Dietary Supplements Should Be Personalized

Dietary supplements: why, how much, and how?

Why should we use dietary supplements? In principle, we should aim to obtain most nutrients from food.

However, our diet cannot always meet our needs, for the following reasons:

A. Our life expectancy today is roughly twice that of our ancestors. To allow our bodies to function over the years,

we need to provide far more minerals and other essential nutrients. Calcium, for example, is essential to preventing loss of bone mass (osteoporosis).

B. Various health problems require specific nutrients and medicinal herbs. For example, probiotics, or friendly gut bacteria, for various digestive problems.

Poor digestion or absorption also requires adding the right dietary supplements.

Pay attention to who recommends supplements and selects them for you.

There is no such thing as "if it does not help, it cannot hurt." Excess vitamins and antioxidants have already been shown to cause harm. In the past, for example, there was a trend toward giving

megadoses, meaning exceptionally large amounts, until it was shown that at such doses they may become pro-oxidants. The best-known example is high-dose vitamin A

used as an antioxidant, which was shown to harm smokers and even increase lung cancer risk.

That is why you should consult nutrition experts, dietitians, who can consider your entire health picture.

It is not advisable to rely solely on advice given at pharmacies or health food stores, where the adviser does not know you in depth, does not see your test results, and cannot consider all the information.

An example of personalized dietary supplements:

I will describe the case of a patient, a woman around 50, who is slightly overweight and has colitis.

What information would I consider, and how would I tailor supplements to her?

1. First, after learning about her current health in detail and reviewing blood tests, risk factors, and hereditary factors, I would work with her to find the best diet for her.

We would do this through a structured process that includes nutritional counseling, health coaching, mind-body work, and practicing various tools over time.

At the same time, I would prescribe the following supplements:

• Since she cannot consume the full range of fresh fruit and vegetables she needs, I would add vitamins and minerals at the recommended daily allowance, and no more.
• Given her risk of osteoporosis, I would prescribe calcium combined with magnesium and vitamin D.
• For colitis, I would recommend probiotics shown in studies to be effective for colitis, inflammation of the large intestine,
• as well as curcumin to prevent colorectal cancer and calm existing inflammation.

This is general news information and is not a substitute for personal advice from a doctor or dietitian.