Things to consider when thinking about adding a supplement to your diet

Recommendations on dietary supplements are everywhere these days from social media to print, TV and Radio ads ranging from the sensible sounding ‘take a general vitamin & mineral supplement’ ranging to the ridiculous ‘drink this hot chocolate’ for longer hair…

The truth is that although somesupplements may be beneficial to your overall health, evidence varies significantly and for many supplements being touted, there simply is no evidence. Here are some of my top considerations when working with clients who ask me about supplements.

1.What is your diet like? Supplements are on top of a health balanced diet and not a panacea for eating the wrong foods. Please start with your diet and make sure you are eating loads of fruit, veg, whole grains, beans, legumes, fish, lean protein mostly, red meat not too often if you eat it, and have some plant based meals each week. High intake of fibre from a diet full of fruit, veg and wholegrains is beneficial in many ways beyond your digestion.

2. Find ways to manage the sources of stress in your life so that you aren’t constantly running on nearly empty. This includes getting a decent amount of sleep. These needs to be solved-a multi vit is not the answer here.

3. Supplements can include Vitamins, Minerals or some people also choose herbal products so if you are on any medications REMEMBER to always check with your doctor that there are no potential interactions and examples include Vitamin K and blood thinners, or Ginko biloba (no evidence currently exists though some people take it to prevent dementia) which can increase blood thinning, or interact adversely with diabetes or blood pressure meds.

4. More is not better -make sure you are not double dosing across supplements and make sure that the supplement you have selected is not double dosing on maximum recommended daily allowances.

5. Supplements marketed for weight loss / bodybuilding should be avoided like the plague, they might be illegal, they may not contain what they say they contain, in some cases they have found to contain compounds unsafe for our health.  There isn’t an easy way to weight loss that is healthy and sustainable even if it is tempting when you are looking to get started. A calorie deficit is the only thing that works in conjunction with work on mindset, motivation and other intrinsic factors.

What to take?

I would start with a Fish Oil Supplement -Upping your fish intake will help up your Omega fatty acids and we know people eating lots of fish have substantial protection against heart disease and stroke. So if you don’t get enough in your diet, it is helpful to supplement with marine DHA and EPA and this is good advice if you some cardiac risk factors like high blood pressure, adverse high cholesterol levels and /or diabetes.

A good brand general purpose vitamin and mineral is a decent place to start. These are available in all pharmacies and health stores.  Depending on your stage in life you can find them marketed to particular ages -younger, seniors, perimenopause, menopause – despite the marketing, they usually contain very similar vitamin and minerals, dosing will vary as RDA’s vary with age.

Calcium – We all need adequate calcium which is in dairy foods. Especially given the risk of osteoporosis, Perimenopause or menopausal women can benefit from a calcium supplement or anyone if they eat little dairy.

Vitamin D – most of us spend the majority of our time indoors hence can be short on adequate Vitamin D and while it is in oily fish and some fortified foods, it can be hard to get through diet alone.

B12 – If you are vegan or vegetarian you may benefit from a supplement of B12.

I also take magnesium, I have found it helpful to my sleep which has been reasonably badly disrupted for many years – I use it in conjunction with other sleep hygiene habits to manage my sleep. Overall evidence is not conclusive but the growing body of evidence seems to say ‘maybe’.

So the answer is not straightforward – is it ever!, Start with diet, sort out your stress , sleep and you know what I’m going to say here – your exercise levels then look at supplements and see if they help you feel better or improve your overall well being in the context of those other essential things.

As always, contact me if you have any questions.