When the first confinement was announced, Denis put his lifestyle in order. Anxious and depressed, as then respectively 27% and 16% of French people according to Public Health France, this 47-year-old publisher, who admits to cultivating “A little penchant for alcohol”, preferred not to give in to his alcoholic impulses on the occasion of endless aperitifs-webcam. “I wanted to take care of myself and try something I had never tried. ” So, between two meals a little more balanced than usual, he inquired on the Internet about food supplements that could possibly help him not to constantly have morale in the socks.
“I started taking St. John’s Wort capsules daily, it lasted two months”, he remembers. What were the effects on him of this herbaceous plant, which naturopaths praise for its anti-stress and anti-depressant properties? “Honestly, not much, but associating that with an almost monastic life and a background of psychological questioning, it made me feel good. “ Like Denis, since the arrival of the pandemic, many of us have thrown ourselves at these products sold in the form of ampoules, powder, oil or capsules made up of plants, vitamins, amino acids or probiotics. , in the hope of better managing our moods, our digestion, boosting our immune defenses, our libido, or, finally, to find sleep.
“A balanced diet allows the vast majority of us to do without food supplements,” recalls Kevin Caillaud, nutritionist.
“A large part of the population consumes more and more and sees it as the magic solution to all deficiencies, confirms Kevin Caillaud, doctor in exercise physiology and nutritionist. Supplements can be useful for some, such as elite athletes and the elderly who will maintain their muscle mass with protein sachets. Women who want to get pregnant are also advised to take vitamin B9 or vegans to supplement with vitamin B12. But the truth is that a balanced diet allows the vast majority of us to do without. “
However, tells us the FIFG, almost half of the French have turned to these products in the last twelve months, “Among which a vast majority is convinced of their benefits”, advance the polling institute. Moreover, although these products cannot legally claim to heal us, 52% of people polled by Opinionway in 2018 are convinced that they can prevent or slow down certain health problems.
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