In this day and age of high industrialization, it is difficult but not impossible to get all the right ingredients into the body. Hence, more and more people are reaching for supplements. However, before we choose a supplement, we should ask ourselves the first question: Do we really need the supplement? Supplementation is sometimes needed, but you should not overdo it.
Supplementation today
However, before we begin, it is worth noting the difference between a drug, a supplement and a medical device. The differences between the two are often blurred in the media, and they shouldn’t be. In a nutshell:
The drug can be prescription or over-the-counter. It must have a proven disease prevention or curative effect in order to be marketed. It is constantly monitored for quality and effectiveness.
A medical device. It does not have a therapeutic effect, but a supportive effect on the body. It has a mechanical effect, e.g. moisturizes, warms up, has a protective effect on the mucous membranes. It is less controlled after and before the introduction of the drug, but more so than the dietary supplement.
Dietary supplement. Its introduction to the market is extremely easy, as all you need to do is submit the relevant documents to the Central Statistical Office. It does not need to undergo tests for effectiveness. The information contained in advertisements or on the packaging itself must not mislead the consumer, but there is little control over their quality. Its task is to supplement the daily diet. It has no therapeutic effect. It is not a replacement for medicine, a healthy diet and lifestyle.
How to choose a good supplement, what to look for?
Although the registration of supplements is extremely easy, they do not need such complex clinical trials as drugs, it is still possible to find many supplements with a questionable source. Such things happen especially on the Internet. In such situations, a special list kept by the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate is helpful. It is free to access and open to the public. This register mainly concerns products of Polish origin. Its equivalents are, for example, NSF International, US Pharmacopeia, Consumer Lab, Informed Choice. If the supplement is not on any of the lists, and its effectiveness is extremely praised, and in addition it has no composition, it is certainly not worth investing in this type of preparations.
Composition – form of the supplement
Paper will accept anything, but what the reality is is another matter. Supplements are subject to the nutrition law, which means that control tests on them are not as frequent and meticulously conducted as in the case of medicines, so it is worth paying attention to whether a given company conducts internal quality control of the preparations supplied. In addition, when reading the composition, it is worth paying attention to the chemical form of the active substance. Not all chemical forms are equally effective, for example, the best absorbable form of magnesium is magnesium citrate, but some manufacturers offer other forms. As long as it’s magnesium chyla, magnesium malate is fine, as they are only slightly less absorbed. It’s worse when there is magnesium oxide, which is practically not absorbed by the human body, but is cheap and can be stuffed a lot of it in, for example, a capsule (high dose). When you are not sure which chemical form of a supplement is the most effective, it is worth asking a pharmacist, dietician or doctor.
The composition of supplements should be developed on the basis of research/recommendations of experts. However, beware of companies whose only confirmation of the quality of the supplement is research conducted on behalf of this company – such tests may be specially arranged. The most reliable supplements are those of companies that present their own and independent research.
When choosing supplements, it is worth paying attention to the standardization of the substances contained inside, this is especially important in the case of plant-based supplements. Thanks to this certificate, we can be sure that there is the same amount of product in each portion of the product.
Many people, not knowing what vitamins and minerals they lack, choose complex preparations. This is a convenient solution, but it should not be forgotten that both deficiency and excess can be harmful. Therefore, such preparations should not be taken chronically, but only periodically.
A few more words about the “magical” statements appearing in advertisements or on the packaging of supplements.
– heavy metals – according to the food law, no product can contain heavy metals in its composition, and additional marking of this lichen is unnecessary
– fumigation, cleansing, antiparasitic, deacidification – the presence of microorganisms in the body, or disturbance of the body’s pH is often a life-threatening condition and such people must be hospitalized, so if we feel good and this is also indicated by the results of tests, m.in blood, we do not have to take this type of supplements, and their effectiveness is questioned in the results of scientific research
– ionized, electrolysis – all minerals do not occur individually, they are combined into compounds. It is almost impossible to keep the elements free. Therefore, when considering the effectiveness of supplements, they are considered on the basis of an analysis of the compound in which they occur
– for weight loss – there are preparations that speed up metabolism, but there are no preparations after which we can lose weight without effort. The process of losing weight is complex and is mainly based on a change in diet and the implementation of physical activity.
The composition of supplements sometimes seems extremely complicated, but just like with food, over time the legibility for us becomes more and more clear.