Supplements: What are they and what should be taken into account?

Posted by Team Maria on December 7th, 2020

Many people take nutritional supplements; In fact, up to 50% of adults take them, but when deciding to ingest them, many doubts and questions arise:

DO I NEED NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS?

If you follow a balanced diet, you probably don't need any dietary supplements. Even so, there are moments in life (such as during the growth stage, pregnancy, lactation or old age), when many people need more vitamins, minerals, trace elements and the like. These are some of the times when supplements should be taken. Some diseases, restrictive diets (such as vegan), food sensitivities (such as lactose intolerance), or high alcohol or tobacco consumption, can lead to nutritional deficiencies. Supplements can have a positive effect on the symptoms of many diseases.

That is good to know

Before you start taking dietary supplements, you should have a blood test and discuss the results with your doctor. If you already get enough nutrients through your diet, you don't need to take supplements. Do you have nutritional deficiencies? Depending on the degree of deficiency, your doctor may recommend that you include certain foods in your diet, or may prescribe supplements. Here you can know more health information.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I TAKE?

Supplements contain substances with a transforming function in the body: they influence metabolism, cell division and cell growth.

Therefore, an overdose can be dangerous. Multivitamin overdose can harm your organs. Too much vitamin A can cause skin and liver problems; Too much vitamin C can affect your digestion in a negative way or cause kidney stones; Too much vitamin K may decrease the effect of anticoagulants.

Where can I/should I buy the supplements?

In supermarkets, in parapharmacies or in pharmacies - nowadays food supplements can be bought everywhere. But here is the danger: many of these substances are of poor quality or contain an incorrect dose. We should be especially careful with plant extracts, because they can have a negative effect on important body processes. You should only buy supplements recommended by professionals, as in the pharmacy.

What does science say about supplement consumption?

The results of several studies have shown that taking dietary supplements preventively does not provide any health benefits, nor does it guarantee that you will live longer. In fact, it is the other way around: as we have said before, taking too many supplements or taking them when you don't need them can cause health problems.