Supplements can be an excellent way to supplement your nutrition, but not all supplements are equal. Since the FDA does not regulate them as closely, it can be challenging knowing which products are both safe and effective.
Supplements contain essential dietary ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, botanicals, amino acids and live microbials to supplement an otherwise inadequate diet; such as providing pregnant women with enough folic acid or iron for those suffering malabsorption issues.
Vitamins
Dietary supplements can include many different ingredients, such as vitamins, minerals, herbs and botanicals, amino acids and probiotics. Supplements come in the form of pills, gel caps, capsules, gummies, powders drinks and bars; vitamin products tend to contain either water-soluble (such as Vitamin C), or fat-soluble varieties (A,D EK).
Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water and cannot be stored by the body; examples include vitamins B1, B2, B6 and folic acid. Multivitamin and mineral products (MVMs) are among the most frequently taken nutritional supplements in America.
As with all supplements, it is vitally important that any proprietary blends you take have been third-party tested to ensure accurate dosages and no potentially hazardous ingredients. Furthermore, it is a best practice to notify health care providers about the supplements you’re taking in order to avoid drug-supplement interactions.
Minerals
Minerals are inorganic solid substances with characteristic chemical composition and ordered atomic arrangement, formed through natural geological processes and distinct from organic compounds originating in living systems or organisms.
Some minerals are utilized by industry, like hematite and gypsum; others such as talc and mica can be used in cosmetics or medicines for cosmetic or medicinal uses. Minerals also combine together to form new metals; for instance copper and tin combine into bronze which was once commonly used as weaponry and armor.
Some properties of minerals are well known, such as cleavage and specific gravity. Other characteristics are less typical and specific to individual minerals; for instance, their refractive index measures how much light bends through it, with double refracting minerals splitting light rays into two. Other properties include malleability (the ease with which minerals can be deformed or flattened) and tenacity (return to original shape after mechanical agitation). Minerals also possess crystal structures which define their physical characteristics.
Herbs
Herbs are an expansive category of plants that includes perennials such as rosemary or thyme, shrubs like ginseng and lavender, or annuals such as parsley. Herbal medicines may be fresh or dried before being processed into powders, oils and oleoresins for value added products and holistic healthcare plans to address various health concerns.
Herbal supplements typically pose low risks of drug interactions; however, clinicians should encourage patients to disclose any dietary supplement use to them and discuss potential drug-herb interactions with their clinician.
When herbs are sold as supplements, their manufacturers can choose which parts of the plant to include and exclude others that could provide essential health benefits.
Supplements
Supplement products on the market range from individual vitamins to proprietary blends of nutrients, herbs and other natural substances; many claim to offer health benefits. Unfortunately, due to limited regulation and different standards across different supplements it can be hard to know which are safe and of high quality; many could even be costly or dangerous!
Dietary supplements in the US do not need to undergo rigorous testing like food or drugs before being sold on store shelves, meaning the Food and Drug Administration cannot take immediate action against any supplements deemed unsafe after they hit shelves.
Look for supplements certified by third parties such as NSF International, US Pharmacopeia or ConsumerLab as quality. These organizations test supplements for strength, purity and contamination. In addition, look for labels with ingredients standardized from batch to batch and without undeclared prescription drug contaminants.
