Are we munching on supplements?

Health Concern

Popping pills has become part of our routine diet. We might skip a meal but make it a point to gulp down that pill, thinking it will supplement the missed food. The erratic lifestyle and misplaced cravings for food have made our bodies nothing less than trash cans, thus drastically affecting its immunity. Food no longer seems sufficient to meet our body’s nutritional requirements.

Although most of us are aware of our nutritional requirements, our daily life doesn’t allow us to retain a regime. We then look for easier alternatives in the form of health supplements; leading into a false belief of maintaining our well-being.

Popularly known as multivitamin/mineral supplements, these tablets or pills contain all or most vitamins and minerals. The recommended amounts of nutrients that should be consumed vary by age and gender and are known as Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) and Adequate Intakes (AIs). The ideal daily intake is known as the Daily Value (DV) and if often similar to one's RDA or AI for that nutrient. As Somya Shrivastava, Head of the Department of Dietetics, Max Hospital, explains, “Supplements are taken when either you are suffering from a disease or the body is unable to absorb the food properly.”

While health supplements may seem the easiest escape in the short run, their long term benefits or side-effects are often debatable. In any case, excess of everything is harmful. Shivam Saxena, a fitness freak, says, “I started taking protein supplements to build on my stamina. The problem with such supplements is that they give you the nutrition equivalent to three meals, all in one go. While this works wonders for your energy, it must be substituted by regular working out to supplement the excessive protein intake.” He further adds, “I regularly consumed protein supplements, but was unable to compensate the required work out. As a result I developed stones in my stomach and had to undergo a surgery.”

But health supplements also act as counter remedy for various side-effects caused by other medicines. Anurita Dayal, a 49 year old housewife who is suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, says, “I take regular allopathic medicines as part of my treatment because of which I often develop muscle cramps. To relieve this, my doctor has prescribed Vitamin E supplements to be taken for around 10 days whenever cramps occur. Along with this I am also supposed to take one Calcium tablet daily.”

Ask the experts and they will help you determine the right combination of food and supplements. “Calcium and Iron supplements have drug interaction tendency. Hence they should never be taken together. Excessive daily intake beyond the prescribed limit can often lead to common symptoms like headache, nausea, hair loss, drying of skin, etc. In rare cases, it can even prove fatal,” clarifies Somya.

Staying natural is probably the best way to sustain your body’s immunity. “Vitamin D deficiency is emerging as the most common problem. This is majorly due to lack of sun exposure and since not many food items fulfil this requirement, Vitamin D supplements are the only possible source,” Somya shares.

So while some supplements become absolutely essential when we are unable to change our lifestyle, care should be taken to consume them under proper guidance and within the recommended limits.