There are so many nutritional supplements on the market! Just walking into your neighborhood pharmacy or grocery store can overwhelm you with choices.
Since they’re being sold over the counter – some even over the gas station counter – it seems like they would be safe, and you could just choose at random. Unfortunately, that’s not true. Supplements can interact with each other just like prescription medications can. Some supplements may even be bad for you.
So –
- How do you know who nutritional supplements are for?
- Which ones are beneficial for your specific needs?
- And which are ineffective or even harmful?
That’s a hard call. What you need is a trusted source and a healthcare provider who has knowledge of nutritional supplements to guide you.
First, let’s do a quick Q&A about food supplements, and then we’ll share our favorite nutritional supplements for building a strong immune system.
What is the Role of Nutritional Supplements?
Nutritional supplements (a.k.a. food or dietary supplements) can include ingredients like minerals, vitamins, amino acids, herbs, enzymes, and peptides. Dietary supplements are delivered in various forms, including tablets, capsules, soft gels, gel caps, powders, and liquids. The role of these food supplements is therefore to provide nutrients for your body that it lacks.
Who Needs Nutritional Supplements?
First off, nutrition supplements are not a substitute for a healthy diet and smart lifestyle choices. But even if you’ve got the perfect health plan in place, your vitamin, mineral, amino acid, and other nutrient levels may not be at their optimal levels, which leaves your immune system open to attack. That’s when nutritional supplements come in handy. They can support your immune system with a much-needed boost.
Can Food Supplements Be Bad For You?
It’s best to always check with your doctor before taking any supplements, even if a friend recommended them to you.
That’s because although food supplements can be just what one individual needs to get their immune system in fighting shape, not everyone can take all food supplements. Certain people shouldn’t take certain supplements, particularly in high doses.
Even the daily multivitamins in those pretty bottles aren’t always harmless. Studies have shown that they can contribute to an increased risk of excessive nutrient intake that could be harmful to your health. The reason is that only a certain amount of each nutrient is needed for your body to function. Higher doses than required aren’t always better and could have adverse effects.
Pregnant women, in particular, need to be aware of what is in any supplement before they take it. For example, high doses of vitamin A (including fish liver oil) may be harmful and cause congenital disabilities.
Are There Any Risks in Taking Supplements?
When you take them under the guidance of a qualified practitioner, supplements can be a lifesaver. But there are risks.
Supplements often contain active ingredients that have strong biological effects in your body that could make them unsafe or complicate your health. Here’s what you need to know:
- Combining supplements could be life-threatening.
- Using supplements with prescription or OTC medicines can cause dangerous interactions.
- Taking too much of certain supplements, such as vitamin A, vitamin D, or iron, can have detrimental effects.
- Some supplements can also have negative effects before, during, and after surgery.
What Nutritional Supplements Should I Not Take Together?
The list of supplements that you should not take together varies. It’s also too complicated to include here, so we’ll stick with the basics in this article.
- You should not take vitamin A with vitamin A-rich foods. This risks absorbing too much vitamin A into your system.
- A doctor needs to verify folic acid (vitamin B9) and vitamin B12 deficiencies before you take them together. The reason is, too much folic acid can hide the symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency.
- Taking vitamin E can counteract the effects of the same vitamin K supplementation.
- Copper and zinc compete with each other for absorption, and zinc usually wins out, leaving you with a copper deficiency.
- Taking iron with green tea decreases the benefits of green tea because its antioxidants bond to the iron instead of going into your body.
- Calcium affects how your body absorbs other minerals, including zinc, magnesium, or iron, so you must time out your dosages of each.
What Nutritional Supplements Should I Avoid With Prescription Drugs?
As we said above, the list of interactions is too long to include here. That’s why you must consult with a doctor before you add a nutritional supplement to the mix if you’re taking any prescription medications.
Here are a couple of examples of negative interactions between prescription medications and supplements.
Depending on dosages taken, vitamin A and vitamin K can negatively interact with blood thinners. Many herbal remedies interact with the blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin), including:
- Cranberry
- Fish oil
- Garlic
- Gingko
- Ginseng
- John’s wort
- Vitamin E
- Milk thistle
High doses of vitamin D can interact poorly with medications that lower cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as other drugs used to treat heart disease.
Two herbal supplements, Goldenseal and St John’s Wort have such a high risk of interactions, it is best to avoid them entirely if you take any prescriptions.
How Do You Know If Nutritional Supplements Are Safe?
Knowing if nutritional supplements are safe can be tricky. The FDA doesn’t review dietary supplement products for safety and effectiveness before they’re marketed. Therefore, the manufacturers and distributors of these supplements are the only ones responsible for making sure their products are safe before they go on the market. That means that you need to trust the manufacturer and the integrity of the person recommending the supplement.
What Nutritional Supplements Do We Offer You?
At Evexias Medical Centers, we offer a limited number of nutritional supplements because we’ve taken the time to do our research and only recommend the best.
In addition, we have our own brand of nutritional supplements so that we know exactly what goes into each bottle.
Here are the nutrition supplements we’ve found most beneficial in boosting your immune system:
*The fastest and most effective way that we found to boost your immune system is IV nutrition therapy combined with a MIC B12 shot.
*Our Immune Boost IV is an enhanced Myers Cocktail, with all of the ingredients plus some extra vital vitamins that may improve immune-boosting power.
*And for consistent immune support, we offer:
- DIM – to support your liver and levels of good estrogen and antioxidants
- Omega Plus – to support optimal immunity
- Evexipel (FarmaKeio) Sleep – because your immune system will suffer if you’re not getting enough quality sleep
Take your immune system to the gym!
If you’re concerned about your immune system health and want to give it a boost, we’re here for you and we have lots of options!
First of all, we’d love you to join us for our free webinar on 14 March 2022 to hear about Immune System Optimization. But in the meantime, contact us for a consultation today!