Are Dietary Supplements Really Safe?
You’re about to check out the supplements you bought from brands and stores like douglas laboratories in Supplement First when a thought popped up: Are dietary supplements really safe, or must we be wary of their ingredients?
Short answers: Dietary supplements are safe, as long as you invest in reputable brands that ensure high-quality ingredients and formulations without unnecessary components like additives or fillers. We delve deeper into this topic, so read on!
What are Dietary Supplements?
These products would include ingredients like vitamins, herbs, amino acids, enzymes, and minerals to further supplement one’s diet and bodily needs. You can find supplements sold and consumed in various forms, such as through capsules, tablets, gelcaps, soft gels, liquids, or powders.
Many people purchase supplements for the advantages they offer to our overall health. Some supplements may be more beneficial for specific populations! For instance, women of childbearing age will benefit from taking folic acid and iron, which helps reduce incidences of birth defects and anemia, respectively.
However, supplements aren’t made for everyone. If you are generally eating healthy and consume a wide variety of foods, then supplements may not be worth the price. Supplements aren’t meant to replace your diet as they don’t include all the benefits and nutrients whole food offers, like phytochemicals and fiber we find in fruits and vegetables.
That said, if you have a health condition or reason why you can’t eat various foods, then you may not be able to meet your nutritional needs. This is where supplements can truly benefit you, though you’ll need to talk with your doctor to ensure that certain dietary supplements are required and safe to consume.
Are Dietary Supplements Safe?
Like medications and other products, supplements do have their risks. Supplements have active ingredients that would have strong biological effects on our bodies, so they might be unsafe in certain situations, complicating one’s health.
You must avoid doing the following:
- Combine supplements or use them with medications
- Substitute supplements with your prescription medications
- Take too many supplements
- Use supplements if you have certain conditions and undergo treatments for cancer
- Consume supplements before and after surgery
There is also the risk of purchasing impure products, so you have to make sure that you select supplements that come from credible brands such as douglas labs and the like.
But overall, supplements are completely safe to take as long as you consume them correctly and follow what your doctor says. That’s why you must talk with your healthcare provider about the supplements you plan to take and see which ones are safe and beneficial based on your individual health condition.
Remember, supplements aren’t meant to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure diseases officially. While there have been studies that it can prevent diseases and other claims that it reduces pain or treats certain diseases, these are only claims and not an assurance.
Wrapping It Up
As long as you’re purchasing quality supplements from trustworthy brands and require the vitamins based on your doctor’s orders, then it is safe to take them.