Health supplements include vitamins, minerals, probiotics, herbs, etc that can be taken alongside your regular diet. Health supplements are available in the form of capsules, tablets, powders, or liquids that can either be eaten or drunk.
People take these supplements for different reasons. Some consume health supplements to meet their daily nutritional requirements while others take these to cope with various diseases or achieve their wellness goals. However, studies have shown mixed results on the effectiveness of health supplements.
In this article, we shall discuss the benefits, risks, and uses of dietary supplements. We will also share with you some effective tips to find health supplements that are safe to use.
The Benefits of Taking Health Supplements
You will find innumerable health supplements available in the market ranging from vitamins to Zinc and everything in between. Health supplements provide several benefits to address individual health needs.
- Health supplements provide general health and wellness support: Health supplements include different types of multivitamins, minerals, probiotics, etc. You can consume health supplements to make up for the loss of appetite, and irregular sleep, and support your general wellness plan. Health supplements aim to boost your daily health and mental well-being.
- Health supplements can be taken to address certain health conditions: Health supplements might help you to address certain health conditions such as calcium requirement, mineral and vitamin deficiencies, and many more. People with age-related macular degeneration should consider Vit. C, Vit. E, Zinc, Copper, lutein, and zeaxanthin to fight against loss of vision.
- Health supplements can be used as preventive measures against certain illnesses: Instead of using health supplements to treat an ongoing illness, you can take them to prevent certain illnesses. This means you can take specific health supplements to prevent a specific condition. For example, pregnant women take folic acid supplements to lower the risk of fetal development issues.
Different health supplements may yield numerous health and mental benefits.
Although, health supplements are a choice of thousands of consumers their effectiveness of them is inconclusive. It is because the number and quality of research studies conducted to examine the efficacy of dietary supplements are uneven.
Continuous studies have shown mixed results on the overall effectiveness of health supplements.
Uses of Health Supplements
There is no doubt in the fact that a well-balanced and healthy diet can fulfill your daily nutrient intake. But sometimes, it becomes difficult to get the daily nutrition from your regular diet. This is when health supplements come into play by providing the essential nutrients your body needs daily.
People with certain medical issues are often bound by dietary restrictions so their bodies become deficient in essential nutrients. Taking dietary supplements might prove helpful in filling this gap in nutritional intake.
Similarly, people who are low on vitamin D need to supplement it by taking Vit. D supplementation.
Health supplements can prove to be really beneficial for an individual if one can’t get all the nutrients from their daily diet.
- Improving your dietary habits: If you follow a restrictive diet due to any circumstances, like a pure vegan or keto diet, you might become nutrient deficient. Including health supplements in your daily routine helps you to improve your dietary habits.
- Coping with Lifestyle Issues: Various lifestyle factors such as traveling, long working hours, or living in a remote location can obstruct your access to various nutritious foods. Health supplements can help you cope with these lifestyle factors that affect your nutrition requirement and overall health.
- Dealing with physical concerns: Various physical health concerns make it difficult for you to eat or digest certain foods. This can lead to the deficiency of many vital nutrients in your body. Also, certain medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes can cause magnesium and B12. Health supplements help you to deal with any such physical concerns and fulfill your daily nutrient intake.
What are the risks associated with Health Supplements?
Just like any other item that you eat or consume, health supplements might have certain risks associated with them. These can be in the form of certain allergic reactions, side effects, or negative interactions with certain medications.
The FDA doesn’t approve of health supplements as proper medication but only as a supplement to food. This is why it cannot measure the effectiveness of health supplements. The quality and safety of a health supplement therefore solely rely on its manufacturer. The manufacturers have to make sure they adhere to the highest standards to manufacture the health supplements before finally introducing them to the market.
Given below are the major risks associated with taking health supplements-
- Some of the most common side effects health supplements can have on you are an upset stomach, headaches, nausea, diarrhea, etc.
- Just like many foods, people do have hypersensitivity and intolerance to certain health supplements. These allergic reactions can be in the form of itching, swelling, or rashes.
- Taking an overdose of any health supplement can cause serious long-term effects on your body. That is why it is always recommended to consume limited amounts of health supplements.
- Many health supplements do not mix well with certain health conditions thereby causing serious issues.
Tips to Use Health Supplements Effectively
- The first step to make your health supplementation experience safer is to consult your family healthcare provider.
- Your next step should be to do diligent research on the benefits of health supplements and the manufacturing company.
- To know the safety aspects of certain health supplements, look for government studies and non-commercial websites to extract genuine information.
- You must always look for the ingredients on the label of the health supplements to know the formation of the product.
- Always choose to buy your health supplements from a well-reputable brand. Not all products labeled as organic or herbal are safe.
Summing up, health supplements can provide numerous benefits that help you to meet your nutritional requirements. But they can also affect you in certain negative ways if consumed in a more than recommended manner. Therefore, it is needed that more comprehensive research studies be conducted to determine the effectiveness of health supplements.
You must always strive to take the nutrients from your diet in the first place. If you are unable to fulfill your daily nutrient intake requirement then you should switch to taking health supplements of good quality.Visit www.doctorgula.com to shop for quality and safe health supplements.