Dietary supplements come in pill, powder, liquid, bar and gummy forms and are taken to promote overall wellness, address specific medical conditions and avoid illness or injury.
Before embarking on any supplement regimen, it is wise to meet with your healthcare provider first. They understand your individual medical history and can assist in setting appropriate dosage levels.
Vitamins
Vitamins are organic molecules or groups of molecules known as “vitamers”, essential to human body in small amounts for normal metabolic functioning. Unlike most nutrients, however, vitamins cannot be produced naturally and must instead be obtained through diet alone.
The 13 vitamins known to us include A, C, D, E and K vitamins along with folate, choline and the B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid biotin and B12). Our bodies can store four fat-soluble vitamins A-D in our fatty tissues and liver while water-soluble vitamins like the nine B vitamins as well as C are only stored temporarily before any excess is expelled via urine.
Dietitians recommend getting most of your vitamins from eating a balanced diet consisting of whole, nutritious foods; however, multivitamin supplements may be needed to fill in nutritional gaps in an individual’s intake. High dose dietary supplements should only be taken under guidance from a healthcare provider.
Minerals
Minerals are inorganic substances essential to our bodies for functions including bone formation, nerve impulse transmission and muscle contraction. Requiring less than vitamins in terms of amounts needed, minerals can be divided into essential and trace categories; certain minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium require greater amounts than others such as chromium copper iron molybdenum zinc which are considered trace minerals as our bodies need very small quantities.
Dietary supplements contain both trace and essential minerals. Our findings revealed that users of dietary supplements had higher total mineral intake (food plus supplements) compared with nonusers of supplements, and the prevalence of inadequate intakes was also lower among these latter individuals than among their nonusing peers.
However, our study revealed that supplements may increase the risk of excessive calcium, magnesium and iron intakes in some individuals due to being included in multivitamin and mineral preparations.
Essential Fatty Acids
Though saturated fats have gained an unfavorable reputation as artery-clogging contributors to cardiovascular disease, other fats such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated types are essential to good health. Since our bodies cannot synthesize essential fatty acids (EFAs), we must acquire them through diet.
EFAs include linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acid) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3 fatty acid). Both types are essential in supporting brain, eye, immune system, skin and hormone regulation functions as well as growth and reproduction processes. If these essential fatty acids are deficient, dry skin resulting from increased transepidermal water loss occurs as well.
Human bodies do not contain enzymes necessary for inserting cis double bonds into fatty acid chains, therefore requiring food or supplementation as the source for essential fatty acids (EFAs). Studies using animal models have demonstrated that diets lacking in fat produce biochemical signs of EFAD, including scaly dermatitis and an increase in plasma arachidonic acid:eicosatrienoic acid ratios (34). A diet lacking EFAs may produce biochemical symptoms including increased arachidonic acid:eicosatrienoic acid ratios as well as plasma arachidonic acid:eicosatrienoic acid ratios (34), though such deficiencies can be overcome through using oils rich in EFAs such as corn or linseed oils (35).
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, more commonly referred to by its scientific name L-ascorbic acid or ascorbate, can be found naturally in some food sources or added as a nonprescription dietary supplement. Vitamin C plays a crucial role in tissue growth and repair as well as strengthening immunity, protecting against certain cancers, healing wounds quickly, acting as an antioxidant and even potentially decreasing cardiovascular disease risks and mortality rates in those living with high blood pressure.
Prospective cohort studies suggest that increasing your intake of vitamin C supplements was associated with decreased risks for mortality from all causes and cardiovascular disease; however, results of clinical trials remain mixed.
Most individuals consume adequate vitamin C through eating a healthy, varied diet rich in fruits, vegetables and other nutrient-rich foods such as meat. Individuals who rely heavily on ready-to-eat and canned food for nourishment such as the elderly preparing their own meals; indigent individuals living in poverty; drug users; or those suffering mental illness may not get sufficient amounts.
