Dietary supplements and their increasing consumption

The rising trend of using dietary supplements to strengthen and preserve health or to debar illness, has intensified over the past few years. As for every other product, dietary supplements have their own pros and cons. Where on one hand, they increase performance, strength, metabolism and physical well-being of the body; they can definitely affect the body adversely.

 What are dietary supplements?

Dietary supplements are synthetic products which add an extra element to the regular diet. These products could be of natural origin (such as those extracted from plant or vegetable sources) or they could be manufactured discretely, and then combined with other food sources to increase their amount of consumption. Dietary supplements are available in various dosage forms and are abundantly used worldwide.

 How are dietary supplements beneficial?

Supplements are beneficial in a variety of ways. The most important benefit of these supplements is the sufficient provision of essential nutrients to the body. These include vitamins, fatty acids, dietary fiber, proteins and minerals.They also help strengthen health and aid in the management of disease conditions. In malnourished and underfed individuals, dietary supplements are the best option to meet up the nutritional requirements.

How to use dietary supplements?

As for every medication, dietary supplements should always be taken on the recommendation of a registered nutritionist or medical practitioner. While taking your daily dose supplements, make sure you take the correct dose at the right time. Also make sure that your supplements aren't interacting with any other medication that you are taking. This is important because some medicines can affect the efficacy of the supplement and vice versa.

Adverse effects of dietary supplements:

Excessive use of dietary supplements can affect almost every system of the body.

·      The active ingredients present in dietary supplements can cause high blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmia.

·     A number of dietary supplements intended for weight loss are reported to have caused hepatic toxicity and liver failure.

·     Use of dietary supplements could be risky for your renal health if you recently had a kidney transplant.

·    Supplements could pose serious risks to your skin if you're using them during radiation therapy.

·    Dietary supplements could be detrimental to both male and female reproductive health, where they can affect the sperm count and production of female sex hormones, respectively.

·   Excess use of dietary supplements may cause diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Some may cause indigestion and GIT fatigue.

How to avoid the use of dietary supplements?

Since the synthetic ingredients present in dietary supplements could be harmful to the normal metabolism of human body, their use should be minimized by including all the nutrient components in your diet. Taking a well-balanced diet regularly can meet all the nutrient  requirements of the body without the need to use supplements