If you are taking a variety of nutritional dietary supplements, you may think that all supplements are 100 % safe, and the ‘more the merrier.’ Actually there are many issues that you should be aware of when choosing dietary supplements.
The BEST way to proceed it to seek supervision from a health care practitioner who is knowledgeable in natural remedies. They can offer you a blood test that analyses YOUR individual levels of important nutrients. Then you can make a science based decision about what you might actually be missing from your diet. You can then increase consumption of foods which contain the nutrients you need more of, and THEN consider using additional supplements appropriately. Life Extension Institute offers nutritional evaluation testing without a prescription from a health practitioner.
Here are 10 Top Supplement Tips:
1. Supplement drug interactions: If you are taking any prescription drugs, its important to check with your physician before taking any supplements. For example, if you are taking coumadin, or any other blood thinner, and you ALSO take an herb such as ginger or ginkgo biloba, your blood may get too thin.
2. Too much calcium:Many people misinterpret the recommendation to take calcium. For example , if your doctor says you should get 1500 milligrams of calcium a day, that means that is the TOTAL amount you should take including foods- not the amount you need to take in a supplement.
3. Loaded with unhealthy fillers:
Many commercial brands of supplements actually contain fillers that are suspected of having harmful health effects. READ YOUR INGREDIENT LABEL- especially OTHER INGREDIENTS. If you see words such as Butylated Hydroxytoluene; FD&C Blue No. 2; FD&C Red No. 40 ; FD&C Yellow No. 6 ; Polysorbate 80; Sodium Benzoate; leave it on the shelf and choose another brand. You may need to visit your health food store to find supplements that do not contain these fillers.
4. Don’t take supplements 7 days a week:Natural health practitioners traditionally recommend that you get most of your essential nutrients from whole foods, rather than supplements. Allow your body a one day a week rest from supplements.
5. Unrealistic expectations:Many people run to purchase the ‘supplement of the day’ that is mentioned by TV “Gurus”. This often leads to unrealistic expectations. Supplements are meant to be part of an overall program of healthy eating, exercise and stress reduction, that can help with overall wellness over time. After the TV Guru’s endorsement, people expect to get immediate, overnight results simply from taking a pill, and will most likely be disappointed with the results.
6. Purchasing overpriced products through Multi Level Marketing Companies:
Products marketed through multi level marketing schemes are ALWAYS overpriced. You can regularly find similar products at ½ the cost (or less) at your local health food store. Look at the INGREDIENTS in the supplement fact box on the Multi Level product, and match it up to a similar formula.
7. Inferior FORM of specific nutrients:Become an educated health consumer and research the best form of each nutrient. For example, vitamin E comes in many forms. “dl tocopherol” is a chemical, while “mixed tocopherols” are naturally occurring as would be found in food.
8. Too much of a good thing -Megadosing on supplements:When it comes to supplements, just because a small amount may be good for you, taking more is not always better, and can be dangerous. Examples include Vitamin A in high amounts can cause birth defects if used during pregnancy, and Vitamin B 6 , if taken in doses higher than 250 mg per day, can cause neurological problems.
9. Relying on Supplements instead of healthy food.
The word ‘supplement’ means that these substances can help to ‘fill in’ if sufficient nutrition is not provided by the diet. However, pills cannot replace healthy food.
10. Taking supplements to ‘Loose Weight’ Although certain substances such as Green Tea and Glucomannon can help the body metabolize fat, there is still only ONE WAY to loose weight: take in less calories than you burn: that means healthy eating and exercise!
Ellen Kamhi PhD RN, The Natural Nurse® , www.naturalnurse.com, co-author of The Natural Medicine Chest , medical school instructor, radio host, provides medical consults in private practice.
I disagree with point #6. The saying “you get what you pay for” is true when it comes to supplements. You can find inexpensive supplements in pharmacies, grocery stores, and other big box stores. However, not only are they not good for you, they may be harmful to your health. Purchasing supplements made with synthetic ingredients not good. MLM’s can have some good products and pay their people vs. do advertising/marketing like Pfizer does for say Centrum. I would rather pay a bit more to a person trying to making a living vs. a corporation. The effectivness ratings on natural well made to spec. supplements vs. say Centrum or GNC is off the charts. They are cheaper because they have a lab make them with lower spec. ingreidents say from China. For example they frequently cut corners on which tocopheryl is used for vitamin E. Choosing the least absorbed or effective (cheaper). Average consumer has no idea. Shaklee has some decent products, Douglas labs direct is great and Truestar.com are a few better choices.
Hi Dave,
Thank you for your thoughtful and true comment- please refer to point 3 :
3. Loaded with unhealthy fillers:
“Many commercial brands of supplements actually contain fillers that are suspected of having harmful health effects. READ YOUR INGREDIENT LABEL- especially OTHER INGREDIENTS. If you see words such as Butylated Hydroxytoluene; FD&C Blue No. 2; FD&C Red No. 40 ; FD&C Yellow No. 6 ; Polysorbate 80; Sodium Benzoate; leave it on the shelf and choose another brand. You may need to visit your health food store to find supplements that do not contain these fillers. ”
As you can see I completely agree with your analysis of the fact that ingredient quality and fillers vary greatly, and low cost commercial brands will have the worst of both. However, when I review labels carefully, I can always find comparable high quality preparations in the direct sales marketplace that cost less but are of equal quality to multi-level brands.
Be Well! ELLEN KAMHI, PHD RN
I’m one of those people with a box full of supplements that I take daily.
Regarding tip 1, what about supplement supplement interactions, such as taking both ginger and ginkgo biloba? Benign?
Tip number 4, taking a day off, may be the hardest of all for me to swallow. What real benefit is there from taking away a healthy habit and ritual such as daily tulsi tea supplementing?
On to tip 8. Is there not also a flip-side wherein exceeding the RDA is in fact beneficial, especially with respect to things like B 3, B 12, C and D 3?
I can definitely see why you would want to speak with your doctor before using any anti aging supplements. I have recently noticed some serious signs of aging which has me very concerned. I definitely think that I should try some anti aging supplements that could help my skin to look healthier.
A friend of mine has been thinking about taking supplements to help her workouts, but we weren’t sure how she would find the right one. I had no idea that you should actually allow your body a day a week to recover. It would be nice to know that there will be a day you don’t need to take them.
I liked that you pointed out that it would be smart to make sure that you don’t take much calcium supplements. That is a good thing to talk to a doctor about. I wouldn’t want to worry about taking to much of one supplement.
This is some really good information health supplements. It is good to know that it would be smart to not take supplements at least one day a week. That is good for me to know because I would want the medicine I was taking to work in the most effective way possible.
Thanks for suggesting these amazing tips and it’s really helpful for everyone. who want to take care of his health. Seriously your blog is awesome and you did a great job. Keep doing. Thanks
These are great tips. natural supplement are essential for a healthy body !
Thanks a lot for these great tips, it will definitely help us a lot to understand our body’s supplement needs and how to take care of it. Thank you for this suitable article, it will help a lot of people. Great Post!!
I agree with you that we shouldn’t be taking an excess of supplements. My mother is thinking of taking herbal supplements to help with her headaches. I will remind her to double-check with her doctor about the supplement and the instructions to use before she buys it.
It is wise to discuss the use of supplements with a knowledgeable health practitioner, especially if you are already on pharmaceutical drugs. However, most conventional health providers know little to nothing about the vast array of evidence based support for the use of supplements. You can visit the Institute of Functional Medicine to find a highly trained health professional in your area. http://www.ifm.org
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