Dietary supplements are any products taken outside of food to promote improved health, such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids or other ingredients. Dietary supplements come in pill form as well as capsules, powder, liquid drinks or energy bars.
Before taking supplements, it is a good idea to speak to a healthcare provider. They know your individual medical history and can assist in selecting safe products.
Vitamins
Vitamins are micronutrients essential to overall good health that you must consume regularly through a balanced and varied diet. Most individuals can obtain all their required vitamins through this means.
Vitamin supplements can supplement a diet or increase its benefits, filling any nutritional gaps and supporting an otherwise healthy plan. They come in the form of pills, capsules, liquids or food products such as energy drinks.
Water-soluble vitamins must be consumed regularly in order to avoid deficiency, including vitamin C, B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid), biotin and pantothenic acid.
Fat-soluble vitamins like A, D and E can be stored by our bodies, while they’re found in foods like eggs, milk, meats and green leafy vegetables. When shopping for dietary supplements such as USP or ConsumerLab seals ensure they were produced according to label specifications and contained only those listed as ingredients on their labels.
Minerals
Minerals are inorganic substances found naturally and possessing crystalline structures, with defined chemical composition and ordered internal atomic arrangements. Furthermore, minerals possess certain physical characteristics like elasticity and conductivity that make them valuable minerals.
Minerals form through various geological processes, such as metamorphism and cooling of lava or magma. Minerals may also form through biomineralization in living organisms – for instance mollusks produce calcium carbonate shells as part of their defense system.
Minerals are essential components of human health and should be included as part of a balanced diet. Some essential minerals for human wellbeing include potassium, chlorine, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron phosphorus and zinc; trace elements include boron and silicon. Minerals can generally be divided into two classes: oxides and sulfides – where oxide minerals contain chemical compounds formed from metals with oxygen as an element; while sulfide minerals contain one or more metals combined with one or more nonmetals like sulfur as components.
Herbs
Culinary herbs add flavour to dishes while also serving as medicinal supplements. Cinnamon can help regulate high blood sugar levels while thyme helps burn extra calories. Fenugreek and St John’s Wort herbal supplements may aid weight loss by improving fat-metabolism within the body.
Herbal medicines are an increasingly popular dietary supplement, often taken in pills, capsules, syrups or tea. Derived from whole plants or specific parts such as roots, seeds, flower buds leaves bark inner bark cambium resin pericarp, they may be taken orally or externally as pills capsules syrups or tea.
Herbal remedies are considered safe when taken at concentrations that are typically found in food, however they don’t go through as rigorous testing as medications and may interact with prescription or over-the-counter drugs, necessitating consultation with an experienced healthcare provider before beginning any herb regimen.
Nutraceuticals
Nutraceuticals were coined in 1989 to refer to products made from food sources that provide additional health benefits beyond basic nutritional value. Examples include non-specific biological therapies used to promote wellness, control symptoms, prevent malignant processes or aid disease treatment.
These supplements may come in the form of single nutrients like Vitamin C or multiple combinations of vitamins and minerals; or herbal products, genetically engineered designer foods or processed food items with added iron such as cereals.
Supplements can help fill any nutritional gaps in our diets and help ensure optimal health, such as for pregnant women who must increase folic acid in her diet to support gestation. Although dietary supplements are well-known worldwide, each country varies when it comes to how these products are regulated – in the U.S. for instance they must meet specific standards before being sold as foods rather than drugs.
