This question is so loaded that I want to unpack it so the question can be better understood.
First is the issue of nutritional value of our food intake “adequate”? That really depends on who’s asking. If one is chronically I’ll or struggling through a disease process or injured state…the quick answer is “NO”, food itself is inadequate for meeting nutritional needs. Overcoming disease, illness, and injury requires above and beyond what is necessary for simple survival conditions. What the USDA recommends is minimal to prevent disease in most people. This is simply minimal values for basic survival levels based on what science has observed to be true regarding disease patterns. This “above and beyond” idea of using hyperdoses of nutritional supplements is the basis of all pharmaceutical products we take on a daily basis. For example, when you have a sprained ankle and the swelling becomes unbearably painful, an anti-inflammatory drug is often used to remedy the symptom. In this case your body does not produce it’s own adequate supply of anti-inflammatory compounds to support the healing of the injury and thus, a supplemental dosage is necessary to overcome the pain.
What about the person who is active, like an athlete? Is food adequate for nutritional needs? Quick answer, “NO”! Athletes are in constant states of breakdown and repair that supplies of nutritional compounds must meet demands to prevent a risk of injury and catabolic activities that affect future performance.
What about the very “young” and “old”?
The growing child certainly needs abundant resources which may or may not need supplementation. Same answer is true for the elderly. A better question to ask is “In what scenario would a child or elderly NOT need nutritional support?” Probably if they are sedentary, inactive and unmotivated to expend any energy in their lifestyle, then they are likely okay not to do anything. What a sad state but it’s still a choice many people have chosen for themselves.
Next discussion…”to be healthy”. This means something different to each person and the best way to answer is to really ask…”healthy in what way?”
More energy, increased mental focus, better sleep, higher intelligence, etc. Notice that these are just a few ways to describe “healthy” and in each instance there is a need of INCREASE or more of something-energy, intelligence, performance, etc.
Rhetorically speaking, how do we ever get more in any circumstance without actually doing more. You can’t, unless what you are doing is actively being suppressed by someone or something. And in these cases of interference, the likely solution is to take more of something (like a nutritional product) in order to detox or remove the obstacle that prevents normal functions.
In summary, ask a person what their definition of “adequate” and “healthy” is, and for what real world context this fits in, and the answer will present itself in a reasonable and clear manner-That people who are very inactive and simply surviving (withouth disease, illness, or injury) are likely to be in no need of any additional nutritional support. Those who have a need for improving performance, increasing energy, preventing disease and injury, and increased physiological function…those are the people who have defineable needs for nutritional support.
