For people who need to improve personal wellness, dietary supplements may be the perfect solution; however, depending on one’s current health, supplements may be unnecessary.
Mindy Diller, registered dietician at Texas Tech University Hospitality Services, said people tend to rely on vitamins and supplements to improve one’s daily intake of nutrients.
“I do think that supplements could be incredibly helpful for many of us,” she said. “Sometimes we don’t know we are low on certain vitamins and nutrients until we go to the doctor.”
Supplements, which Diller said can fall under many categories, such as multivitamins, caffeine or digestive supplements, could be used to improve nutrition if a person is not consuming enough fruits and vegetables. Despite these benefits, she said people should first educate themselves on the contents of a supplement before consuming the product.
“Often we don’t realize what could potentially be in some of those supplements we’re taking,” Diller said.
Some supplements can contain herbs, which Diller said can be harmful, as they could interact with medication. Substances, such as artificial sweeteners, that are included in supplements are ingredients she said could also be unhealthy.
These health advantages and risks could be factors one considers when wanting to know if supplements are the best course of action.
Shannon Galyean, assistant professor in nutritional sciences at Texas Tech, said there is no consensus on whether a person needs a supplement – specifically multivitamins.
“There’s no harm that will come from a multivitamin,” she said. “But if you ate plenty of fruits and vegetables, you would honestly probably get all your vitamins and minerals.”
When a person consumes a multivitamin, Galyean said they are supplementing the need for the lack of natural vitamins in food. Consuming too many multivitamins is a mistake that could be toxic for a person, she said.
“As much as you can, include more fruits and vegetables,” Galyean said. “As a healthy practice, a multivitamin is probably all that you need. Unless you go to the doctor, they check the vitamin D level, then a vitamin D supplement is warranted.”
Vitamin D is a nutritional necessity, Galyean said, most people use supplements to obtain as few foods contain this vitamin.
Regardless if one is trying to get a higher dose of vitamin D or improving their current nutritional intake, a person could also consider alternatives to using dietary supplements.
Elena Sánchez-Freeman, health and wellness program manager of Texas Tech Risk Intervention and Safety Education, said a holistic approach to health and taking time to examine oneself can be the first step to improving nutrition.
“If we feel a certain type of way about the way we’re eating or about our physical fitness, our body – does it function well for us?” she said. “That awareness and communicating to yourself what you’re feeling is the first step in getting anywhere.”
Being conscious of where a person’s energy is being used is a first step Sánchez-Freeman said can be beneficial for wellness. When people have free time, she said energy needs to be put into something that will cycle back that energy.
“That’s usually where that feeling of being drained comes from,” Sánchez-Freeman said regarding how people waste energy and do not take time for themselves. “We supplement that with caffeine because we don’t have that energy left over.”
Regarding what people eat, Sánchez-Freeman said people should first acknowledge what they are consuming on a regular basis to avoid poor nutrition.
“Are we consuming because there’s an intention of what that food or that fuel is going to do for us?” she said. “Be more intentional about what we are putting into our body.”
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