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Supplement has its advantages if the desired food is difficult to obtain.
Both choices have their merits.
Excerpt from an article by Mayo clinic on the subject:Dietary supplements: Nutrition in a pill?
When using dietary supplements, assess your needs, evaluate the merits of taking supplements, and understand how to choose and use them.
By Mayo Clinic staff
Dietary supplements aren't intended to be a food substitute because they can't replicate all of the nutrients and benefits of whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables. So if you're generally healthy and eat a balanced diet, daily dietary supplements may not be worth the expense. However, if you can't eat enough healthy foods or have certain conditions, you may benefit from taking a daily dietary supplement
Whole foods: Your best source of micronutrients
Whole foods are your best sources of vitamins and minerals. They offer three main benefits over dietary supplements:
- Greater nutrition. Whole foods are complex, containing a variety of the micronutrients your body needs — not just one. An orange, for example, provides vitamin C plus some beta carotene, calcium and other nutrients. A vitamin C supplement lacks these other micronutrients.
- Essential fiber. Whole foods provide dietary fiber. Fiber, as part of a healthy diet, can help prevent certain diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and it can also help manage constipation.
- Protective substances. Whole foods contain other substances recognized as important for good health. Fruits and vegetables, for example, contain naturally occurring food substances called phytochemicals, which may help protect you against cancer, heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Many are also good sources of antioxidants — substances that slow down oxidation, a natural process that leads to cell and tissue damage.
Who needs dietary supplements?
If you're generally healthy and eat a wide variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, low-fat dairy products, lean meats and fish, you likely don't need dietary supplements.
However, if you can't eat enough healthy foods, you may benefit from taking a daily dietary supplement. Dietary supplements may be appropriate if you:
- Don't eat well or consume less than 1,600 calories a day
- Are a vegan or a vegetarian who eats a limited variety of foods
- Are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breast-feeding
- Are a woman who experiences heavy bleeding during your menstrual period
- Are a postmenopausal woman
- Have a medical condition that affects how your body absorbs, uses or excretes nutrients, such as chronic diarrhea, food allergies, food intolerance or a disease of the liver, gallbladder, intestines or pancreas
- Have had surgery on your digestive tract and are not able to digest and absorb nutrients properly
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