Question

• What is the difference between nutrition "recommendation" and "prescription?"
• What are the risks and possible alternatives of dietary supplementation?
• What are the risks of crash, fad, and myth diets; how do they affect exercise?

Answer 1

Nutrition recommendation means amount of various nutrients required in healthy individual to remain healthy while nutrition prescription mean amount of specific nutrient required in patient to help him recover from that specific illness.

Supplements are needed to fill in the gaps between diets and to restore the amount of that nutrient which does not get fulfilled through diet. But too much dietary supplements has bad effects. For example- 1) Too much Vitamin A can cause headache and l liver damage. 2) Too much of Iron supplementation can cause gastric intolerance and liver damage.

Best alternative to dietary supplement is to personalize the diet according to body needs. Best way of getting nutrients is through our diet and not through extra supplements.

Risk of crash diet - slows down metabolism , future weight gain and harmful for heart . Deprives essential nutrients.

Risk of fad diet - Dehydration, weakness, fatigue and deprives essential nutrients.

This diets decreases the exercise tolerance and causes fatigue and weakness.Deprivation of essential nutrients causes decrease in power of muscles which decreases the intensity up to which one can do exercise.