You might think that taking health supplements and tonics must be beneficial for fitness, but what you don't realize is that if not done properly, your body could become weaker from the supplementation! The theory of "winter supplementation" is a rich cultural heritage passed down from thousands of years of experience in Traditional Chinese Medicine and is also one of China's traditional fitness and health methods, with its own scientific theoretical basis. However, you must avoid some common misconceptions about supplementation.
Misconception 1: Blindly trusting advertisements
In advertisements, the claims about the "miraculous," "effective," and "cure-all" effects of various supplements are often exaggerated.
Health supplements are different from both food and medicine. In foreign countries, such supplements are called "functional foods." They are not effective for a specific disease, nor can they make you stronger than your original healthy state. They can only restore your sub-health state to a normal healthy state.
Misconception 2: Supplementation is equivalent to health preservation
Only people with health issues need supplementation. Those who are well-nourished and free from illness and pain do not need to take tonics. This is like mending a torn piece of clothing; clothes that are not torn, too short, or full of holes do not need to be sewn. In the past, many long-lived people lived deep in the mountains and forests, yet they remained strong and healthy on a simple diet. Conversely, from the time Qin Shi Huang unified China until the Qing Dynasty, there were quite a few short-lived emperors who were avid supplement users.
Misconception 3: Supplementation without syndrome differentiation
Even if you are physically weak, you cannot supplement blindly. There are many types of weakness, and each type has specific corresponding remedies. If the remedy does not match the syndrome, it is not only ineffective and useless, but can sometimes have side effects.
The medication of veteran Chinese medicine practitioners is very rigorous. Even with ready-made tonics or herbal pastes, they must examine the prescription ingredients and then use them based on syndrome differentiation. Therefore, how to supplement and regulate according to an individual's physical constitution and functional condition, and which type of supplement is more suitable and effective, should be done under the diagnosis and guidance of a doctor.
Misconception 4: Using supplements to replace three meals a day
The human body's intake of nutrients mainly relies on three meals a day and cannot depend solely on nutritional supplements. The "Huangdi Neijing" (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) clearly states that supplements can only be used to nourish a weak constitution, while the body's nutritional supply must give way to the daily necessities of the five grains, five fruits, five livestock, and five vegetables. Modern nutrition has proven that only a balanced diet from three meals a day can achieve balanced nutrition.
Misconception 5: Using supplementation instead of exercise
Medical experts advise people: "Life requires movement. Only with necessary physical exercise can nutritional supplements work better."
This is because both the intake of normal nutrients and the absorption and utilization of nutritional supplements depend on the body's sound digestive, absorptive, and functional capabilities. Some people who lack exercise have a weak physique, poor gastrointestinal function, and low metabolic utilization rates. When they take nutritional supplements, they cannot digest and absorb them well, and may even experience side effects or adverse reactions due to their weak physique or improper supplementation.
Misconception 6: Thinking that the more expensive a supplement, the more effective it is
Most expensive supplements contain some expensive traditional Chinese medicinal materials, such as tortoise plastron, turtle shell, saffron, and cordyceps. However, without targeted use, they generally do not show special effects. Besides, how much turtle shell can be in a dose of tonic? Therefore, the price of a medicine does not completely represent the quality of its efficacy.