You might think that taking health supplements and tonics is definitely beneficial for fitness, but what you may not realize is that if not done properly, your body could become weaker from these supplements! The theory of "winter supplementation" is a rich cultural heritage passed down from thousands of years of experience in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and it is also one of the traditional methods of fitness and healthcare in China, with its own scientific theoretical basis. However, you must avoid some common misconceptions about supplementation.
In advertisements, the claims about the "miraculous," "effective," and "cure-all" properties of various supplements are often exaggerated.
Health supplements are different from food and also different from medicine. In foreign countries, such supplements are called "functional foods." They cannot be effective for a specific disease, nor can they make you stronger than your original healthy state. They can only restore your sub-healthy state to a normal healthy state.
Only people with health problems need supplementation. Those who are well-nourished and have no aches or pains do not need to take tonics. This is like mending clothes that are torn; clothes that are not torn, too short, or full of holes do not need sewing. In the past, many long-lived people lived in deep mountains and forests, living a simple diet of coarse tea and plain food, yet they remained strong and healthy. Conversely, from the time Qin Shi Huang unified China until the Qing Dynasty, there were quite a few short-lived emperors who were avid fans of supplementation.
Even if your body is deficient, you cannot supplement blindly. There are many types of deficiencies, and each type has specific corresponding formulas and medicines. If the supplement does not match the specific condition, it will not only be ineffective but may sometimes have side effects.
The prescribing of medicine by senior Traditional Chinese Medicine physicians is very rigorous. Even ready-made patent medicines or medicinal pastes must be examined for their ingredients and then used according to a syndrome differentiation. Therefore, how to supplement and regulate based on 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.
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 life such as 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 ensure your nutritional balance.
Medical experts give people this advice: "Life requires movement. Only with necessary physical exercise can nutritional supplements work better."
This is because the intake of normal nutrients, as well as the absorption and utilization of nutritional supplements, all depend on the body's sound digestive, absorptive, and metabolic functions. Some people who lack exercise have a weak physique, poor gastrointestinal function, and low metabolic utilization. When they take nutritional supplements, they cannot digest and absorb them well, and may even experience side effects or counter-effects due to a weak physique or improper supplementation.
Most expensive supplements contain some high-priced 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 there be in a tonic? Therefore, the price of a medicine does not completely represent the quality of its efficacy.