All about Supplements: Building body consuming a tablet

Sagar Tewatia – Mumbai Uncensored, 5^th April 2022

Since life has increased its speed and people are running out of time, these circumstances have created a situation where we don’t have time to provide the required nutrition to our body through natural food to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and also most people are always in search of some magical pills which can make their work easy and get the effects quickly, and that’s where supplements take place.

Whether it’s about multivitamins or protein, most of the nutrition we supply to our body is in supplements, but are you sure that the supplements you are using are required?

If not, this article will help you in understanding the supplements.

What is a supplement?

A supplement, also known as a dietary supplement, is a manufactured product planned to supplement one’s diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can supply nutrients either extracted from food sources or synthetic to boost the quantity of their consumption.

 Effectiveness of supplements?

Some dietary supplements can help you get good essential nutrients if you don’t eat a healthy variety of foods. Regardless, supplements can’t take the place of the variety of foods that are essential to a healthy diet. 

Few dietary supplements are really helpful in improving overall health and helping manage some health conditions. 

For example: 

Calcium and vitamin D helps in keeping bones strong and reduce bone loss. 

Folic acid reduces the chance of certain birth defects.

Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils might help some people with heart-related diseases. 

A combination of vitamins C and E, zinc, copper, lutein, and zeaxanthin (known as AREDS) may slow down further eyesight loss in individuals with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). 

 Few dietary supplements help save time.  

 For example: 

 1 scoop of whey protein delivers approximately 20-25 grams of protein  

1 scoop of mass gainer delivers approximately 300 calories

Safety and Risk

Many supplements hold active components that can have strong effects on the body. Always be alert to a bad reaction, specifically when taking a new product.

We are most likely to have side effects from dietary supplements if we take them in excess amounts instead of prescribed medicines or take many additional supplements. 

Also, manufacturers may add vitamins, minerals, and other supplement ingredients to the foods items we eat, especially in breakfast cereals and beverages. As a result, we may get more of these ingredients than the requirement, and more might not be better. However, taking more than we need costs more and might also raise our risk of side effects. 

For example, too much consumption of vitamin A can cause headaches and liver damage, reduce bone power, and cause birth imperfections. An excess amount of iron can cause nausea and vomiting and affect the liver and other organs.

 Be careful about taking dietary supplements if you are pregnant, and also, be careful about giving supplements to a child unless their healthcare experts recommend them. Many supplements have not been well tested for safety in pregnant women, nursing mothers, or children.

 Apart from these factors, quality is also one of the concerning factors.

If we are consuming a fake supplement, the risk factors are high.

How to identify fake supplements?

 There are multiple ways to identify whether the supplement is fake or not, but we still suggest you buy it from an authorised store or from a verified website.

 Things to check the genuineness of supplement

1. Importer’s seal – the most famous brands of fitness supplements revolving in our country are foreign brands imported from abroad. An original supplement must contain an importer seal through which that product is imported into the country. Most brands list on their website who are the importers in that particular country for their brand
2. Spelling mistake – A duplicate/fake supplement is likely to contain any spelling mistake on its packaging or box. For ex- Spelling of isolate can be icolate. So always check on the box if there is any spelling mistake.
3. Check the seal – If you open up a jar and there is no seal or a loosely fitted seal, chances are that it’s a fake product. Original supplements are properly sealed in factories. 
4. Price label – An original product contains a detailed price label with MRP mentioned, but if it has a temporarily glued sticker, chances are that it’s a fake product.
5. Check the hologram – There will always be a hologram on the box of the brand or company name on a genuine product. Inspect the hologram before purchasing. 

Takeaway

First, you have to identify that you really need supplements, and if yes, check with your healthcare expert and get the details, i.e., quantity, list of supplements, will it suit you, etc. 

Before starting using a supplement, check its quality, whether it’s genuine or not.