What Should You Know Before You Buy a Supplement?

Before purchasing a nutritional supplement, the consumer should have an understanding of what a supplement is supposed to do and whether or not it has proven properties. The testimonial of friends and articles written in a popular magazine should not always be trusted. Freelance writers who may not have an educational background in the health sciences but can write a very believable article often author these pieces. Your most accurate source of nutritional information is people educated in nutrition/medical-related fields, preferably with a higher educational degree (PhD, MD, DO) and who study the most current nutrition research. Make sure the author of a given book or article, or an individual presenting a seminar, is well educated in that field. Ask for credentials from reputable universities and colleges that actually have campuses and accredited programs.
 

If you are thinking about purchasing a supplement to enhance a particular aspect of your life, such as athletic performance or disease prevention/ treatment, make sure the substance has been tested under circumstances similar to those to which you want to apply the supplement. For example, just because a certain nutrient is essential for fat burning in the body does not mean that a supplemental dose of that nutrient will enhance your body’s fat burning potential. Furthermore, research involving the nutrient of interest should have been published in an established scientific publication, such as the Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of Physiology, New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Nutrition, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. For instance, phytosterols have been shown in several research studies published in esteemed journals, such as the Journal of the American Medical Association to lower low density lipoprotein cholesterol, thus lowering a person’s risk of heart disease.
 

The journals just mentioned are peer-reviewed, meaning that before a research article is published it is thoroughly evaluated by scientists who are experts in that field. Ask for this kind of information when you visit your local supplement supplier. Do not rely exclusively on the manufacturer’s insert or brochure as they are trying to sell the product.
 

Beware of tricky marketing. Often we read articles in certain “health” magazines that convince us of the benefits of a certain substance only to find an advertisement and ordering information for that supplement five pages later. It makes you wonder if it was really a credible article or just clever advertising designed to appear as a credible article. This is especially true when the same company that published the magazine sells the supplement. Look for the word “Advertisement” written at the top of the page in tiny print.

Who Needs a Nutritional Supplement?

If a person’s diet contains enough calories for normal weight maintenance and is well balanced, containing multiple servings of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products as well as adequate sources of protein, including fish or other seafood a couple times a week, then he or she is probably at least meeting the recommendations (RDA/AIs) for essential nutrients. Therefore, he or she would not need to supplement his or her diet to meet basic needs to prevent deficiency and to support general health.
 

On the other hand, if his or her diet is consistently imbalanced then that person’s average daily intake for one or more essential nutrients will probably end up below recommendations. For instance, if a person doesn’t eat fish or other seafood regularly, then they might not be achieving recommended levels for an essential fatty acid. Or, if a person doesn’t tolerate or like milk and certain dairy foods, they might not achieve his or her AI for calcium and vitamin D on a regular basis. Therefore, unrelenting food preferences, food intolerance, and allergies, or limited availability of certain foods can certainly necessitate the consideration of a nutrition supplement. In addition, reduced calorie intakes to lose weight can often lead to inadequate intakes of one or more essential nutrients by reducing the volume of food in general or limiting the intake of certain types of foods.
 

Beyond achieving RDA/AI levels for essential nutrients, many people seek out supplements containing nutrition factors that are purported to optimize the fight against current conditions such as osteoarthritis and diabetes and to help prevent diseases that develop over years or decades such as osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancer. In doing so, essential nutrient levels well above the RDA/AI or other nutrients are sought out in supplementation. Often it is the case that even a well balanced diet would not provide the higher level or the unique nutrients, either at all or in adequate amounts. In this case, the diet would have to be supplemented. Excellent examples of nutrients sought out for supplementation include phytosterols and psyllium fiber for cholesterol reduction, glucosamine for joint health, lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health, and lycopene and blueberries for prostate health. Another example might be supplementation of creatine to achieve a daily level that would support the development of lean body mass for weight trainers and athletes.

What Are Nutritional Supplements?

Nutritional supplements contain ingredients that are either common or uncommon to natural foods. These substances are either extracted from a natural food or they are made in a laboratory and are provided in many forms such as pills, powders for drinks, and bars. Some examples of the early supplementation include ancient Persian physicians providing iron supplements to soldiers wounded in battle. On the other hand nutritional supplements marketed to the public began as an attempt to fill nutritional

voids in the diet. For example, a supplement may help an individual who does not eat dairy foods meet their calcium needs.
 

Nutrition supplements are marketed to help ensure adequate nutrient intake to achieve a person’s goal for health and/or performance.
 

Today, the nutrition supplements industry has evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry. Nutrition supplements are sold in supermarkets, drugstores, stores found in shopping malls, on the internet, and by direct marketing. Nutrition supplements include a broad range of individual and combinations of recognized nutrients, such as protein and amino acid preparations, essential fatty acids and fish oil, vitamins, and minerals, to more obscure substances and extracts such as co-enzyme Q10, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, hydroxy citric acid (HCA), kola nut, bilberry, grape seed extract, phytosterols, choline, lipoic acid, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and carnitine. As we move through the ensuing chapters we will mention different supplements as they apply to different topics of normal and applied nutrition.