Dietary Supplements and Your Health
Dietary supplements are becoming a very popular way to improve health and the effectiveness of traditional medicine. A typical supplement contains a specific group of vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, enzymes, and co-factors that were chosen based on their ability to counteract the effects of a specific disease or symptom. Many people believe that supplements can be just as effective if not more effective than conventional medicines and drugs. These claims are based on the assumption that the body is capable of maintaining its own balance of these elements on its own.
There is some evidence to support this belief, but it is also possible that the levels of the substances being used are not sufficient to provide the benefit. A dietary supplement is usually a manufactured product meant to supplement one's daily diet by taking a single pill, capsule, liquid or powder. A supplement may offer vitamins either natural or extracted from animal sources in order to boost the amount of consumption. One example is a dietary supplement that contains vitamins A, C and E along with carnosine, an amino acid that boosts energy and performance. This amino acid works together with the vitamins to improve body and brain energy.
Before you take any dietary supplements, you should consult your doctor. This is especially true if the supplement is intended for use beyond the normal scope of your diet. If you do take prescription medications, make sure to let your healthcare provider know so that they can update your prescriptions or write a new one if necessary. Also, make sure that your healthcare provider is aware of all the vitamins, minerals and herbs that you are currently taking and whether any of them might interact with any other medications you are taking.
The FDA does not regulate dietary supplements, so it is important to read the labeling carefully. The USFDA does require manufacturers to list the ingredients of their products on the label and to make certain statements regarding their intended use. However, the FDA does not regulate the strength, content or combination of ingredients contained in any supplement. Consultation with a doctor or pharmacist is the best way to ensure that a dietary supplement will not have an adverse effect when used as directed.
Although the USFDA does not regulate or require companies to list the ingredients in their dietary supplements, you can protect yourself by checking the product labels. A product that has "natural" as its primary ingredient is likely to be more pure than one that has the word "fragrance" in it. "Natural" does not necessarily mean "unnatural." Fragrances can be irritating to the throat or skin, which is why some of the ingredients listed in dietary supplements are avoided. For example, tea tree oil, lavender, eucalyptus and other natural fragrances are considered safe, but they might cause an allergic reaction or be harmful if taken at high doses.
It is important to consult your doctor before taking formula nootropic dietary supplements. Consulting your doctor allows you to learn more about a potential new health condition or symptom that you might develop. Your doctor can run tests and look at your health history to determine if a dietary supplement would be effective for your particular health condition. You will also learn more about any potential interactions between your current medications and the supplement. If you take other medications, such as birth control pills, you should notify your doctor if you plan to start taking a dietary supplement. Visit: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_supplement to get more details about this topic.
