Dietary supplements consist of vitamins, minerals, herbs or botanicals, amino acids and other compounds sourced from food or other sources that have nutritional benefit for health purposes. Dietary supplements come in pill form; capsules; powders; drinks. However, unlike drugs they are unregulated.
Supplements may be recommended by health care professionals and come in various forms; however, overconsumption could prove hazardous.
Vitamins
Vitamins are organic substances the body uses in small doses for various metabolic processes. Diet is usually the best source of vitamins; most people can fulfill their nutrient requirements by eating a wide range of food. Unfortunately, taking too much Vitamin can be harmful.
There are 13 identified vitamin compounds, with fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K as well as water-soluble ones like vitamins C and the B group (thiamin; riboflavin; niacin; pyridoxine; and cobalamine) among them. Most of these nutrients can be found naturally in foods, while they may need supplementation in certain cases.
Purchase of supplements from reliable companies is important because the FDA regulates these products to ensure their safety and efficacy, but it would be prudent to discuss your supplements with a registered dietitian and be wary of any misleading label health claims on them.
Minerals
Minerals are naturally-occurring substances with unique physical and chemical properties. Their distinctive crystalline structures feature orderly repeating arrangements of atoms which give the minerals their characteristic color, structure, and atomic arrangement. Furthermore, minerals possess other physical characteristics including streak (a colored imprint left when scratched), luster (the shine or sparkle of the mineral) and hardness (how easily it can be crushed).
Some minerals can refract (or bend) light as it passes through them, whereas others are capable of splitting it into two different wavelengths – known as double refraction. Additional properties include malleability (the ability to be flattened into sheets), cleavage, specific gravity, tenacity and conductivity – among many more!
Humans may produce minerals in laboratories, but these don’t qualify as true minerals. To be classified as such, substances must occur naturally and solidify at normal temperatures before being labeled minerals. All minerals can be divided into various classes based on their chemical makeup.
Herbal Extracts
Herbal extracts are highly concentrated forms of herbs with many medicinal and cosmetic applications. Made by infusing dried plants with water or other solvents to extract their chemical compounds and combine other components for improved absorption or consistency, herbal extracts offer many uses in medicine and cosmetics alike.
An herbal extract should feature its plant strength on its label, showing the ratio between dry herb and liquid (alcohol or water) used to make it. For instance, 1:4 would indicate four parts dried herb to one part liquid (alcohol/water).
Glycerin extracts are another herbal extract used to formulate products without alcohol, making them suitable for people suffering from liver ailments as they’re gentler on the body and last much longer than other herbal extracts. They can even be combined with ingredients like phospholipids to make fat-soluble extracts that are easily absorbable by your body.
Nutraceuticals
Supplements and nutraceuticals can strengthen immunity while also decreasing oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction linked to aging, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and inflammatory diseases. Supplements also help keep energy levels high while keeping mood stable by supporting mental wellbeing.
Dietary supplements are composed of concentrated bioactive nutrients in pill form. Their variety spans pills, powders, liquids, gummies and energy bars – although unlike pharmaceuticals they don’t need FDA approval before entering the market.
Consume them under the advice and supervision of a healthcare provider in order to avoid adverse side effects. Some supplements, like vitamin D, folic acid, magnesium and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can enhance exercise performance and recovery by decreasing oxidative stress and muscle fatigue; others like resveratrol, alpha lipoic acid and zinc may help fight depression by decreasing activity hormones that depress moods.
