Which Supplements are Best for Overall Wellbeing?

The use of dietary supplements is a common practice for athletes and the general population. In addition to improving your physical health, they can also provide benefits for your psychological wellbeing.

Motivated people who want to live the healthiest lives possible often worry about which supplements to take. They often wonder which ones can help their wellbeing. The beauty of supplements is that their benefits are available to everyone since these products are generally available in any store or pharmacy.

Supplements come in many forms: powders, tablets, pills, etc. The choice depends on the specific needs of the person.

The most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to choosing the right supplements is that they’re always a compliment to the diet. They’re never a substitute for eating well. In addition, supplements for mental wellbeing are used to complement and not treat psychological issues.

On the other hand, their intake must be supervised by a professional. Certain substances such as ginseng or the herb of San Juan can actually interact with other medications. That being said, if you know how to use them correctly, supplements can bring many benefits to your wellbeing. They can even improve your athletic performance.

There are certain supplements proven to improve wellbeing. Here, we’ll tell you which ones they are and what effects they have on your health.

Supplements for wellbeing: Tryptophan for sleep

Proper sleep is absolutely nonnegotiable in order to maintain both your physical heath and mental wellbeing. Sleep not only gives your body the time to physically repair its muscles after training but also strengthens cognitive processes such as memory. 

Tryptophan is a molecule precursor to serotonin. This neurotransmitter works with several brain processes. It regulates mood and attention and modulates sleep. This last process occurs because serotonin is fundamental in forming melatonin, the controlling hormone for circadian rhythms.

Due to the above-mentioned reasons, if you increase your intake of tryptophan, it’ll be easier to fall into a longer lasting, higher quality sleep. Aside from supplementation, it’s also possible to find this molecule in foods such as milk, dried fruits, or salmon.

Gingko Biloba for brain health

Taking care of your brain is just as important as taking care of your heart. All efforts that we can take to keep our brains healthy will benefit our entire quality of life. It’ll also reduce the risk of cognitive decline as we age.

Having an active lifestyle, a healthy diet, and and proper cognitive stimulation are all fundamental practices to keep your brain healthy. In addition, it’s possible to give your brain a boost with Gingko Biloba supplements. These supplements are made from a plant that’s widely used in eastern medicine.

The impact of these supplements has been proven in an article published by Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences scientific journal. According to this study, Ginkgo is a vasodilator that’s able to increase the blood flow to the brain. This can serve as a protection factor against certain neurodegenerative illnesses. However, the evidence isn’t totally conclusive, which means there’s still more to investigate.

Supplements for wellbeing: vitamin B1 for neuron protection

All vitamins are an essential part of the diet and are added to many foods and supplements. It’s important to remember that they should all be consumed in correct amounts. Both their deficit and their excess link to health problems.

Vitamin B1, or thiamine, is important primarily for metabolic processes. However, it’s also important for neuron protection, as it’s the molecule that’s responsible for protecting the membrane that covers our neurons. This means that an adequate intake of vitamin B1 favors and accelerates the conduction of nerve impulses on behalf of the neurons.

This vitamin can be found in specific supplements as well as in many foods. Good dietary sources of this vitamin are pork, wheat germ, and whole-grain cereals.

Vitamin D to raise your mood

As previously mentioned, vitamins are essential nutrients and guarantee the proper functioning of the body. In particular, vitamin D can be a great addition for mental wellbeing.

The most commonly known function of vitamin D is that it helps with calcium absorption in the bones. A vitamin D deficiency can produce a condition known as rickets in children and osteoporosis in older adults. In addition, it’s been found that a deficit of this nutrient is related to emotional disorders such as depression. 

One interesting and important thing to note about vitamin D is that you can obtain it several different ways. You can ingest it through foods, supplements, or even through exposure to sunlight. That’s right! Exposure to at least 15 minutes of sunlight a day can help increase the levels of this vitamin.

Supplements for wellbeing: use with supervision

The use of dietary supplements has increased throughout the years. The fast pace of life that we experience today in large cities has made the idea of simply taking a pill to maintain your wellbeing very attractive.

It’s true that supplements can help you improve your wellbeing, but their intake should be controlled and always under the guidance of a doctor or nutritionist. In addition, they should be taken with the understanding that supplements complement the diet. They’re not a substitute for food.

In the case of mental health, supplements aren’t effective when used as a psychological treatment. The only way to treat emotional problems properly is by attending therapy and working directly with your emotions. Because of this, it’s important to remember that supplements should be used in a preventive way, not as a treatment.