What You Need to Know About Dietary Supplements
People need dietary supplements for a variety of reasons. Bodybuilders, for example, would need supplements to aid muscle buildup and strengthening of muscles such as concentrated protein, glutamine, creatine and weight gain powders. Athletes take in supplements to optimize or enhance their performance.
People with illnesses often require dietary supplements such as concentrated iron for anemia. And those on a diet also take supplements to ensure they get the required amount of minerals, vitamins, amino acids, herbs, enzymes and other nutrients. Most however take supplements for optimum overall health. A lot of people also take them to relieve stress and to boost their energy.
What are dietary supplements and how are they different from medicines and over-the-counter drugs?
The Congress in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which was enacted into law in 1994, defines dietary supplements or nutritional supplements as supplements to the diet. These supplements contain one or more ingredients or their constituents. These are taken orally in the form of liquid, capsule, pill or tablet and are labeled as dietary supplement in the packaging.
Dietary supplements come in different forms, thus the confusion with over-the-counter drugs. The market is flooded with different types and forms of supplements such as capsules, tablets, drinks, energy bars and powders. Most can be purchased even without a prescription. They are available in drug stores, supermarkets, grocery stores, natural food stores, merchandise retailers and in health stores. One can even buy supplements on line. In order to distinguish these supplements from over-the-counter drugs, always read the Supplement Facts label.
Unfortunately, most of these dietary supplements are not regulated. Unlike with drugs, the US Food and Drugs Administration does not check the safety and effectiveness of supplements before they are sold to the public. In fact, the FDA only has authority over supplements once they have already entered the market. Usually, actions are taken by the FDA once a complaint against a certain brand has been received.
Many dietary supplements are guilty of false claims. Testimonials and so-called proofs of the efficiency and effectiveness of supplements abound in print, broadcast and on line media.
Worse, some are even unsafe. And so, extra precaution must be taken when choosing which dietary supplement to take. Always check with the manufacturer for more information. With the tons of promotional materials that abound, always be wary of the information being presented.
Keen in mind that dietary supplements are not intended to cure or prevent illnesses. In addition, although some supplements have beneficial effects, a significant number of them have potential health risks. Some supplements contain active ingredients that can have negative effects on the body, specially when taken in large doses and with other supplements and medicines. Supplementslike calcium, for example, interact with heart medicines like Digoxin, vitamin K counteracts with blood thinners etc.. In addition, too much intake of certain vitamins and minerals such as oil-soluble vitamin E and A, can be toxic to the body.
Pregnant women, nursing moms, those undergoing surgery and people with chronic illnesses should take extra care in deciding whether to take dietary supplements or not.
And so, when choosing supplements, it is always best to consult with a health care provider to avoid serious side effects. Remember, safety first!
The very first step is to undergo a nutritional assessment or evaluation with a health care provider. This will find out what your nutritional needs are and what dietary supplement is best suited to your medical condition.
Dietary supplements are supplements and not are not meant to replace some of the food needed in a healthy daily diet. Thus, bear in mind that no supplement can ever replace a healthy diet.
Never assume that “natural” is always safe. Some natural ingredients, specially if taken in large doses, can interact with medicines and may even result to life-threatening situations.
In addition, there are certain considerations in purchasing dietary supplements such as the quality, availability, your nutritional needs and price.
On a final note, dietary supplements are meant to supplement the body’s nutritional needs. It can never replace the overall health benefits of regular exercise and a healthy diet. And in choosing supplementary diets, safety should always be the main consideration.
19 Responses to “What You Need to Know About Dietary Supplements”
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Luckily, pretty much all the essential vitamins and minerals can be found in a non animal derived forms and if you're eating a balanced and healthy proper vegan diet, you should be fine.
I would say vitamin B12 is one of the nutrients you should pay attention to. It's found in fortified foods such as some brands of cereal, nutritional yeast, soy milk and soy analogs- it is recommended that if you're vegan and do not eat those foods that contain B12 regularly, you should take a weekly or daily B12 supplement
I take a supplement for that everyday.
But I do recommend you read up under the heading "nutritional concerns" in the link provided which explains the nutrients you should pay attention to as a vegan. You may find you don't get enough of a certain food/vitamin/mineral and so that's where I'd say you should take a supplement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism
Oh and as for where to get it/how much it is, I'm not sure where you're from so best to check in with a chemist and see what they recommend for the supplement you're after.
Hope that helps a bit!
May 9th, 2010 at 4:55 amexercise, eat more fish, and start reading for pleasure every day
May 9th, 2010 at 5:05 ambobybild you ass with dildo
May 9th, 2010 at 5:31 amGUIDO!
May 9th, 2010 at 6:08 amFinally man, a video that speaks the truth.
May 9th, 2010 at 11:33 amJUMP ROPE!! it is the best exercise, period.
I have been doing it for about 3 and a half months now and have lost 20 pounds! First, find a good jump rope. Here is a good one. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007IS6ZG?ie=UTF8&tag=secrtoweiglif-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0007IS6ZG
Now when you get your jump rope start off easy. I started off in sets of 100 and did that for about 5 minutes. between each of the 100s take 3, 6, or 9 breaths for a little break. You will get frustrated. It will be challenging. But you will get better and be able to do it for 10 minutes non-stop at a moderate speed. What I do now is 6 sets of 10 minutes taking about a 45 second rest/water break in between each set.
So that you don't get bored, set up your workout area around a tv. You will need space. But not a whole lot of space. You may have to move your tv or something but I didn't. Avoid jump roping on concrete at all costs. It's bad on your knees and ankles.
What's great about jump roping is that you can always make it harder. You can go faster, take bigger jumps, double unders, etc. Also, you will need to adjust your rope, which is easy. With some simple tools you can pop off the caps cut and cut the rope where you want it. How do you know what is the right length, you ask? well, Stand on the middle of the rope with both feet and the handles should come up to your armpits. Don't cut too much off though, because then you will need another rope if you mess up.
Now about eating…
This is not my area of expertice but I've heard that you should cut 500-1,000 calories from your diet. So for men you should eat 1,500 and for women it should be 1,200 but NO LESS. Instead of 3 meals a day, eat 5-6 small meals each consisting of 200-350 calories. here's an example of one of my days of eating.
Breakfast, whenever you wake up which should be 7:00-8:30: 2 servings of kelloggs special K plus protein with little skim milk =240 Now if you can't stand not having very much milk pour in what it tells you to pour in for each serving which is about 160 per serving? Apple= 70 calories… all = 310-390 calories
Mini-Brunch 10:00-10:30: Dannon Light and Fit 80 calorie yogurt with Planters cashew peanuts. But easy on the cashews. I usually take about half a hand full which makes it all equal to about 150 calories all =140-170 calories
Luch 11:45-12:30: This is usually my largest meal because I exercise after I eat lunch.
deli meat sandwhich with good healthy bread and using mustard instead of mayo and cheese. =about 300 calories
Salad =100-150 depending what you put on it. I usually have about 5 cups of salad with light dressing, feta cheese, and some sunflower seeds. YUM
and you can throw about 25 grapes or something like that in there and it all = about 450 calories
Afternoon tea?? 3:00-3:30 I usually have something filling right around this time so I don't have to much at dinner. So oatmeal, or anything hot and has fiber and protein. oatmeal = 160 calories. and you can have a small salad with that so it would = about 240 calories
Dinner 5:45-6:30: Um um um…hm..um. Usually there is something made for dinner right? So you can't control this one… but you CAN control how much you eat! Use a small plate and limit your meat portions to about a deck of cards. If you had deck of cards meat, half a baked potato, and salad that would =about 300 calories…
ALL EQUALS =1,470… OH MY GOODNESS THAT'S LIKE PERFECT!! lol
So there you go, that's one successful day of eating uner your belt. Now here is a list of foods to avoid at all costs and foods to include in your diet
NO-NO
soda
any desserts…sorry but seriously cut ANY out completely. Don't even taste it because it won't satisfie you. These desserts include
cake,
cookies,
pie,
candy… you know all that stuff.
pancakes
bacon
hot dogs
milkshakes
the list goes on, and on, and on… You know what's not good for you
GOODY GOOD GOODS!
Fruit such as
apples
bananas
strawberries
grapes, but not too many. Grapes are the sugariest fruit so limit those.
and other such things
SALAD
salad is very low calorie so load up
a good cereal
oatmeal
1 or 2 eggs
and this list goes on and on too. again, you know what's good for you!
One other thing. DRINK, MORE, WATER! From now on, water is your favorite drink. You should be having 82 ounces of water everyday or more. put water in place of fruit drinks, soda, and other stuff LOADED with sugar.
HOPE ALL THIS HELPS! it worked for me so it should work for you. weigh yourself every week in the morning and measure your waist every week. GOOD LUCK!:)
May 9th, 2010 at 6:36 pmJust make sure you're well hydrated throughout the day, drink as often as you can.
You can take the tabs whenever you want as far as I know, I just take them when I remember
May 9th, 2010 at 11:29 pmI answered another creatine question but let me see if I can help you here as well.
Question 1
The type of creatine associated with an increase in water is creatine monohydrate (this, however, has since been disproved). The creatine you're taking is creatine hydrochloride, so even if you needed to take extra water with creatine, you aren't consuming the right creatine. And no, do NOT consume a gallon of water within 2 hours. Your body needs water throughout the day, and by consuming too much water in a short period, you can actually kill yourself via something called "hyponutremia," where the excess water dilutes your blood and you DIE. A gallon of water is fine…but please drink it throughout the whole day!!
Question 2
May 10th, 2010 at 7:46 amBecause you're taking a pill form of creatine, take the serving (in this case, 2 pills) during the same time every day…this includes workout days. If you ever switch to powdered creatine, ALWAYS consume that AFTER your workout…anyone who's tried to drink creatine before a workout knows that'll give you nothing but trouble!!
what about creatine? would you reccomend that?
May 10th, 2010 at 2:39 pmi just bought the new Intra Bedtime Pre Rem Sleep Super Muscle Volumizer by BSN! I KNEW IT WAS A F***ING RIP OFF!!!!
May 10th, 2010 at 6:43 pmLegumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds can be good sources of zinc. Vegan women are more prone to low zinc status than vegan men, possibly due to a greater reliance on foods like salads and fresh fruits and vegetables, which aren't reliable sources. All I can find on saturated fat in vegans diets is that we normally don't have to take care to avoid it because it's not prevalent in our diets, but nothing stating that we need to seek any out. However, tropical oils like palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernal oil are all naturally saturated versus artificially hydrogenated, so if you feel like you have to have some, there you go. If we're eating a varied diet, we have plenty of sources of heart-healthy unsaturated fats. Creatine is not an essential amino acid; our bodies make that themselves. And as far as I know, glycogen is just the form in which we store energy from food (?) The only nutrient not available from unfortified vegan food is vitamin B12, but there are plenty of fortified foods like whole grain breads and cereals, soymilk and nutritional yeast. Getting more calories means either increasing the volume of food you eat or increasing the caloric density of the foods you eat; nuts, avocados and seeds are examples of calorie dense foods. Avocado can be blended into fruit smoothies and the taste disappears behind the fruit, but it's a good way to get more caloric bang for your buck.
Pick up a copy of "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina for good, broad-based coverage of vegan nutrition. And I've seen a few books aimed at vegan athletes (which I assume is where your concern for creatine, glycogen and high caloric intake are coming from) on amazon.com. Vegan Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier has one, for example.
May 11th, 2010 at 4:31 amvitamin d, u need it for high protein diets
May 11th, 2010 at 4:58 amIf you are looking for more length, you could add something about dietary and other supplements should be regulated. You could also site the studies done on meds if you know them. You could also add that doctors spend a long time in school learning their craft so patients should just give their symptoms to their doctor rather than rely on a 30 second commercial to diagnose and treat themselves. Take a cold for example. It's a virus, but patients will insist on something for it. Even though antibiotics only work on bacteria, a doctor will prescribe one to keep the patients happy. Then instead of saying drink plenty of fluids get some rest and you'll feel better in 3-5 days, they say drink plenty of fluids with these pills, get some rest and you'll feel better in 3-5 days. People are taught to have instant gratification and they extend that expectation to health care.
May 11th, 2010 at 6:59 amYou might also include something about teachers. A kid acts up in class. The teacher calls the parents and says the kid has ADD or ADHD. The parents get the kid on meds. Now you have a very involved concerned probably excellent teacher here, but where did she get her medical degree. The parent needs to tell the teacher that the kid will certainly get checked, but medicine should not be automatically given.
@redmeatheart Your’re totally right, as is Vince – good comment!
May 11th, 2010 at 4:07 pmi'll answer number 4.
May 12th, 2010 at 2:03 amif i hadn't found a way to get motivated i would not have decided to lose weight. i wasn't necessarily depressed but i was living in despair and thought why even bother with trying to lose weight.
a show was on TV called I Can Make You Think
never knew how to have a positive outlook or how to be motivated until i saw the show.
when on my first diet ever and lost 20lbs since June .about 15more to go. some weeks i lost nothing but i remain positive and just plug along.
since the show isn't on TV ,i point you to the website with the same info.sign in and watch the videos. you'll figure everything else on your own because you will be positive and motivated to do so. or at least it worked for me.
Well i know some tips!
DRINK COLD DRINKS[especially water!]
since there cold, your body regulates the temperature which burns appx. 43 calories everytime. And i drink a ton a day, so i would atleast be burning like, 200 calories just by regulating it to my bodys temp. Also, eat high fiber foods. If you do, some foods like celery burn more calories digesting than actually in the food.
And also a tip for motivation. Who's your favorite buff actor? Whoever it is, get a pic, and save it under your favorites. it seems stalkerish, but when your down look at it and it will help you encourage yourself to work out!
Good luck!
May 12th, 2010 at 2:19 amPost workout that is important. I was not doing it for a long time & was losing muscle like crazy. I do that now & Casein at night and BCAAs and it is helping. I bought cell Tech Muscle tech, but have not opened and saved my bill. I am probably going to take it back.
May 12th, 2010 at 4:16 amCheck out the angel near the start. Dam!
May 12th, 2010 at 9:58 amHello. I just want to say that your website is good. Thank you. I myself have a website about Weight Loss
May 27th, 2010 at 11:16 am