Dieting is hard, supplements may be able to help, especially if you have specific nutritional requirements.  

Supplements vs Food Nutritional Sources

Supplements should only be taken when the intake from food is extremely difficult to attain or your health requirements indicate a higher intake is necessary. Sourcing vitamins through food is ideal, especially if on a weight loss diet, to ensure you cover food groups even if you are cutting calories.

All supplement labels indicate that supplements aren’t replacements for food and cannot fully replicate the benefits in the food itself.

Your body needs nurturing, and supplements are there for, well as the word states, to supply additional vitamins and minerals. Your core focus should always be to attain your daily nutrition from food sources.

Harmful Ingredients

One of the main negatives of supplements can be the harmful effects certain ingredients can cause. Another reason why you should be attaining vitamins from food sources, supplements can have biological effects, some being life-threatening.

Mixing of supplements, taking supplements with medicine, taking supplements with ingredients you may be allergic to, or even taking too much of supplements can have severely negative effects, and potentially result in death.

Taking supplements without a medical practitioner’s advice is extremely risky, and the advice of medical professionals should always be sort for. When in doubt, ask your doctor or nutritionist, to ensure you can get the most out of your food intake and not cause negative reactions.

Too Good to be True

Be wary of false advertising. While it might not be direct, many supplements can lead you to believe that you will achieve certain results yet cause harmful effects and result in a complete waste of money. Some of you are probably sceptical about the supplements you see on Instagram, “fat loss pill”, “grow your hair”, “get more energy”, the list goes on. Sound too good to be true? Chances are it probably is. While some of these supplements have the ingredients that can help you achieve these things, the supplements alone cannot result in these effects.

In order to actually attain these results, a balanced diet and exercise are required to make the most of the ingredients they put in the supplements.

You Probably Don’t Need Them

Unless you’re not getting them through food sources, most vitamins may not be required. For example, if you’re drinking a glass of orange juice a day, and having some peppers in your dinner, you don’t need to be taking those Vitamin C gummies.

Over-consumption of vitamins and minerals can cause negative effects. Too many vitamins or minerals can cause stomach upsets, fatigue, hair loss and even nerve damage. In severe cases, incorrect consumption of supplements can have fatal consequences.

The best way to calculate your consumption is to map out your meal plan and check the nutritional information in each meal, if you’re not getting your daily required intake of a certain vitamin, then consider the supplement.

Getting the right daily intake of vitamins and minerals is important, but without the right preparation the results could be minimal or even negative. Having a chat with your nutritionist or GP can be extremely helpful, especially if you have specific dietary requirements. Your PT might even be able to teach you how to track your nutritional info!

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