The world of supplements is booming right now. It seems like new energizing ingredients appear in your feed every day, including magnesium, lion’s mane, and creatine. But the problem is this: There are no standard regulations for safety in the United States. like dinar sayaniMD, an internist at Tennessee’s Summit Medical Group, explains the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Does not approve supplements or labeling before sale to the public. Companies have the power to introduce whatever they want with little oversight. And with so much misinformation floating around, it’s very tempting to ingest one or twenty pieces of information you might not need just because an algorithm fed it to you via your social feed.
“Customers will purchase supplements based on influencer advertising when the specific supplement in question is not their optimal choice or primary concern,” adds Samantha Dieras, RD, DCN, director of ambulatory nutrition services at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. “In today’s advertising market, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and overwhelmed by the idea of taking multiple supplements.”
But don’t be alarmed. There are a few things you can do to make your choice as safe as humanly possible. To do so, experts say to keep these three things in mind:
Read the fact label
As with everything else, you should read all labels on your products. However, when it comes to supplements, the ingredient list explains exactly what the supplement is made of and can help you figure out whether it contains specific minerals, vitamins, or nutrients for your specific needs. On the other side of the spectrum, if you are allergic to something, the ingredient list will help you figure out whether the supplement is safe enough to take.
Sayani also says to be wary of any labels that make certain claims. Anything that claims to fully “diagnose,” “cure,” “palliate,” “cure,” “prevent disease,” “100% safe,” or “have no side effects” will most likely not do the job and is best avoided.
Understand that it interacts with other medications
Dieras says one of the first things you should consider is whether the supplement you want to take will pair with the medication you’re currently taking. Some supplements can weaken your medications. (For example, magnesium supplements may decrease the effectiveness of antibiotics you are taking.) Therefore, it is best to check with your health care provider for any supplements that are of interest to you before taking them.
Always choose third-party tested options
What does it mean when a supplement is third-party tested? Sayani explains that this means that an independent organization with no connection to the manufacturing company has evaluated the supplement and can verify its quality and manufacturing process. Third-party testing groups also check for contaminants and ensure that the ingredients listed in the ingredient list are what you are consuming.
