Dietary supplements are composed of vitamins, minerals and herbs designed to promote wellness. Health care professionals may recommend these dietary aids in order to prevent disease or fill any nutritional gaps in diet.
Avoid products making bold claims of curing diseases or helping you shed excess pounds, as the FDA considers these claims drugs and requires extensive testing prior to being sold in stores.
Vitamins
Vitamins are organic molecules essential to survival that cannot be produced in sufficient amounts by the body, so must be obtained through diet. Vitamin C contains eight vitamers (four tocopherols and four tocotrienols).
Dietary supplements contain an assortment of vitamins, minerals, herbs and botanicals in order to address deficiencies or provide extra nutrients in cases when someone’s health condition prevents them from eating enough or absorption nutrients from foods.
Most dietary supplements do not possess medicinal effects and are therefore unapproved as drugs. However, high doses of some vitamins can be dangerous. Speak to your physician about which supplements would best fit you.
Minerals
Minerals are natural occurring substances which are solid and inorganic; their formation does not depend on living things or organic carbon compounds. Minerals also form into crystals with their own distinct composition and arrangement of atoms.
Some minerals possess unique properties that make them easier to identify, such as halite (salt) having an easily distinguishable salty taste; ulexite, a magnesium silicate mineral with fiber-optic properties similar to an HDTV screen; or magnetism being the distinguishing characteristic for iron-rich minerals like magnetite.
Food sources of minerals provide most people with what they require; however, dietary supplements can supplement your intake in key areas. Potassium helps to regulate muscle and nerve function as well as blood pressure; calcium keeps bones strong; while phosphorus plays an essential role in protein and DNA synthesis.
Herbs
Herbs are plant parts used to add flavor, color or medicinal benefits. Consumption can range from small amounts to larger doses for full impactful flavoring of food without added fats, salts or sugars. Herbs also have many health-promoting properties and may help treat various conditions when combined with healthy lifestyle habits and eating practices.
As herbs are considered dietary supplements rather than drugs, they do not undergo the same rigorous testing process as pharmaceutical medications; thus creating the potential risk that some may not always be safe or may interact with certain prescription medications.
Therefore, only purchase herbal supplements from reliable sources that adhere to USP’s internationally recognized science-based quality standards for herbal products and individual herbs. These standards help minimize adulteration, counterfeiting and unexpected reactions from herbals.
Amino Acids
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, essential for body growth, tissue repair, hormone production and other essential functions. Since your body cannot produce essential amino acids on its own, they must come from food. Of all 21 amino acids known, nine (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, valine, lysine methionine phenylalanine and tryptophan) are considered essential.
Amino acid supplements come in powders, capsules and liquid forms and may help with protein synthesis, decreasing nitrogen loss and muscle growth, while improving sleep and decreasing stress and depression. Amino acid supplements may be taken before, during or after workouts for increased recovery while improving dietary protein intake; such claims must include an FDA disclaimer as they do not claim to diagnose, treat or prevent any diseases.
Probiotics
Probiotics are microorganisms that can restore a balanced environment in the gut, which may have been disturbed due to diet or health conditions. According to studies, probiotics may help relieve symptoms associated with IBS and constipation; prevent and treat diarrhea caused by antibiotics; support healthy immune function and help lower symptoms associated with IBS/constipation.
Probiotics may be found in dietary supplements either as food, beverages, tablets and capsules, with their number of live organisms known as colony forming units (CFUs) listed on their product labels.
Reputable probiotic manufacturers use past and ongoing clinical research to select strains with the greatest chance of improving individual health. Supplements provide more diversity of beneficial organisms to support an ideal microbiome as well as condition-specific strains or multi-strain blends.
