Supplements are a multi-billion dollar industry, but there’s a lot of controversy surrounding these products. Supplements have been called snake oil, magic pills, and something that can cure everything from cancer to hangovers. Is there any truth in these claims? The answer is maybe! Supplements are not going to cure your cancer (sorry), but they can help supplement your diet with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that might be lacking in your regular food sources. In this article, we’ll look at what supplements do and how they work—and whether or not they’re worth the money you spend on them.
Supplements help
Supplements are a multi-billion dollar industry. There are vitamins, minerals, and herbs that can help with everything from weight loss to energy levels to athletic performance to the immune system. But how do you know which ones work? In this article, we’ll review the science behind various supplements such as Creatine and Vitamin C, explain their effects on the body, and identify where they fit into an overall health plan.
Supplements raise the quality of your life and health status in general.
Supplements are good for you.
Supplements can help you live longer.
Supplements can make you feel better and recover faster, which in turn will make your life more enjoyable.
In addition to the health benefits of supplements, they also tend to improve your energy level, helping you feel less stressed and more energetic (or at least less fatigued).
Supplements work best with a healthy lifestyle and diet.
- Supplements are not a substitute for a healthy diet.
- Supplements are not a substitute for exercise.
- Supplements are not a substitute for sleep.
- Supplements are not a substitute for socialization.
- Supplements are not a substitute for mental health.
Supplements are not drugs.
If you’re like most people, you probably think that supplements are drugs. But they aren’t! They’re not regulated like drugs are; they don’t have to be proven safe or effective before being sold, and violations of these rules are rarely punished. Supplements aren’t approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) or by any other regulatory body—not even the World Health Organization.
There’s a lot of confusion surrounding what supplements actually are: are they food? Medicine? Both? Neither? The answer is yes to all those questions—but it doesn’t really matter if your goal is just to get healthy. If you’re trying to lose weight or build muscle, eating well will be enough for most people; but if your goal is fitness competition-level results (or if you’ve been prescribed medication), then adding supplements into your diet may help accelerate results while reducing side effects caused by traditional medicines.
Supplements lack standardization.
Supplements can be very effective in treating health problems, but they are also unregulated and have no standardization. Therefore, the quality and potency of a supplement can vary by batch, even if it is from the same company. In addition, the purity of supplements may change over time as a result of manufacturing processes or degradation during storage. Finally, because there is no standard dosage for supplements (other than what is listed on the label), it’s difficult to know how long you should take them for the optimal benefit or if taking them too long could cause side effects.
Supplements can work against prescribed medications.
There are a few supplements that can have an adverse effect on the effectiveness of your prescription medication. The most common one is St. John’s wort, which is known to interfere with many medications, including blood thinners and birth control pills. It’s also dangerous for people with bipolar disorder or depression because it can make symptoms worse.
When you’re taking prescription medication, it’s important to talk to your doctor about whether you need to be cautious about taking any other supplements as well.
Supplements are safe but consult a doctor first.
Now that we’ve established that you should take supplements—and why—it’s important to talk about the safety and effectiveness of different types of supplements. The truth is, while there are many great options on the market today, it’s also important to consult with your doctor before taking any new supplement or starting any new exercise program. Because as well as being safe, effective and scientifically proven for their intended purpose, many supplements can have side effects in some people. And sometimes those side effects can be dangerous! So not only do you want to make sure that the product you choose has proven clinical data behind it (which we’ve already covered), but you should also talk with your doctor about any other medications or conditions that may affect how well your body processes whatever pills or powders are in question.
Supplements can be good in combination with a healthy lifestyle, but they aren’t as great as people say they are
As a general rule, supplements are not drugs. They’re only called “drugs” because they come from nature and are used to augment our bodies natural processes. But supplement manufacturers are not trying to get you high or on some type of chemical high (like with a drug), which is why they don’t have to go through the FDA approval process that pharmaceutical companies do before releasing a new drug onto the market.
So what exactly is a supplement? A supplement is usually something you add to your diet in order to improve it—a vitamin or mineral could be considered a supplement, for example, since it helps us fulfill our daily requirements for certain vitamins and minerals without having to take in additional calories from foods like fruits and vegetables. Other types of products may also be classified as dietary supplements if they contain one or more ingredients like amino acids, herbs, botanicals, or mixtures of these substances—but these types aren’t covered here because they’re not technically part of “supplement science.”
Conclusion
Remember, supplements are not magic pills to cure all your health problems. They can be good in combination with a healthy lifestyle and diet, but they aren’t as great as people say they are. If you want to improve your health and live longer with less disease risk, then get yourself moving more throughout the day! And don’t forget about those fruits and vegetables.
