Should I take a dietary supplement?

 I have to say that I think most supplements should come with a recommendation from a qualified practitioner.  As a naturopath, I assess each person’s health in a very individual way, taking into account past medical history, that person’s environment, diet, current health, lifestyle, medications – a myriad of factors which may contribute to imbalance in that person’s health.  Introducing a supplement has to be considered quite carefully in the context of all those things, and then knowing when to stop is equally important.

We get lots of media advice these days on vitamin C and vitamin D – hurrah nutrients can actually DO something??!  Yes they can, but how many people know that if you overdo vitamin D, in some people this can cause an imbalance (and therefore lack) in other fat-soluble vitamins such as K, E and A?  So someone madly supplementing with vitamin D may unknowingly start showing a vitamin K deficiency.

This is one – fairly simplistic – example.  But it does demonstrate that we fiddle with our biochemistry of vitamins at our peril.  We can be guided by well-documented vitamin deficiency signs, but my first exploration would be along the lines of finding out why that deficiency is showing. It cannot always be assumed that a deficiency is there because something is not being consumed in the diet, it may be because the body is not processing it properly and we would need to find out why.

This is just one of the reasons why a naturopath will ask SO many questions.

In working out what nutrients may be missing, a naturopath will ask, for instance:

·      What is a sample of your weekly diet? This gives an idea of what may be regularly missing

·      How much stress is around at the moment? Stress will ‘use up’ certain vitamins and minerals quickly

·      What is your digestion like? (followed by a many more digestion-focussed questions)! Your efficient ingestion, use and elimination of food factors is critical

·      How is your sleep? Sleep issues may indicate gut issues, plus of course stress factors impacting, or endocrine issues

·      Medical history (always)

·      Current medications being taken. This includes pharmaceutical as well as herbal and dietary supplementation

This is all in the context of assessing symptoms.

It is really important to know when the taking of a supplement to correct imbalance has done its job and can be discontinued or slowly removed.   I am not a fan of taking something forever; in most cases it isn’t necessary especially if the deficiency has been corrected by changes to diet and/or lifestyle.  Most often, I find that recommending a supplement for a period of time will do the trick and help while other contributing factors are addressed, and may be returned to from time to time as the occasional ‘hiccup’ in life occurs (as it does).  Certainly, the first and most important consideration is checking that the diet is supplying those nutrients in adequate and balanced amounts.

Another obvious example is vitamin C.  Well-evidenced and shown to support immune function, has anti-inflammatory anti-histamine effects; when we come down with a lurgy our need for it can go up.  It is an ‘acute phase’ vitamin need.  We need all our vitamins and minerals at a certain level all the time; there are some outstandingly that are relied on for coming into extra play at times of attack. In the early stages particularly of an infection, taking vitamin C (see practitioner for the right one for you) may help protect against worsening of the attack, and/or may lead to earlier and more resolution than without it.  If you overdose on it, (and I’m not recommending that!) a dose of diarrhoea may be your clue to pull back. 

Again, short-term is the key (ie only as long as is necessary).

I recommend that you advise your health care professional of any supplement you are taking.