Dietary supplements can supplement any gaps in your diet, such as calcium, iron and folic acid for pregnant women. But they should never replace healthy eating patterns!
Dietary supplements include pills, liquids, powders and energy bars that fall under different regulations than drugs and don’t undergo rigorous testing procedures.
Vitamins
Vitamins are organic molecules essential for proper metabolic functioning that must be obtained either through food or dietary supplements. Our bodies cannot synthesize these essential molecules on its own; thus we rely on foods or dietary supplements as sources. There are 13 recognized vitamins, including folate (B9) that is commonly recommended during pregnancy to help prevent certain birth defects. Vitamin E contains eight tocotrienols and four tocopherols–collectively known as its “vitamers.”
Dietary supplements come in all sorts of shapes and forms, from pills and tablets to powders and drinks, offering vitamins, minerals, herbs, probiotics and other ingredients for proper functioning of our bodies.
Always read the label of a supplement before taking it, especially those taking multiple vitamins or herbs at once. Checking its % Daily Value or UDA can give an idea of how much is safe to take daily. Also look out for verification symbols from third party testing organizations; keeping track of what you take can also be useful.
Minerals
Minerals are inorganic compounds with a distinct chemical composition and ordered internal atomic structure, usually taking the form of crystals but occasionally also appearing amorphous (meaning they lack crystal structure). Minerals can be identified by their color, hardness, lusterre, streak and cleavage qualities – they’re most often named after either their discovery person or location of discovery, but other names may also refer to physical properties or chemical components of each mineral found.
The FDA has a special committee dedicated to overseeing supplements sold as minerals in the US market and ensure that they don’t contain any drugs, while only approved ingredients can be sold in this way. Other countries regulate supplements differently depending on local regulations.
Vitamins and minerals found in food provide multiple health advantages. To achieve maximum benefit for overall wellbeing, it’s essential that we consume foods from each of the food groups each day to obtain enough essential nutrients for good health.
Herbs
The term herb refers to any group of plants with culinary, medicinal and spiritual benefits. It encompasses perennials like thyme and rosemary as well biennials such as basil and parsley and annuals like dill and sage – plus trees, shrubs, flowers roots seeds fruit bark bark berries.
Herbs offer an easy and tasty way to add flavor and color without adding fat or sodium to foods, without increasing fat or sodium intake. Many herbs contain phytochemicals like glucosinolates – known to protect against certain cancers – and saponins that help lower cholesterol levels.
Herbs have long been used in herbal medicine and form the basis for many modern natural remedies. Ginger is widely known to be effective at relieving nausea and vomiting during pregnancy or chemotherapy; cinnamon helps control blood sugar and reduce inflammation; turmeric may provide protection from arthritis and dementia; while garlic is used as an herb to lower cholesterol and triglycerides levels while supporting healthy circulation and supporting heart health.
Other Ingredients
As with foods, manufacturers of dietary supplements can also add various ingredients to their products – these may include vitamins, minerals, amino acids or herbs or botanicals – but because dietary supplements must be consumed internally these must be listed on their labels as such.
If an ingredient does not constitute a nutrient, it must be listed in the “Other Ingredients” list that must immediately follow the Supplement Facts panel. However, if its amount corresponds with net quantity of contents statement (for instance 100 tablets), no need is necessary to declare.
Once again, in addition to listing the names of other dietary ingredients, quantitative amounts must also be listed per serving or unit quantity (if using linear display). You must present this data the same way you did for nutrients – for instance by listing its common or usual name followed by its quantitative amount in columns.
