Supplements are often touted as miracle pills that can help you achieve some amazing things. From multivitamins to protein powders, the word supplement covers a huge range of different products, but are they actually making a difference to your health?
What are you taking supplements for?
Before we start critiquing supplements and their usefulness, it’s important to realize that different people take supplements for various reasons. Some people take multivitamins because their diet doesn’t give them enough of a particular nutrient, and some people use protein powder because it helps them build muscle.
These are very common uses for supplements, but there are also some supplements that are advertised as being able to help with your hair, your nails, your weight, and sometimes even for de-stressing and relaxation. It’s important to temper your expectations as not all of these are accurate or realistic.
Vitamins aren’t easily absorbed into the body
First, we have to realize that vitamins aren’t absorbed into the body that easily. Unless you’re taking liquid vitamins or another form of easy-to-digest nutrients, a lot of the good stuff is simply passed out of our system and not absorbed by the body in any useful way. This is why it’s generally recommended to take vitamins around the same time we eat a meal; because there’s a slightly higher chance that it gets absorbed into our body.
So if you want your supplements to make a bigger impact (especially if it’s in a pill form) then you should always try to take them with food.
Some supplements are clearly exaggerating
You may have realized that some supplements promise too much. They might be advertised as helping you slim down in a few weeks, or maybe they promise drastic changes to your hair, your nails, and your body.
Unfortunately, supplement manufacturers don’t need to prove that their products are even effective before they start selling them. This means that supplements can make the craziest claims and get away with it, using marketing to sell ineffective and often bogus products. It’s for this reason that many people have lost faith in supplements.
Supplements don’t just mean vitamins and minerals
Of course, supplements don’t mean just vitamins and minerals. It can also include protein powders which offer a clear benefit when taken, and supplements such as lysine are growing in popularity because they’re proven to make a difference. So if you’re going to take any kind of supplements, it’s best to do some research so that you have evidence of it working and offering a tangible benefit.
If there’s no benefit, then there’s no reason to take it. While you can put your faith in new products with little research behind them, this is a personal choice that you need to make and it’s always best to do some research first. We also recommend consulting your doctor if you’re going to take some kind of supplement just in case there are negative health effects or studies that have revealed dangers surrounding the ingredients or products that you plan to take.
