Are Food Supplements for You?
You eat healthy foods and exercise regularly. But in the back of your mind you sometimes wonder, “Could taking a food supplement make me healthier?”
Surveys show that more than half of American adults take food, or dietary, supplements to boost their diet. Sometimes 
people take them because they lack – or think they lack – certain vitamins and minerals. Other people want to improve some part of their health, like their immune system.Vitamins, minerals, and herbs are the more popular food supplements. They come as powder or liquid that you can take as a pill or mix into food or drinks.
For years, doctors and food experts have been saying that in general, you don’t need supplements if you eat a healthy, balanced diet. How do you know if your diet is healthy? Check the Food Guide Pyramid. It tells you which foods to eat each day and in what amounts to stay healthy. A healthy diet is low in fat and sugar and rich in plant foods, like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
Changing Lives, Changing Bodies
Sometimes, changes take place in our lives and bodies that can make it harder to eat right. For instance, a sad event, such as losing a loved one, could cause us to lose interest in food or eating right. Health and dental problems or some drugs can ruin our appetites or cause other eating problems.Some people, as they age, begin to avoid certain foods, like milk. That’s because the sugar in milk gets harder to digest. This could cause them to not get enough calcium, which the body needs for strong bones.
If you aren’t sure if you have a healthy diet, talk to your doctor or a food expert. He or she can help you figure out what’s missing in your diet. Maybe you should be taking calcium tablets or a multivitamin. Find out which supplements to avoid if you have an illness or take medicine. Some supplements can make certain health problems worse or interfere with your medicine.
If you want to try a supplement because you read or heard it could improve your health in some way, do some research first. Look on the Internet or in the library for medical studies to support the claims. If the supplement is for a certain problem, like arthritis, check with a health group that knows about the illness, like the Arthritis Foundation. Ask a doctor or pharmacist if the supplement is safe and how it’s used.
Beware of false claims. Supplements that claim to help you stay young, grow back hair, lose weight, or cure cancer could be false. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Watch for double standards. Even though herbs are often sold for having the same effect as certain drugs, they aren’t controlled the same way. Find out about the herbs you want to use. Are there side effects? Could taking large doses be dangerous? How long have the herbs been used for treating your condition(s)? Have medical studies been published on their effectiveness?
High doses of some supplements might be harmful. There are guidelines for the amounts of vitamins and minerals you should take to stay healthy, but not for herbs. Some herbs could be harmful in large amounts. So could very large doses of vitamins and minerals.
In the end, do your research well and as a final caution, always confer with your physician when in doubt…especially when you have a medical condition.
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