Do you really need to take supplements?
Unlike a book or TV recommendation, supplements need to be taken a little more seriously.
While you should be able to get all the nutrients you need from a well balanced ‘whole foods’ diet there are times when supplements might be needed. But just because a supplement is readily available from your local wholefood shop, supermarket, pharmacy, online, or is prescribed by your GP, this does not guarantee that it is safe, effective or that it provides value for money.
Over the next few posts we are going to share with you some of the essential things you should think about before buying or taking a supplement, including:
Do you really need it?
Who recommended it to you?
Who is most at risk?
How much should you it?
When should you take it?
How to stay safe when taking supplements.
Other things to think about.
In this post we are going to cover the first two questions ‘do you really need supplements?’ & ‘who recommended them to you?’
Do I really need it?
Supplements can be a really useful way to support and optimise your health and wellbeing, however, in the majority of cases they should not be your first choice. All too often people use supplements without thinking about the potential root cause/s of their health concerns, such as their diet and lifestyle.
For example taking:
a multi vitamin alongside an unbalanced, low nutrient diet.
vitamin D rather than getting out in the sun.
a stool bulker rather than eating more fibre.
a hair, skin and nails combo rather than first focusing on eating more protein and beneficial fats.
sleep support supplements while continuing to watch thrillers and drinking lots of caffeine.
If you would like to know more about what supplements are and who should be taking them, check out our last blog post HERE. If you would like to begin to understand what the root cause/s of your health concerns are and how to improve your diet before you think about taking a supplement, check out our online course 'Nutrition: The Corner Pieces' HERE.
Alternatively, if you plan to or are currently taking supplements but you already have a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle you may be wasting your money by taking nutrients and other compounds that your body does not need but in addition to this you may be putting yourself at risk.
Who recommended it?
Supplements can be recommended by your healthcare practitioner, a pharmacist, shop assistant, colleagues, friends, your favourite podcast host and in numerous adverts from magazines to social media. Unlike, a book or TV recommendation supplements need to be taken a little more seriously.
Supplements can have a very potent effect, by this I mean that they can act a bit like medications. They can have both a positive and negative effect on your health, they can cause side effects, you can have too little or too much and they can interact with your medications and other supplements.
While recommendations can be an incredibly useful way of finding out about a great product, it is important that you do your own research and take responsibility for your own health.
Always tell your GP or healthcare practitioner about any existing health conditions, or other supplements or medications you are taking. With new products emerging daily it is difficult for them to keep up to date with all the potential risk factors but you can ask your pharmacist to double check for interactions if you have any concerns.
In addition to this, never assume that all supplements are safe and effective. Just because someone is a great sales person, it does not mean that they are a qualified nutritional therapist who knows what to look out for in terms its effectiveness, quality, value for money and risks. You can find a list of qualified Nutritional Therapists HERE.
In the next post we are going to take a look at who is most at risk of negative health consequences if they were to take supplements, for example pregnant or lactating women, people taking medications or are due to have surgery, and those who smoke.
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