Supplements provide extra nutrients without extra calories thus increasing the nutrient density of our diets. There many many different  forms and kinds of supplements in today's market. Many are synthetically made are tend to have a more marketing than nutritional value.

Pitfalls about Supplements

• people keep to a poor diet regime because they think they are getting enough nutrition with taking supplements

• nutritious foods contain many other important nutrients such as phytochemicals found in many fruits and vegetables- important for immunity and anti-cancer properties

• our bodies are designed to absorb nutrients from food not supplements

• costly

Maximizing nutrient intake

By careful food choices it is possible to to achieve a highly nutrient dense diet without resorting to supplements.

Nutrient dense foods

• raw fresh dark green leafy vegetables

• fresh fruits

• lean meat

• wholegrain breads and cereals

• eggs

• raw nuts and seeds

• fresh fish and shell fish

• beans, lentils, pulses and peas 

• skimmed milk, low fat yogurt

These foods lose their nutrient value through processing, freezing, cooking, refining, dehydrating and so on. The vitamin content of fresh foods are lost as soon as the food is harvested. Also pesticides and fertilizers used when growing foods can also affect the nutrient content of foods. The best bet is fresh organic produce.

In today's times, more natural forms of supplements are becoming popular. Examples of natural supplements are bee pollen, cranberry, ginseng, co-enzyme Q10, flax seed oil.