Supplements are a big deal these days. Walk into a supermarket or a chemist and you’ll be able to find a supplement for just about anything. Protein powder, weight-loss tablets, immune boosters and multivitamins – the list just goes on and on.
But sometimes it can be easy to get lost in the hype and not actually worry about whether the supplement does its job or not. After all, you are spending a lot of money to improve your overall wellbeing; it must be fairly important that the product you use actually does what it promises to do.
Unfortunately one of the main problems with supplements is how under-regulated they are. Unlike drugs companies that have to go through rigorous tests to be approved, supplements are not subject to the same scrupulous process. In fact the only regulation of supplements comes when someone raises a concern about the product. At that point the product has to be tested and sampled, which can take a long time.
The fact is that it’s very difficult to know what the long-term health implications are for many of the products that are widely sold today. The process of testing the products can takes months or even years, and even then it’s likely that the result could be disputed.
It seems that many people take supplements to try to make up for an unhealthy diet. Unfortunately this simply doesn’t work; you can’t just take a few pills and have them un-do poor eating practices. It’s a much better idea to get all the nutrients you need from your food. Your body will naturally be able to absorb them better and you don’t run the risk of any side-effects or long-term damage.
Don’t buy into the concept that supplements are universally good for you. If you must use them, do it carefully, monitoring your progress. If at any point you begin to feel unwell, stop taking the supplement immediately.
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