Dietary supplements consist of vitamins, minerals, and herbs taken orally such as pills, gel caps, powders, gummies or drinks and aren’t intended to treat specific diseases or health conditions.
Focus on products with labels that list ingredients and amounts, as well as keeping a record of what and how much is taken every day.
Vitamins
Vitamins are micronutrients that play many vital roles in our bodies, from building bones to strengthening immunity. They help convert food into energy and repair damage in cells; fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) are stored in liver reserves while water-soluble ones (B and C) are excreted via urine output.
Water-soluble vitamins – including B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), niacin, B6 (pyridoxine) and B12 (cobalamine) – can be found in many food items, such as meat, fish, poultry, dairy products and whole grains. Folic acid was widely added to foods during the 1930s in order to prevent deficiencies like goiter or scurvy.
Fat-soluble vitamins – A, D and E – are absorbed through the intestinal wall and entered the bloodstream via proteins. From there they travel directly to tissues for storage in fatty tissue until needed; any excess is removed through liver detoxification.
Minerals
Minerals are inorganic substances with distinct chemical composition, crystal structure and physical properties that occur naturally and can form either on their own or with other minerals to form rocks. There are two major groups of minerals: macrominerals and trace minerals. Macrominerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium potassium chloride sulfur are needed in larger amounts while trace minerals such as iron manganese copper iodine zinc etc may only need in smaller amounts for health.
The International Mineralogical Association (IMA) stipulates that for minerals to qualify as minerals, they must possess both an empirical chemical formula and distinctive physical properties, as well as possess an individual atomic arrangement which distinguishes it from other minerals.
Other characteristics that distinguish minerals include their colour, lustre, streak and hardness. Some can even glow fluorescently in the dark and smell or taste distinctively – for instance halite tastes salty while sulfur has an offensive odour similar to that of rotten eggs! Minerals are essential components of human health as they play a pivotal role in making enzymes and hormones.
Herbal Extracts
Herbal extracts play an essential part of herbal medicine practices. An herbal extract’s distinguishing feature is using solvents to capture some portion of an herb’s beneficial chemical compounds and release them as extractable substances.
Herbs can be extracted using water, alcohol, glycerine or vinegar as solvents to extract their constituent chemicals from each herb; each solvent will extract different chemicals which result in either a tincture or absolute product.
The TGA has identified several factors that may alter the composition of components extracted from starting herbs, including batch size, extraction method and conditions like temperature and pressure.
TGA Guidance on Equivalence of Herbal Extracts in Complementary Medicines suggests that sponsors should carefully consider all these factors when determining whether a given herbal ingredient is equivalent to another (Australian Government. Department of Health, 2011). Tinctures are liquid form herbal extracts which make taking them convenient – you can mix it into food and drinks as desired and their shelf lives can last many years; alcohol-based tinctures have several years, glycerites 2-3 years and vinegar-based ones 1 year (Australian Government. Department of Health, 2011).
Nutraceuticals
Nutraceuticals are food substances designed to provide health benefits and help prevent disease. A nutraceutical is an intermediary between nutrition and pharmaceuticals; its main forms are herbal products, food supplements or genetically engineered food designed to deliver specific nutrition benefits.
These supplements may be helpful in treating conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, insomnia and depression as well as keeping overall health at optimal levels. Examples include fish oil, chondroitin sulfate and boswellia herbs; many of these supplements are even available as pills.
The FDA requires that dietary supplements must be labeled with their full list of ingredients, with any claims supported by scientific evidence. They also regulate how nutraceuticals are marketed – for instance, any product which claims to treat diseases must carry a warning from FDA that reads: “This statement has not been evaluated by Food and Drug Administration – this product should not be used to diagnose, treat or prevent disease”. A warning such as this one is necessary as nutraceuticals often don’t fall under FDA oversight like pharmaceutical medications do.
