A healthy and well-balanced diet is important for the body's general wellbeign. However, it isn’t always easy to buy and prepare fresh and healthy meals every day yet everyone has different nutritional needs based on gender, age, state of health, and medication. This is where Nutritional supplements come in.
Nutritional supplements are products intended to supplement the diet. These products have different amounts of nutrients like vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, fats and minerals. They come in various forms like tablets, capsules, solutions, powders and puddings.
The Benefits of Nutritional Supplements:
Nutritional supplements help improve or maintain overall health and can also help meet the daily requirements of essential nutrients like vitamins, proteins, minerals and fats in the body for example during pregnancy and breastfeeding
Examples of Nutritional supplements include:
Vitamin C which helps support a healthy immune system
Omega 3 which supports cardiovascular health
Calcium, magnessium which help build strong bones.
Risks Associated With Nutritional Supplements
Before purchasing or taking any nutritional supplement, always consult a medical professional for advise.
Supplements contain some ingredients that may have strong effects in the body and others can even interferere with the pharmacological action of drugs/medications.
When taking nutritional supplements, be alert to the possibility of a bad reaction like diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea e.t.c
Problems can occur if you:
- Combine supplements
- Take some supplements with drugs
- Take too much of some supplements
- Exceed the recommended dose
- Take a supplement whose ingredient(s) you're allergic to
- Take expired supplements
If you experience an adverse effect while taking any supplement, stop using it and seek medical advice
What to Consider when purchasing Nutritional Supplements
- Ingredients - Countercheck the ingredients list to confirm that you're not allergic to or you've been advised not to consume any of the listed ingredients
- Nutritional information - Check if the quantities of the nutrients you'd like to supplement are what you exactly need
- Serving directions / Dosage - Take only as described on the label to prevent adverse effects
- Expiry Date - Expired supplements will definitely be harmful to your body
- Packaging - Do not accept any supplement with a broken seal
Nutritional supplements should NOT be used as a substitute for food