Fads vs Facts of Dietary Supplement

Submitted by Sharon Hopkins on July 6, 2007

Dietary supplement is becoming a topic for discussion because of the health benefits it promises. People take vitamins and minerals supplement to improve over all health, as dietary supplements or in case of any deficiency of that particular vitamins or minerals. Dietary supplements are products that intend to supplement a diet and contain vitamins, minerals, herbs and other substances to improve diet. Dietary supplements can be in the form of capsules, diet pills, powders or liquid form.

If the ads that claim miracles of dietary supplements and if they are difficult for you to believe then you have the right to be skeptical.

As there is little scientific evidence to prove their safety and in many cases no one really knows the facts. Although all dietary supplement products are regulated by FDA, they are not checked for safety before they are sold in the market.

Some athletes take dietary supplements for performance enhancement, however often these performance enhancement claims are exaggerated and not based on scientific evidences. The use of anabolic steroid, man made hormone similar to testosterone is illegal and unsafe, as it can be addictive and have ill effects on the body like kidney damage, heart damage and bone problems.

There are no standard dose for creatine, thus it is difficult to determine the safety level. Amino acids although required for body building a balanced diet and exercise together can suffice their requirements.
Some people might be tempted to take herbal medicines to lose weight, but these remedies doesn’t really work and some herbs might even have side effects if taken in large amounts.

Energy bars are also taken as supplements, but these high energy bars should be taken with caution as they can add unwanted calories to the diet. The best way to lose weight is by a combination of balanced meal and exercise.
Rather than taking vitamins and mineral supplements the best way of taking your daily doses of vitamins, minerals and other essential components of food is including a healthy balanced meal in your daily diet.

Read the label for contents on the dietary supplement before taking it and remember that by law any dietary supplement product cannot claim that it can enhance/treat a condition or cure any disease. Dietary supplements should not be replaced with healthy foods in diet; they can just be products that can be added to a well balanced diet containing whole foods.

Don’t be an unpaid guinea pig of the manufacturer by taking any untested dietary supplement and putting your own health at risk.