Diet Supplements: Spotting the Many Benefits

Diet supplements have come into existence as an add-on to our daily diet by containing all the essential nutrients that our food lacks. Essentially, it is a vitamin, mineral, amino acid or herbal remedy and may be taken as tablets, soft gels, gel caps, liquids or capsules.

When are diet supplements necessary to take? Since we cannot expect to get all essential nutrients from our daily diet, dietary supplements step in to fill up that gap. You could use diet supplements successfully if you:

• Aren’t a good eater or eat lesser than 1,600 calories per day
• Are vegetarian or vegan who eats a few foods
• Are post-menopausal, pregnant or a nursing mother or experience heavy bleeding during your menstrual period
• Suffer from liver, gall bladder, pancreas or intestines problems

How to choose diet supplements: If you decide to take diet supplements, here’s how you should choose a good one:

·      Match your nutritional insufficiency with available supplements and buy just that.

·      Either buy supplements that are gender-specific or go in for a universal one that both sexes can use. It all depends on the kind of problem you’re trying to solve by taking a diet supplement.

·      Read the product label for the list of ingredients. Choose the one that gives you more of the ingredients that will do you good. Check that it contains the label of the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP).

·      By and large, it’s best to go in for a multivitamin-mineral supplement which gives you your entire Daily Value (DV) of minerals and vitamins.

·      Check that the supplement you’re looking at is within the expiry date.

Benefits:

·      Usually, a combination of healthy nutrition, regular workouts and a good diet supplement including minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids are proven to reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and lung diseases.

·      The main ingredients of diet supplements include Vitamin D and calcium which are basic to bone and muscle-building and maintaining their shape, particularly in children.

·      Diet supplements are known to energize people throughout the day.

·      It’s also good for pregnant women and nursing mothers to digest and athletes just before a game.

·      Elderly people on a diet of supplements do not suffer from broken hips or osteoporosis.