Eve Kalinik: Superfoods Vs Supplements

With health store shopping aisles fit to bursting with supplements in different shapes, sizes, formats and colours – ranging from fizzing tablets to capsules, to superfood powders like baobab and moringa, it can be confusing to know what’s what.  We asked Nutritional Therapist Eve Kalinik to shed some light on the wonderful world of supplements:

"As a nutritional therapist I’m often asked about whether it’s a good idea to take supplements and the answer really is that there is absolutely nothing that can supplement a bad diet. Ultimately our body needs the proper fuel from food based sources in order to function properly and this means a balanced eating approach that includes good quality proteins, a wide variety of vegetables, fruit in moderation, healthy oils and plenty of clean water.
 
Living in a busy society, it’s not always easy to pack in all of the nutrients we need in our daily diets and this is where using powders such as baobab and moringa can be beneficial and efficient. Moreover, the nutrients from these food based sources are generally much more bioavailable to the body which means a greater uptake as opposed to some of their supplement counterparts that need breaking down before the nutrients can be utilised.
 
You also need to be very cautious about what other “ingredients” or substances might be lurking in some supplements and it’s therefore important to know the ones you should be taking. Conversely with a food based powder you don’t have this worry as it’s completely derived from its natural food source. The best thing about baobab and moringa is that they also taste great so not only do they give a nutritional boost but also pack in punchy flavours!"