Before we delve into the nitty gritty of what may constitute in the name of a professional customised diet, let’s get familiar with the terms that we may frequently come across.

Dietary Supplements: These are oral doses (products) to support the diet to avoid specific gaps or deficiencies of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, and enzymes.

Medications: Medicines on the other hand are formulated to treat, manage, or prevent any kind of medical condition. Furthermore, they should be consumed as per doctor’s recommendations and supervision. It should be formulated as per government safety standards and protocols to avoid any adverse effects.

Food: As we all know food is the fundamental part of the human body and unlike supplements it provides a wide variety of macro & micronutrients to support our body functioning.

So, dietary supplements are in the form of tablets, pills, capsules, fizz melts or powders and are often in part to bridge the gaps in our diet and combat specific nutritional deficiency.

Evaluating nutritional needs

Diagnosis: Nutritional assessment is an effective tool to determine your overall nutritional status. It also allows you to diagnose a particular diseased condition or any underlying cause that is leading to malnutrition.

Person Specific: Based on the assessment, plan a tailor-made nutritional intervention to support individualised nutritional needs.

Benefits: It’s a non-debatable discussion that taking a healthy well-balanced diet promotes better long term and effective outcomes than depending on a dietary supplement.

Consulting with healthcare professionals

Contraindication: Dietary supplements at times made with certain new ingredients that are without much research or not necessarily will be suitable for your body. They may also cause certain contraindications with existing treatments or medications.

Expert Advice: In such scenarios, a healthcare professional such as doctor or nutritionist will help you to recommend a supplement by evaluating your overall health, medical history, existing medical conditions, potential interactions so that you can avoid overdosage & adverse side effects.

Safe Measures: They will also help you to monitor the progress. As they make adjustments to ensure the effectiveness & safety of the supplements.

Quality & safety standards

Certifications: Authenticity of the dietary supplements can only be ensured by verifying the certification from reputed organisations such as –USDA, FDA, FSSAI. This is an indication of certain quality standards of the supplements.

Third Party Testing: It is also important to look for the Certificate of Analysis (COA) that is provided after third party testing. This means that an individual laboratory apart from the manufacturer has tested the products for their quality, potency & purity.

GMP Regulations: At times certain products make unrealistic promises that often look too good to be true. So, it’s a need of the hour that claims made by the supplement companies are backed by science and they are made in the facility that follows Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

Reviews: Reviews from reliable customers and sources can help to get an idea about the product’s quality & effectiveness.

Potential risks & interactions

Interactions With Medications: Dietary supplements at times can counteract with the medicines by increasing or decreasing their potency. For example, Vitamin K interacts with the blood thinner warfarin.

Health & Medical Conditions: Only certain dietary supplements can deteriorate few health and medical conditions. For instance, high dosage of Vitamin C can impact the health of the person suffering from kidney disease.

Side Effects & Toxicity: If one consumes supplements in higher dosages like more than body demands or with some other supplements or medications, leads to side effects & toxicity. An example, excessive consumption of iron causes iron poisoning.

Pregnancy & Breastfeeding: Pregnant & lactating mothers should be extremely careful while choosing a dietary supplement. As it can be harmful for the growing foetus or infant. It is advisable to consult an expert before taking a dietary supplement.

Reading labels & ingredients

This aspect helps you to make informed choices about supplements to take and ensure that you are getting what you need.

Serving Size: It indicates how much of the product constitutes as one serving.

Amount per Serving: To ensure that you are getting the desired dosage, you need to understand the amount of each ingredient or nutrient present in the list.

Percentage of Daily Value: If you want to gauge how much of a particular nutrient that you are getting vs. what you need daily, then the % of daily intake of a particular nutrient in one serving is what you should look for.

Ingredient List & Active Ingredients: This refers to the listing of the ingredients in descending order by weight. Also, the presence of active ingredients is important as it provides the claimed benefit of the supplement. If you have any allergies or dietary restrictions then make sure to check the availability of certain ingredients such as additives, preservatives, fillers, binders and avoid them if possible.

Proprietary Blends: Dietary supplements that fall under proprietary blends don’t have the exact amount of individual ingredients that are present. Hence, it’s hard to measure how much of each ingredient you are getting.

Dosage & timing

Recommended Dosage: It’s very crucial to take the supplements as per the recommended dosage that the labels quote, overdosage can be harmful for the body.

Timing: Do not consume supplements in an empty stomach as it can cause gastric issues resulting in bloating. It should always be consumed post your meals for better absorption. In the case of multiple supplements, spreading them throughout the day is important for maximum absorption and minimum risk of interaction.

Consistency: To get consistent and proven results, it is advisable to take the supplements at regular intervals without fail.

Monitoring & adjustments

Individualised Approach: Every dietary supplement is not recommendable for everyone as people come with different bodies and different nutritional needs.

Potential Side Effects: Supplements can cause potential side effects if taken in high dosages or in combination with other medications.

Changes in Health: Health status is never constant. They are changing every minute so what was appropriate earlier might not be appropriate later. So regular lab tests can help in monitoring the deficiencies and imbalances, so you can take a call accordingly.

Consult with Healthcare Professionals: The moment you notice a significant change in your health while taking the supplements, immediately consult an expert to adjust the dosage.

A pro tip, science is constantly changing, hence it’s a must to keep yourself updated with the latest research about the supplements that you are planning to opt for.