Know Your Supplements

Have you decided to have the so called healthy kick-off in the morning, with a handful of dietary supplements? Before choosing your supplement, it’s recommended that you carefully weigh the pros and cons from our previous post and decide wisely. Whatever the reason, it’s mandatory to meticulously calculate the health benefits and ill effects associated with supplements. Speaking to your health practitioner can provide a better insight about supplements and help you make informed decisions.

Do I really require one?

Discuss your food habits with the practitioner to understand whether your diet provides the RDA of nutrients per day, to keep you healthy. Especially if you’re a vegan and don’t consume dairy products and eggs, you must ensure the intake of Vitamin B12, Vitamin D and other minerals from food is good enough. The only source a strict vegan can get these vitamins and minerals are from greens. Probably based on your food habits, age group, gender, health condition, occupation (for sports, fitness, body building reasons), the practitioner may come up with a solution to either go for a supplement or to increase the quantity of intake to ensure the adequate amount of nutrient.  Nevertheless one must understand that no supplement can serve as a substitute to a balanced diet.

Learn the various kinds of brands

Talk to people who consume the supplement of your choice and perform an extensive literature search before purchasing the supplement of your choice. Speak with your clinician or a local pharmacist to understand the various commercial brands and the reputed manufactures and distributors of the product. Read through the labels to understand the ingredients of the supplement. Don’t fall in the trap of labels which claim to have no side effects, or those that claim to have a special or a secret ingredient without listing the names of the base ingredients. If the product label lists out the ingredients, study the ingredients to know whether they have health benefits or any side effects. In case of herbal supplements make sure to read which part of the plant, the product is made of. Further explore whether that part of the plant is really recommended in use of medicinal herbs or supplements and does possess that kind of a benefit. Realize that product labels that read as ‘100% herbal’, ‘100%natural’ may not necessarily guarantee safety.  Your health practitioner can help you from committing dangerous blunders.

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Myths and facts

Discuss with your health practitioner to understand of how to choose foods that provide you with the RDA and complement this knowledge with the myths and facts surrounding dietary supplements. For instance, let’s go through the following:

Myth: Consuming large amounts of supplements will provide me with good health.

Fact: Our body just takes in the adequate amount of vitamins and minerals required. Any additional amount is excreted out or the amount that is deposited may turn to be toxic to the body. Increased amount of supplement doesn’t protect from diseases nor does boost body strength and increase longevity.

Myth: Supplements that are expensive work better.

Fact: All vitamin supplements more or less make use of a standard set of ingredients to which every manufacture has access to. Basically, they all are same whether expensive or cheap. Hence Cost doesn’t translate to the quality of the supplement. Rather one should check the shelf life, as vitamins may lose their potency when not stored under proper conditions. Hence consider purchasing your supplements from a reputed retailer who stocks them well.

Safety, Quality and Efficacy

Herein, one should consider the dose of the supplement to be consumed. As seen above and also in our previous post, mega doses may pose health problems. For instance, too much of iron can lead to liver and lung problems. An overdose of Vitamin A can lead to liver damage. Hence, consult the practitioner to know the right amount of dose for you.

Checkout for the various drug interactions and harmful side effects that may arise due to consumption of a supplement along with your prescribed medications and based on your health condition. Choose supplements that resemble close to the supplement that is present our body and are not the synthetic versions. For instance, vitamin D3 supplement is similar to the vitamin D that our body synthesizes when exposed to sun. However, Vitamin D2 supplements are not as effective as compared to D3. Once purchased, follow the appropriate storage rules of the supplement to ensure the efficacy of the product.

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Never skip your regular medicine just because you intend to start a dietary supplement. Take into consideration your current health condition and don’t substitute a supplement for a balanced diet. Discuss your concerns with a health practitioner to help you decide wisely on supplements.  Above all, exercise regularly and follow a healthy lifestyle.