Do you really need a dietary supplement in order to stay healthy?

Humanity comes up with new ways to lose weight every year: diets, “magic” pills, and exercise equipment. Dietary supplements have become one of the most popular inventions among women. Their manufacturers promise rapid weight loss in a matter of weeks. Dietary supplements in order to stay healthy but are they effective and safe for health?

What are dietary supplements?

BAD is a biologically active additive. Dietary supplements are not a cure. They only help the body to get the elements necessary for normal functioning or, conversely, get rid of harmful toxins. Supplements are easily absorbed by the body and then excreted, like regular foods. Dietary supplements for weight loss are a special category. They help with weight loss. Supplements work in different ways. Some suppress hunger, others speed up metabolism, and others remove the excess bodily fluid. According to the assurances of the creators, they contain only natural substances that should not harm the body. But in reality, everything looks different.

Nutritional supplements fall into the following categories:

Calorie blockers. They reduce the calorie content of foods rich in complex carbohydrates by up to forty percent. Thanks to this, one can quickly lose weight without changing the usual diet. Blockers have recently appeared on the Uk market and have yet to be so common.

Dietary supplements that suppress appetite. They include chlorogenic acid (which is abundant in artichokes and berries) and protein-rich foods. They are the ones that curb hunger. It is necessary to take such dietary supplements only as prescribed by a doctor since they affect the receptors of the brain and the nervous system.

Meal replacements. Dietary supplements are supplied in the form of powders or mixtures. They are filled with water or dairy products, turning into low-calorie cocktails. The basis of dietary supplements is protein. Healthy minerals and vitamins are added to it. If you drink such a cocktail every time you want to eat, you can quickly lose weight. After all, there are no fats or cholesterol in meal replacements. The only thing that can cause discontent is a constant feeling of slight hunger.

Regulators of fat absorption. Their main component is cellulose, secondary-dietary fiber, and trace elements. Once in the stomach, the dietary supplement swells and causes a feeling of satiety. This helps to significantly reduce the amount of food. They should not be abused since the regular presence of cellulose in the stomach leads to disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

Metabolism boosters. Accelerate metabolism. They consist of L-carnitine, Chinese ephedra, hot pepper, and guarana extract. If you add normalized physical activity to dietary supplements, you can lose weight due to the accelerated breakdown of carbohydrates and fats.

Unfortunately, these are among the most dangerous dietary supplements, as they hurt the cardiovascular system, increase blood pressure, and hit the nervous system.

Diuretics. These are common diuretic drugs based on the action of herbs. They quickly remove excess fluid from the body, which makes it possible to lose a couple of kilograms.

Dietary supplements with phytoestrogens. They are recommended for women over 40. They speed up the metabolism and stabilize the hormonal background. It is not possible to lose weight drastically, but it is possible to keep the weight within limits.

Side effects of dietary supplements:

All dietary supplements are made from natural substances. Therefore, many cannot even imagine that they are dangerous. But in fact, many food additives contain substances that can harm them. Namely:

• Sena leads to dehydration
• Mint can cause miscarriage.
• Ephedra extract provokes heart attacks and increases blood pressure.
• No less dangerous is an overdose of dietary supplements. The fact is that nutritional boogieman pre-workout supplements include a large number of trace elements and vitamins that are difficult to obtain from ordinary food. Take, for example, vitamin C. To get the daily norm of this vitamin, a person needs to eat two kilograms of apples or just one tablespoon of dietary supplements

Now imagine what will happen to you if you use a few tablespoons of the mixture a day for some time. This can be very harmful to health. And food allergies will be the easiest consequence. It is also scary that the usual effects of dietary supplements have yet to be fully studied. Because dietary supplements are not drugs, they are not clinically tested. Therefore, no one knows exactly what harm dietary supplements can cause to the body in combination with drugs.

Contraindications to the use of dietary supplements

Before buying a dietary supplement, you must read its composition. If you are intolerant to any component, you should stop taking the supplement. Also, dietary supplements must be used with caution :

• High risk of miscarriage.
• Nursing mothers. This can lead to stomach and intestinal problems in a child.
• Patients with diabetes.
• Persons suffering from high blood pressure.
• Those who have any chronic disease of the stomach, liver, kidneys, or gallbladder.
• Having problems with blood vessels and the heart. They definitely should stop taking dietary supplements with guarana extract.
• Women in menopause (exceptions are the recommendations of doctors). At this time, there are serious changes in the endocrine and hormonal systems. Losing weight with the help of dietary supplements can only harm and aggravate the hormonal background.
• To old people. The reaction to dietary supplements can be unpredictable due to the presence of age-related diseases. and exhausting yourself in the gym. But remember that doctors have not studied nutritional supplements and their interaction with drugs. Therefore, they should be taken carefully, exactly to the instructions, and only after consulting with your doctor.