The Do’s
Do get into habit of taking regularly
This may seem obvious, but so many supplements sit in the cupboard at home until they are beyond their shelf date. When you start taking supplements, it is all too easy to forget. To avoid this, set an alarm on your mobile or watch or laptop, until this becomes habit.
Do bear in mind dosages
One size does not fit all. If you are a 6’2
170 lb man you will need a higher dosage than a 5’2 112 lb woman.
The dosages are a guideline. In the case of most vitamin and mineral supplements, the dosage is just enough to keep you in health not bring you back to it. Therapeutic levels are far higher than those generally recommended on the container.
Do take responsibility
Check with your doctor or consult a qualified alternative practitioner if you are on any medication and are unsure as to how it will interfere with supplement absorption or vice versa. Herbs are particularly potent but some vitamins can also affect certain medications.
Do allow 3 - 4 weeks to see results
Depending upon the supplement you are taking, the effect may be noticeable within just a few days, however this all depends upon your personal health or fitness level to start with.
Do opt for natural supplements
Look for ones that specify bioavailability, or are a living dried food. The same adage applies as with food, you are not what you eat, but rather what you absorb.
The Do Not’s
Don’t think all supplements are equal
This applies both in terms of the manufacturing process, and also in terms of how they are formatted IE liquid, powder, capsule or tablet. Most tablets (with the exception of chlorella) have packing agents to hold them together.
Try this experiment to prove the point: “Take a mineral supplement pill. Put it in a glass of water and wait half an hour. If it is unchanged, chances are that the tablet itself would never even dissolve in the stomach or intestine, but pass right out of the body.“
You need to read the label and look for ‘naturally occurring’ in brackets.
Don’t think that just by eating a specific spice or herb in your meals you are receiving the same effect as a high strength supplement. Using turmeric as an example, the version sold as a curry spice is not the same quality as that in a good supplement.
Don’t take vitamins without minerals
Lacking vitamins, the system can make use of minerals, but lacking minerals, vitamins are useless.” 95% of the functions in our body rely upon minerals. Yet our food has long been minerally depleted, and many supplements include rock based minerals rathern than plant based. This means they are ineffectively assimilated by the body
Don’t think supplements replace eating healthily
To supplement means to add to, so the intention is to or enhance your health not replace the eating of nutrient rich meals based around plant foods.
Don’t introduce lots of different supplements all at the same time
Give your body chance to adjust. Yet don’t be afraid to up the dosages gradually in the case of food based supplements, such as a greens powder. Depending on your overall health when you start, you may need more initially, and can reduce the amounts later on.
(Some parts of this post have been published elsewhere)