You could be unsure about the effectiveness and safety of the vitamin C or fish oil health supplements as you go for the bottle. The first question you should ask yourself is if you really need them.
More than half of all Americans regularly or sometimes use one or more dietary supplements. Supplements may be purchased over-the-counter and often come in pill, powder, or liquid form. Vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements, usually referred to as botanicals, are typical dietary supplements.
People use these supplements in order to maintain or enhance their health and to make sure they are getting enough critical nutrients. However, not everyone needs dietary supplements.
Do You Need Supplements?
You don’t need to take a supplement since you may get all the nutrients you need by eating a range of healthful meals, according to Carol Haggans, a registered dietitian and consultant to the NIH. However, dietary supplements might be helpful for completing nutritional gaps.
When used in conjunction with other medications or before surgery, certain supplements might have unwanted consequences. Taking supplements when suffering from certain medical issues might potentially be problematic. Additionally, many supplements’ impacts on kids, pregnant women, and other populations haven’t been studied. As a result, if you’re considering using dietary supplements, see your doctor.
Dr. Craig Hopp, a specialist in botanical research at NIH, urges patients to communicate any supplements they are taking with their doctors so that their treatment may be coordinated and controlled.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates dietary supplements as foods, not as medications. There may be health supplements advantages listing on the label. But unlike medications, supplements cannot make a disease-curing, -treating, or -prevention promise.
According to Hopp, “there is little evidence that any supplement can change the course of any chronic disease.” “Don’t take dietary supplements with that expectation.”
There is evidence that some supplements may improve health supplements in a variety of ways. The most often used dietary supplements for nutrients are calcium, multivitamins, and vitamins B, C, and D. Calcium promotes strong bones, while vitamin D facilitates calcium absorption in the body. Antioxidants—molecules that stop cell deterioration and support health—include vitamins C and E.
Pregnant women need iron, and breastfed children require vitamin D. All women of reproductive age need 400 micrograms of folic acid daily, whether through supplements or food that has been fortified.
Blood and nerve cells are kept healthy by vitamin B12. In order to ensure that they are getting adequate vitamin B12, Haggans advises vegans to think about taking a supplement.
According to research, fish oil may improve heart health. Hopp asserts that, among dietary supplements not made from vitamins and minerals, “fish oil probably has the most scientific evidence to support its use.”
More research is required on the health supplements impacts of certain additional popular supplements. These include glucosamine (used to treat joint discomfort) and herbal supplements like echinacea (used to support the immune system) and flaxseed oil (used to aid in digestion).
Risks
There are minimal hazards and several supplements with moderate effects. Be cautious however. For instance, vitamin K will hinder the effectiveness of blood thinners. The ginkgo leaf may make blood thinner. Although St. John’s wort is sometimes using to treat melancholy, anxiety, and nerve pain, it may also hasten the breakdown of many medications, including birth control pills and antidepressants, which reduces their effectiveness.
A supplement’s claim to be “natural” does not guarantee that it is secure. The liver may suffer severe harm from plants like kava and comfrey.
Haggans thinks it’s crucial to understand the chemical composition, preparation method, and physiological effects of a substance—particularly for nutrients but also for plants. For guidance on whether you even need a supplement in the first place, the dosage, and potential drug interactions, see a healthcare professional.
Check the% Daily Value (DV) for each nutrient for vitamins and minerals to make sure you aren’t receiving too much of them. The DV and upper limit should be taken into account, according to Haggans. Certain supplements should not be taken in excess.
Even concerning basic vitamins, researchers still have a lot to discover. A recent investigation uncovered surprising vitamin E findings. Men who take vitamin E supplements may have a decreased chance of acquiring prostate cancer, according to earlier study. But much to our surprise, a large NIH-funded clinical investigation involving over 29,000 men discovered that taking vitamin E supplements actually increased—not decreased—their risk of this illness, according to Dr. Paul M. Coates, head of NIH’s Office of Dietary Supplements. To verify the effects of supplements, it is crucial to undertake clinical research.
Quality
The FDA does not analyze the quality of supplements or consider their impact on the body since supplements are governing as foods rather than medications. The FDA may limit or prohibit the use of a product if it is shown to be harmful after it has been placing on the market.
The purity of the product is also the manufacturer’s responsibility, and they are requiring to correctly disclose the contents and their quantities. However, there is no oversight body that guarantees that the contents of the bottles match the labeling. You run the possibility of receiving less or, sometimes, more of the indicated substances. It’s possible that not all of the components are stating.
A small number of impartial organizations carry out quality assessments of supplements and provide seals of approval. This just ensures that the product was preparing correctly and has the contents specified; it does not guarantee that the product works or is safe.
According to Coates, “Products sold nationally in the stores and online where you typically shop should be fine.” The FDA states that herbal treatments marketed for weight reduction and to improve sexual or athletic performance are the supplements most likely to include prescription components.
The NIH maintains fact sheets on dietary supplements at ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/ to make it simple to locate trustworthy information. Additionally, the NIH just debuted the Dietary Supplement Label Database online at www.dsld.nlm.nih.gov. You may find the components of many dietary supplements using this free database. It contains details on dose, health claims, and warnings taken directly from the label.
Check out the free updated My Dietary Supplements (MyDS) app for your smartphone or tablet for more individualized, on-the-go information on dietary supplements.
You can keep track of the vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other goods you take with the help of the MyDS app, which also offers the most recent information on supplements. You may even keep track of the supplements your spouse, kids, or parents take.
Making the choice of which nutritional supplements to take is an important decision, according to Coates. Find out beforehand about any hazards they could present as well as possible advantages. Consult with your medical professionals about any products you are considering using, and determine jointly what would be best for your general health.