled by the dietary antioxidant supplements such as:
- Vitamins E, C, and B-complex;
- Selenium;
- Zinc;
- Manganese;
- Green tea extract;
- Grape seed extract.
7. Mineral Supplements
Minerals are enzyme activators and they are needed by many vitamins that are coenzymes.
Minerals like chromium and zinc interact with various anabolic hormones such as insulin, testosterone, and growth hormones.
If you go for a vitamin plus mineral supplement, more often than not, it would contain more vitamins and fewer minerals.
You need a multimineral supplement that focuses on giving you all the minerals your body needs, in the appropriate quantity.
8. Fiber Supplements
If you’re having a good five servings of fruits and vegetables every day, you can skip taking fiber supplements because you’re getting a good quantity of it in natural form.
Otherwise, a fiber supplement is what you need to cover the fiber deficiency you get from a low carb diet.
Fiber supplements come in both soluble and insoluble forms, and your body requires both to reap the full benefits of fiber intake.
An inexpensive insoluble fiber option can be in the form of unprocessed wheat bran. And soluble fiber options include guar gum, psyllium, oatmeal, and pectin.
When you take soluble fibers before a meal of high GI carbs, it will help those carbs get into the blood at a slow pace.
This will reduce the levels of insulin release, decrease fat production, and will stabilize the blood glucose level.
9. Caffeine
Yes, you read it right. The beverage that gives you the early morning and late-night kicks has made it to this list of supplements. Let me tell you why.
Most weight-loss products, performance-enhancing, and fat-burning supplements have caffeine as a main ingredient. Not only does it give the body a metabolism boost, but caffeine also provides antioxidants.
However, don’t go overboard with this one and stick to the recommended dosage.
10. Post-Workout Recovery Drinks
They’re like protein drinks but post-workout recovery drinks also include nutrients and simple carbs that aid in muscle growth and recovery.
The carbs in these drinks work on glycogen replenishment and insulin release while the protein in these drinks is mostly whey that gets quickly absorbed by the body.
Although these drinks are called post-workout recovery drinks, you can also take them before your workout.
When you take them before your workout, the increased blood flow that occurs with exercise facilitates faster delivery of amino acids to the muscles.
Get Them Naturally, When Possible!
It’s always a good idea to try and get these supplements naturally through the diet but most of the time it’s just not possible.
Dietary restrictions, bodybuilding diets, fat loss diets, and our lifestyle comes in the way. And that’s where some of the best nutritional supplements play an important role in keeping us in top shape.
Nutritional supplements gives nutrients the body that needs which food can’t provide.