Dietary supplements are sold to improve people’s overall health. They should not be seen as medicines and cannot treat, diagnose, mitigate, or cure diseases; however FDA regulations allow dietary supplement labels to make structure/function claims but not disease claims.
Register Dietitians advocate eating healthily as your priority; however, supplements can play an integral role in maintaining optimal health when used appropriately. Keep track of any dietary supplement use and share it with a healthcare provider for best outcomes.
Vitamins
Vitamins are vital nutrients necessary for normal cell function and growth. You can find vitamins in many food sources, including meats, dairy products, fruits, vegetables and whole grains; while dietary supplements offer them in concentrated form. They may come as pills, gummies, liquid or powder forms.
Some vitamins are fat-soluble, meaning they’re stored in fat tissue in your liver and body, while water-soluble ones, including B-complex vitamins and vitamin C, tend to take weeks or months before their deficiency can start affecting your health. A deficiency could result in symptoms like scurvy.
The FDA oversees dietary supplements, but their regulations differ from drugs. You should always consult your healthcare provider before beginning to take new supplements as some can interact with certain medications and their quality can differ considerably; Cahoon suggests third-party testing by organizations like NSF or USP for added credibility on dosage and purity (look out for their logo on product labels).
Minerals
Minerals are inorganic elements found naturally in the environment and consumed by plants or animals for sustenance. Our bodies require small amounts of minerals in order to function optimally and remain healthy – such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, sulfur and chlorine as majors and trace minerals (iron fluoride, zinc copper iodine selenium manganese).
Minerals are natural substances with distinct chemical composition and crystal structures. Minerals also possess specific physical characteristics like hardness, lustre/streak/cleavage. Their classification depends on plane of symmetry/axes of symmetry/centre of symmetry criteria; for instance mackinawite has both iron-rich and nickel-rich end members but still considered one mineral).
Diet should provide enough vitamins and minerals, but if supplements are necessary, select multivitamins which only include essential elements.
Herbs
Herbs are leafy green plants with fragrant properties, such as basil, parsley, thyme and rosemary. Herbs can be used both to flavor food products as well as medicine.
Herbal supplements are composed of plant parts sourced from various parts of plants, such as leaves, flowers, seeds, fruit, bark roots roots berries spices. While not subject to rigorous safety testing and efficacy tests like drugs have, herbal supplements may still cause side effects like indigestion or nausea and interact with some prescription medicines.
MSKCC healthcare providers advise patients against taking herbal products during cancer treatment, with the exception of vitamin D and calcium supplements, except when specifically directed by them. While some herbs, like St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) and Kava (Piper methysticum) may help alleviate depression and anxiety symptoms, larger doses can be toxic; furthermore they could interact with medications prescribed to treat heart conditions or other health issues.
Other Ingredients
Consumers typically take notice when reading supplement labels because their eyes often go directly to the vitamins, minerals, herbs and amino acids that promise results. Yet consumers may overlook how important other ingredients (or excipients as they’re commonly called) can be in making supplements work more effectively.
National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) offers educational materials and reliable information on nutritional supplements, such as vitamins, minerals and herbs. NIH oversees research in this area as well as publishes scientific information through PubMed.
FDA’s monitoring of dietary supplement products ensures they are safe and do not make false or misleading claims, taking legal action against manufacturers and websites making illegal statements or selling unsafe supplements. Health care professionals and consumers can report problems directly with supplements by contacting FDA.
