Here's an fantastic message from Dr. Steve Chaney. Very well worth reading ..
The two biggest misconceptions that people have about supplementation;
#1: Supplementation can cure disease.
I don't know how many times I've been asked "I have
"disease X". What supplements should I take? - as if
supplements were drugs that can be taken to cure a
disease.
We shouldn't think of supplements as drugs that cure
diseases. We should think of them as providing the
nutrients that are the building blocks of health - or
perhaps the ammunition that the body uses to fight
diseases.
Diseases, after all, are an abnormal state of being,
and our bodies have an amazing capacity to fight those
diseases.
When we have infections or cancer our body activates
its immune system to fight it.
When we have inflammation our body tries to put out the
fire.
When we have damage to our DNA - our genetic
information - our body tries to repair it. The list is
almost endless. Our bodies are wondrously designed!
Our immune systems require nutrients like protein, B
vitamins, antioxidants, zinc and iron.
The omega-3 fatty acids, anti-oxidants and polyphenols
like resveratrol are anti-inflammatory.
Nutrients like antioxidants and polyphenols support DNA
repair.
So proper diet and supplementation are not "magic
bullets" that cure diseases. They are simply the
building blocks that allow the body to do what it does
best. And because no two of us are alike the nutrients
that we need the most to allow our bodies to do their
job efficiently may be different for each one of us.
So while there is no magic food or supplement that will
cure a specific disease, a healthy diet and a holistic
approach to supplementation can often work wonders.
#2) It doesn't matter what you eat.
This is the flip side of the coin. I often come across
people who have been told by the "experts" that the
cause of their disease was not related to diet so they
shouldn't worry about what they eat and supplementation
will not do any good.
Let's take the most extreme example - genetically
caused diseases or serious degenerative diseases like
multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's for which the causes
are still not fully understood.
It is generally true that these diseases were not
caused by poor diet (MS may be the exception because
there is some evidence that it can be caused by
inadequate vitamin D during childhood). And I know many
people who take the "expert's" advice to heart and eat
whatever they like and consider supplementation a waste
of money.
Is that a sound approach? Let's consider.
Any nutritionist will tell you that an inadequate diet
can lead to malaise, low energy, inflammation, weakened
immune system and impaired wound healing - just to name
a few maladies. Even if you don't end up with the
symptoms of a nutritional deficiency a poor diet can
rob you of energy and vitality.
If you layer the consequences of a poor diet on top of
the underlying disease, your chances of being able to
cope with the disease and function optimally are
greatly diminished.
I have come across many people with very serious
diseases who are able to function at a very high level
through proper diet and a holistic approach to
supplementation.
Diet and supplementation did not cure their disease as
they quickly discover if they stop supplementing and go
back to the way they used to eat, but in many cases you
would consider them to be perfectly healthy as long as
they keep doing what they have been doing.
So what is the bottom line for you?
1) There is no perfect food or supplement that is
capable of curing disease, but if you give your body
the nutrients that it needs it often has the ability to
cure itself.
2) Proper diet and supplementation can make a
difference even if the disease was not caused by poor
nutrition.
3) Each of us have unique nutritional needs so in both
cases a holistic approach to diet and supplementation
is best.
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