Health, Men's Health, Supplements & Vitamins, Women's Health
In an ideal world, we would get all of our nutrients from the food that we eat. However, in a time where our diets are dominated by the convenience of fast foods and processed foods, it’s unlikely that everyone can easily meet their daily requirements of vitamins and minerals.
Shockingly, around 50% of the UK’s energy comes from processed and ultra-processed food and drink (1). Most of us will recognise a number of these types of foods in our daily diet, but it can be a bit tricky to know which foods are defined as processed or not. As a rough guide, processed foods include cheeses, bacon, salted or sugared nuts, beer, and wine. Whereas ultra-processed foods tend to contain ingredients you wouldn’t cook with yourself, such as preservatives and certain sweeteners, like cereals, sausages, industrialised bread, biscuits, and fizzy drinks (2). It is almost impossible to get all of your nutrients from these types of foods, and being depleted in vital nutrients such as D3, iodine and magnesium can leave you feeling exhausted, weaken immunity, and leave you feeling mentally and physically under par.
Even for those who try to consciously eat a mostly unprocessed or minimally processed diet, including foods like fruit, veg, nuts, beans, eggs, fish, milk, and unprocessed meat, it’s unlikely you’ll be getting all the nutrients you need. Stress, pollution, chemicals in household and beauty products, and poor lifestyle choices mean that it’s more necessary than ever that we make sure we aren’t deficient in any essential vitamins and minerals.
It can be a bit of a minefield trying to get good quality supplements that won’t break the bank. So, we asked Dr Naomi Newman-Beinart, health expert (PhD) and nutritionist (BSc), what supplements you can take for around £2.25 per day to help you stay well during the year.
Many of the UK’s population are deficient in Vitamin D, which is vital for bone health, mood boosting and the immune system. This is essential through Winter and Spring especially but can be helpful for some people to take all year round, such as those who work or live mostly indoors and do not get enough sunlight. I recommend the BetterYou D 1000 IU Oral Spray because BetterYou use science-backed intra-oral spray technology that delivers the active ingredient through the cheek (buccally) rather than relying on primary processing by the digestive system.
Iodine is an essential mineral that your body can’t make by itself, so we must depend on food or supplements to get what we need. Iodine plays an important role in the production of thyroid hormones, which are important for vital bodily processes such as metabolism. This is especially important for women, because as they get older, they are more likely than men to struggle with low thyroid hormone levels. This often lead to problems such as low energy, constipation, and weight gain, to name a few. I love Doctor Seaweed’s vegan and organic ‘Weed and Wonderful’ Hebridean Ascophyllum seaweed capsules. They contain only natural ingredients from food sources, providing natural nutrition in a much easier and more convenient way. Each capsule contains a similar amount of natural iodine as you would expect to find in a portion of white fish for less than 50p per day.
Did you know that after the age of 18 our collagen levels start to drop, and this accelerates by around 1.5% per year from the age of 30? This drop further accelerates for women with the onset of menopause. There has been an abundance of research investigating the benefits of taking collagen for women over 40. This research has found that daily oral collagen intake can improve skin elasticity, skin hydration and reduces the visibility of aging. It has also been found to encourage strong bones and joint repair. I recommend Correxiko’s Collagen Peptides Powder, which is completely natural containing 100% collagen peptides and no other ingredients. Science tells us that we need to take 5-10g of collagen per day to gain maximum benefits. This collagen will cost under 70p per day if you take the full 10g per day, which is amazing!
The science shows that magnesium can help support mood, anxiety, sleep, hormone levels and bone health, to name just a few of the benefits (3). You can get magnesium from foods including leafy greens, seeds, beans, fish, avocados and bananas, but as we all know, it’s not always easy to have the perfect diet. Luckily, BetterYou have a fantastic range of transdermal magnesium (also called topical magnesium) which science has shown to be more effective than oral supplements such as tablets and capsules in delivering magnesium to the body. BetterYou’s Magnesium Bath Flakes are a highly concentrated form of magnesium supplementation. If you buy a 2kg supply and add 250g to a bath twice a week, you’ll be spending under 60p per day. And, it would cost even less (just over 50p per day) if you buy a 5kg bag.
Supporting the body’s natural defences can be a year-round consideration. With kids returning to school and Autumn on the way, it’s well worth starting to support your immune health with UnBEElieveable Health’s Bee Prepared Daily Defence, an all-in-one formula containing plant-based nutrients such as bee propolis, black elderberry, olive leaf and beta glucans. The hero ingredients include bee propolis and bee pollen which have been the subject of over 2,000 studies for their benefits on health, immunity, skin conditions, and it’s antibiotic and antiviral properties. Bee Prepared Daily Defence may be taken daily, or as needed, for colds and flu, before and during travel, during intense fitness or sports training, or when run down or recovering from illness. Just one capsule a day throughout the month will cost you around 40p per day, or less if you only take it when needed!
1. British Heart Foundation https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/ultra-processed-foods
2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/what_is_ultra-processed_food
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519036/
Main image: Supliful at Unsplash
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