If you’ve spent any time in the diet or health aisle of a pharmacy or supermarket, you know that there are many varieties of supplements from which to choose. How do you know which ones are right for you and which ones may actually harm you if you take them?
Here are some basic guidelines to help you out:
- Pay attention to the RDA’s. Look at the label on the vitamins or supplements that you wish to purchase and see where it falls in line with the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). Ideally, you want to choose supplements that are around 100%. If you take higher levels of certain supplements (such as the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K), they could build up to toxic levels in your system and do you more harm than good.
- Ask your doctor. Some supplements interfere with prescribed medications or certain medical conditions. Therefore, it’s never advised that you just start taking high doses of anything without talking to your family doctor first. He or she knows more about your individual body and can tell you what will and won’t be good for you personally.
- Read all the ingredients. Just because something says it is all-natural, make sure you read the entire list of ingredients before you just believe them. Each country has different standards that allow products to be labeled as all-natural even if they have fillers in them (as long as they don’t exceed certain amounts). Do your own homework so you know what you’re putting in your body.
- Use common sense. If a supplement makes a claim that sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Remember, they’re out to sell their products and so they’ll market with that intention. Don’t let their promises override your common sense and make you buy supplements that don’t live up to their claims.
Follow these simple guidelines and you’ll be on your way to finding the supplements that work best for you. After all, that is the purpose, right?
