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Americans have become more health conscious over the past few years and are beginning to recognize the connection between good health and diet. Unfortunately, this knowledge hasn't translated into healthier eating habits.

The problem is people don't take the time to plan meals or do the necessary tasks to eating healthful. It has become way too easy to drive up to a window and grab a bag of food to eat in the car or at home. Even grocery stores are packed with fast food and there are entire aisles dedicated to frozen and processed meals in a bag or box. What kind of nutrition are you going to get out of a bag of orange dust and dehydrated potatoes? Not much.

By the time you eat it, it has been heated to extreme temperatures, processed, frozen, then heated up again. Then there are all those preservatives, additives and food colorings. There's not much there to fuel your body.

And, even if you ate the healthiest diet on the planet, you wouldn't get all the nutrients your body needs. Why? Because 90% of American soil is depleted of minerals. So, if you eat healthy, you need to supplement and if you don't eat healthy, you REALLY need to supplement.

The first thing to remember about adding supplements to your diet is that they are meant to augment, not replace, a healthy diet. Your body is one incredible machine and it serves you well, even when you treat it bad. But it can only take so much. You've got to help it by being nice to yourself.
The best source of vitamins and minerals comes from whole food sources. I know you've heard this before, but it bears repeating – eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. If you decide to add supplements, do your research. Understand what supplements you need and why. Educate yourself about the quality and effectiveness of the product.

Don't just add a generic, inexpensive daily vitamin to your morning routine and think you are going to experience optimum health. Most of those inexpensive, generic supplements aren't worth the few dollars you paid for them.

There are five key things you should look for when researching or shopping for dietary supplements.

--Look for a product that has a gender-specific formula. Men and women have different needs. A good supplement will have different formulations to meet those needs.

-- Look for a supplement that has morning and evening formulations. Our bodies require different vitamins and minerals throughout the day, while others help us repair our bodies in the evening. Additionally, some nutrients counteract each other and shouldn't be taken at the same time.

-- Read the label to make sure the formulation has been independently tested and analyzed. Supplements should be tested for potency and potential toxicity and backed up with the best research and science available. A good manufacturing source is a key element in ensuring quality.

-- Buy supplements in capsule form rather than tablets. Capsules don't include as much filler and the nutrients can be more efficiently absorbed into the body.

-- Finally, look for chelated minerals when reading a supplement's label. Chelation is a process that binds fatty acids or amino acids to a mineral, which aids absorption into the body.

I highly recommend X-tend Life Natural Products because they have addressed all of the above categories. Their product line is excellent and affordable, plus they provide a monthly newsletter and a loyalty program. You can learn more about X-tend Life at
http://www.xtend-life.com/default.asp?id=814336.

Kathy Browning is a healing arts practitioner and wellness coach. She is also the Editor-In-Chief of "The Art of Living Well", an ezine focused on the mind, body, spirit connection and the author of "Feng Shui for Abundant Living". Be sure to visit http://www.cancercomfort.com for more information.