When it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle, a well balanced diet is an amazing place to start. However, it’s not always true that you will get all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs from your diet alone. In fact, as is the case with athletes and many other individuals who require high levels of certain nutrients, diet can only do so much. Cue supplements: carefully manufactured capsules, liquids, gummies, or powders that include one or more vitamins and minerals essential to keep your body in good working order. While it’s true that supplementing your diet with the right things can have a wide variety of health benefits, it’s not always easy to find a supplement that works for you. With so many products to choose from, selecting a supplement that will suit your needs is no easy task. Looking to clarify things? Here are some simple tips that will help you pick the proper set of supplements.
Determine Your Use
First things first, you should determine why you need or want to start taking supplements. If you’re looking for a general improvement in health, or feel that your diet is less than stellar, a great supplement to take would be a classic multivitamin. These one-stop-shop supplements each contain slightly different things, so you’ll want to tailor your selection based on the nutrients you feel you’re lacking the most. For weight loss, opt for metabolism-boosting nutrients, ingredients that will suppress appetite, and additions that will aid in digestion. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you may want to consider taking some combination of vitamin B12, iron, and protein. These are all things that are found in low amounts in a typical meat-less diet, and are essential for sustained energy, proper muscle reparation, and much more.
Be Realistic
Due to the different dosages found in each supplement, no two supplements will yield the same results, and many supplements will require different schedules. If you select a supplement, regardless of the reason, you should be sure that you will be able to take it as required. Be realistic about your habits and routines. If you struggle to remember to take things on a daily basis, perhaps consider a supplement that you only need to take a couple of times a week. If you need to take something at a consistent time, be sure that you select an hour that you will be awake. If you’re not a morning person, perhaps skip anything that might have to be consumed in the AM hours.
Look for Credibility
One of the most important things to look for in a supplement is how reputable the brand is. Look for supplement brands with credibility and testimonials. On packaging, look for third-party verification. If you are looking into USA vitamins, make sure that they are certified by the USP or NSF international. Both of these organizations conduct tests on supplement ingredients and additives, ensuring there are not high levels of contaminants included in the product. If a supplement is carried by a well-known e-commerce platform or physical store, it’s usually a good indication that it has a good reputation. However, it’s important to always check labels and do your research before committing to a particular supplement.
Pregnancy Changes Things
If you are pregnant, or planning a pregnancy, this should and will change how you go about selecting supplements. Choosing the right prenatal supplements will affect how your body and your future baby develops over the entire carrying period. Additional strain on the body necessitates increased supplement dosage. This is doubly true if you are predisposed to morning sickness. Opt for specialized multivitamins that contain high concentrations of iron and calcium, as these can be difficult to extract from food. Another nutrient that all pregnant women should take is folic acid. This B vitamin is known to help prevent birth defects when taken in before conception and during the first trimester. It’s important to select organic, natural supplements that contain the least amount of additives possible.
Health Conditions
Did you know that one of the major side effects of many health conditions is an inability to properly absorb nutrients? Certain forms of cancer, liver disease, bowel disease, autoimmune disorders, and many other conditions, ultimately result in nutrient deficiencies. Though some of these deficiencies aren’t immediately obvious, many will make themselves known. If you’re experiencing extreme tiredness, arrhythmia, unusual hair loss, slow healing wounds, or painful joints, these are all signs you may have a nutrient deficiency. After you get a proper diagnosis from your doctor, you’ll want to purchase a targeted supplement to help make up for deficiencies in the natural absorption rate.
Take Your Diet Into Account
Though a diet may not provide you with everything you need, it’s still a good idea to factor in your typical diet when deciding on a new supplement. While it’s uncommon, taking too much of one vitamin or mineral can actually be harmful to the body rather than helpful. If you know you already get high quantities of a certain supplemental ingredient based on the foods you consume, you may want to skip supplements with large amounts of that nutrient. For example, you shouldn’t exceed your DV of calcium by too much, as your body will have a hard time absorbing it. Instead, try a multivitamin that skips out on calcium, or provides it in an extremely low dosage.
No supplement is made or packaged the same, so it can be difficult to know what will work the best for you. That being said, the things that you put in your body should be high quality and well-tailored to your specifications. By taking into account your lifestyle, habits, and health conditions, you’ll easily find a variety of supplement options that will help you meet your health and fitness goals. Additionally, by carefully considering the supplement dosage, quality, and brand credibility, you will be ensuring you are fueling your body in the best way you can. The initial search may be confusing, but after reading these tips you’ll have the knowledge you need to start successfully incorporating supplements into your health regimen!
