Nutritional supplements are vitamins and minerals that assist with the daily intake of essential micronutrients. They are mostly safe and can provide additional health benefits, but some can pose as a risk for some individuals. Supplements include fish oil, green tea, chondroitin, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, glucosamine, garlic and echinacea.
You should be able to get the majority of your essential vitamins and essential minerals through diet, however, supplements can provide you with extra nutrients when your diet is does not include them or certain health conditions trigger a deficiency such as diabetes, cancer, or chronic digestive problems. Normally, a multivitamin may provide all the micronutrients your body needs to maintain balanced. These are generally safer because they contain trace amounts (small amounts).
Currently in the U.S., dietary supplements are not strictly regulated like prescription medications, and manufacturers do not have to prove that their products are safe or effective. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains a potentially harmful or tainted products that are labelled as supplements, but they do not determine if the supplements are effective before they are shipped out to sellers. Supplement manufacturers have to follow certain labelling guidelines, but does not stop them from claiming “misleading” claims, such as weight loss, boosting the immune system, or claiming to “treat” an illness.
What you need to know: some supplements can reduce the effectiveness of certain medications, for example, antibiotics may reduce the effectiveness of hormonal birth control, thus potentially causing an unwanted pregnancy. Make sure to follow up with your primary healthcare physician to make sure you are not taking a supplement that could interfere with any prescription medication, including over-the-counter (OTC) medications are well.
*Shereen Lehman, MS, article, Benefits and Risks of Dietary Supplements, 06/25/2019*