Is it true that dietary supplements are useful? Over the past few years, the demand for dietary supplements in Russia has grown 2.5 times. But despite the availability and benefits of vitamins, not everything is so clear-cut – sometimes they can cause serious side effects. We asked experts what dietary supplements are, whether they are useful, and how to take them correctly.
What are dietary supplements and how do they appear?
A dietary supplement is a biologically active food supplement of plant, animal, or mineral origin. They often include vitamins D and B12; minerals such as calcium and iron; herbs such as echinacea and garlic; glucosamine, probiotics, and fish oil.
The first dietary supplement was created by the American chemist Carl Rehnborg in the last century.
It was a concentrate of alfalfa (a plant with high nutritional value. — Ed.), watercress (a dark green leafy vegetable. — Ed.), parsley, and yeast starter, which he created after studying Chinese traditions and various studies in the field of nutrition.
Currently, the world leader in the use of dietary supplements is Japan, where 90% of the population uses them, in second place is India with 75% of its residents. In Russia, dietary supplements are used by 15% of people, but only 3% do it regularly.
How are they different from drugs?
Kirill Belan, a physician-therapist at the Atlas clinic chain , explains that the term “dietary supplement” pertains to certification, not to biochemistry and pharmacology – the same substance can be registered as a dietary supplement or a medicine: “This does not mean that dietary supplements are dangerous, they are simply less controlled.
Although some large foreign companies use technologies for producing and assessing the quality of supplements as for medicines.”
Nutritionist Yulia Bachurina adds that clinical trials are required to register a medicine, and this takes several years, while certification of dietary supplements is much faster. Dietary supplements are designed to replenish the deficiency of certain substances, prevent and support the activity of organs and systems, and adapt the body to environmental factors.
The packaging of dietary supplements must necessarily state that this substance is “not a medicine,” and the US Food and Drug Administration notes that supplements cannot be sold to diagnose, prevent, or treat diseases – packaging should not contain the inscriptions “reduces high cholesterol” or “treats heart disease.”
At the same time, according to Belan, dietary supplements contain various micronutrients (nutrients necessary to normalize the body’s functioning. – Ed.), which are also contained in medicinal preparations. These are vitamins, microelements, enzymes, amino acids, fatty acids and phospholipids, peptides, prebiotics, probiotics, and phytonutrients.
When are dietary supplements used?
With the help of dietary supplements, you can balance your diet, which helps with weight loss. If a person needs to lose weight, then most likely the amount of food will have to be reduced, and the amount of nutrients, on the contrary, is important to increase.
“Dietary supplements are added to the diet of athletes, children who eat little, and people after various serious illnesses. Due to decreased appetite, there is a risk of getting fewer nutrients from food, and the body’s recovery will be delayed,” says Bachurina.
“Or, for example, if a person does not eat greens in any form, you can take preventive doses of folic acid to avoid its deficiency in the body. But, I repeat, it is better to first get the opinion of a specialist,” says Yulia Bachurina.
Can dietary supplements cause harm?
For example, too much vitamin A can cause headaches and reduce bone strength, and excess iron can cause nausea and vomiting. The therapist notes that you need to be more careful with fat-soluble vitamins, especially vitamin D.”You can’t take high doses of dietary supplements for a long time and without control. In addition, no one is immune from individual and allergic reactions, although they are rare,” explains Kirill Belan.
— Antioxidant supplements such as vitamins C and E can reduce the effectiveness of some chemotherapy
It is especially important to consult a doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, are planning surgery, or have heart disease or diabetes.
Also, do not give dietary supplements to children without consulting a specialist.
Another reason to do this is that the nutritional value of supplements can be higher than their daily requirement. The amount of vitamins you need to maintain health depends on your age, gender, and whether you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Nutritionist Yulia Bachurina adds that dietary supplements are not a magic pill that will solve all health problems, and for a positive effect, it is important to adjust your lifestyle, sleep, and diet in any case.
How to choose supplements if they are prescribed by a doctor?
According to Yulia Bachurina, first of all, you need to look at the manufacturer. Ideally, this company should only deal with dietary supplements.
Secondly, it is worth checking that it indicates the full range of what is in the composition and the number of active substances. You need to look for additional information about what you are going to buy.
It is also desirable that these drugs are certified in the country where they are sold – if this has been done, the certificate number will be indicated on the packaging.
To understand whether this is a good manufacturer, you can look for information on the Internet: its history, reviews, and how it is registered.
If you are not familiar with this manufacturer, then you cannot do this quickly – only collect information. Also, according to Bachurina, there are different sites with ratings of dietary supplements, where you can understand whether the information on the packaging corresponds to the truth.
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Yulia also adds that dietary supplements do not always have to be natural, and sometimes they are prescribed for some chemical component. For example, active forms of B vitamins do not have to be natural but are obtained using chemical synthesis. Moreover, a natural molecule will not always work better.
“Dietary supplements should not be so much natural as working, purified. For example, if fish oil is not stabilized and packaged incorrectly, it will quickly oxidize and nothing good will come of it, explains Bachurina. The same applies to preparations with refined oils. You don’t always need to chase naturalness.”
If you want to know whether a supplement is helping you, the easiest way is to take tests before and after taking it and see if they have changed for the better.
Monitoring your well-being can also help – for example, paying attention to the amount of energy or the depth of sleep.
How to take them correctly?
There are several rules for taking dietary supplements:
– Consult your doctor first
– Follow the instructions on the package exactly
– Make a list of all supplements and other medications, and write down the dosages and times you take them.
– Write down how the supplement affects you and whether there are any side effects
