Nutritional supplements have been shown to strengthen the immune response and reduce the incidence of chronic illness. Higher intake and higher blood levels of micronutrients in many prospective studies lead to decreased incidence of degenerative diseases and lowered death rates over a period of years. Nutrient absorption has been shown to gradually decrease with advancing age, and sustained use antiretroviral drugs requiring greater intake of supplements.
Many of today's pharmaceuticals originate from plants. Digitalis, used to treat congestive heart failure, initially came from the leaves of the foxglove plant. Taxol, from the yew tree is used for chemotherapy. Belladonna is used for respiratory and gastrointestinal complaints, and many other medications are extracted from nature. With advances in the science of nutraceutical medicine, supplements can be given to the body reversing a variety of targeted disease causing chemical reactions.
Supplements include minerals, vitamins, herbs, concentrates, and homeopathic remedies .