Supplement 1: Cholesterol-Lowering Foods
The effect of plant sterols and esters in lowering cholesterol has been experimentally proven. However, the UK's Novel Foods Committee recommends that foods fortified with plant sterols and esters "are only suitable for people whose cholesterol levels are 'close to the danger zone,' that is, those who should lower their cholesterol through dietary control under medical guidance."
To assess the potential efficacy of functional foods, the individual's personal condition must be taken into account. Catherine Collins, a dietitian at St. George's Hospital in the UK, says: "You have to remember that no functional food will work if the consumer does not have a balanced and healthy daily diet."
Regular exercise, stress relief, and frequent cholesterol monitoring all help to lower cholesterol. Diet is the main cause of high cholesterol levels. It is advisable to minimize saturated fats from animal foods in your diet and consume more plant-based foods and foods high in fiber, such as various whole grains and legumes, as they have very low or no cholesterol content.
Supplement 2: Prebiotics
Prebiotics, also known as chemical growth factors, refer to certain special nutrients that beneficial intestinal bacteria need, such as oligosaccharides and certain special vitamins and minerals. They can help the growth of beneficial bacteria. Some scientists believe that because gastric juice is acidic, most of the beneficial bacteria in probiotic dairy products may be killed before they even reach the intestine. The reason beneficial intestinal bacteria can survive is due to these special nutrients. Therefore, these scientists claim that it is necessary for the human body to supplement with chemical growth factors.
A normal diet can provide 5-10 grams of indigestible oligosaccharides daily. The effective dose of oligosaccharides for healthy adults is 15-20 grams per day; a dose of less than 15 grams is generally considered insufficient. Many products on the market claim to be prebiotics, but their purity is low. For example, some milk powders, complementary foods, and health supplements only use added prebiotics as a marketing gimmick, but the actual content is very low and cannot reach the effective dose, which is a deceptive practice for consumers. Therefore, when buying prebiotic products, it is best to carefully check the prebiotic content; a content of 80%-90% is considered high purity.
The most basic prebiotics are carbohydrates. Commercial prebiotics are dietary fiber, which is a type of carbohydrate that cannot be digested by the human body and well meets the conditions of a prebiotic. Most vegetables and fruits are rich in dietary fiber and can be considered prebiotics, all of which have the effects of relieving constipation, lowering intestinal pH, restoring bacterial balance, and enhancing the immune system. Therefore, many foods meet these conditions.
Among vegetables, those with high dietary fiber依次为 garlic sprouts, daylilies, water bamboo, bitter melon, chives, winter bamboo shoots, spinach, celery, loofah, lotus root, and asparagus lettuce.
Dietary fiber recipes from fruits and melons. Among fruits and melons, those with high fiber content依次为 jujubes, persimmons, grapes, Ya pears, apples, and bananas.
Supplement 3: Probiotics
Currently, there is evidence that probiotic dairy products can have beneficial effects on health in certain situations—for example, stimulating the appetite of children with poor appetites, improving diarrhea caused by inflammation, or preventing intestinal disorders. But what puzzles scientists is that they do not know which beneficial bacteria are suitable for which ailments, or how much probiotic dairy product to consume to be effective. The only thing they can be sure of is that probiotic dairy products are not harmful to the body.
A survey by the UK Food Standards Agency showed that the "beneficial bacteria" in some probiotic dairy products have a very short survival time; some die before they even reach the organ where they are supposed to "work". The proliferation of probiotics in the intestine can promote and enhance the body's overall immune function. Another effect of probiotics is that they can help repair common gynecological inflammations such as female vaginal infections. Probiotic strains have high requirements for their survival environment and require high standards for production and packaging processes. Currently, domestic technology has not yet reached the level of providing a packaging environment that preserves the survival of effective probiotic strains. When purchasing, you need to check if the specific strains are clearly marked on the packaging, such as: Bifidobacterium BB-12, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis HN019. Such products can be purchased with confidence.
Supplement 4: Cod Liver Oil
The main components of cod liver oil are vitamins A and D. Vitamin A promotes visual development, and vitamin D promotes calcium absorption. This product is a fat extracted from the liver of non-toxic marine fish such as sharks. After removing some solid fat at around 0°C, its concentration is adjusted with refined edible vegetable oil, concentrated cod liver oil, or vitamins A and D3, and an appropriate amount of stabilizer is added. Each 1g should contain not less than 90.0% of the labeled amount of vitamin A; and not less than 85.0% of the labeled amount of vitamin D. It is a clear, yellow to orange-red liquid with a slight specific fishy odor, but no rancid oil odor.
Although taking cod liver oil can prevent and treat rickets, this does not mean that every child needs to take it, because vitamins A and D are not vitamins that are difficult to supplement. If sufficient attention is paid to daily life, it is entirely possible for a child not to need it. Moreover, long-term excessive intake may cause precocious puberty in infants.
Supplementing with cod liver oil is mainly to promote the baby's absorption of calcium, as cod liver oil is rich in vitamins A and D. However, not all babies need to supplement with cod liver oil. When the baby starts to eat complementary foods, promptly add egg yolks, animal livers, and other foods rich in vitamins A and D, as well as vegetables and fruits rich in carotene. Taking the baby out in the sun more often is also sufficient.