Dietary/Nutritional Supplements and Whether They are Effective - Essay Example

These are just few among the many types of nutritional supplements available in the market. People usually take these supplements to improve their health, and it is also recommended taking the supplements daily, especially nutritional supplements, since some of the food we consume may not contain all the nutrients required by our body. These supplements are used for different purposes such as: to supplement food nutrients, get rid of toxins, boost immune system and to improve one’s health. They also have various health benefits, for example, the vitamin and mineral supplements, in case of vitamin A and vitamin E, aid in vision, well growth of bones, strengthening of immune system, repairing DNA respectively (Talbott 56).

Lack of these vitamins can cause the body not to heal or protect itself. As much as they have a health benefit, a healthy diet is required for them to be effective and they are insufficient substitutes for nutrients for fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains lack of which may cause the body not to function well. As for the herbal supplement, they are used alongside medicine to facilitate the healing of the body effectively. However, the herbal supplements should be used under the direction of a physician since they can be dangerous if used inappropriately (Mason 112).

It is, therefore, important to note that not everything claimed to be created using natural ingredients is good for your health. These supplements are usually targeted for or mainly used by children, women of child bearing age, pregnant women, seniors, teenagers, people with eating disorders, seniors, lactating mothers and many others. Basically, these groups of people usually have special dietary or nutritional needs, hence, they have been recommended to use nutritional or dietary supplements to provide them with the nutrients they require to maintain in a healthy body.

As much as the supplements provide the user with the nutritional requirements needed as the nutrients in food, the ones provided by the food are most recommendable as compared to the supplements. However, supplements may contain substances which cause harm to the body, for example, formation of toxins in the body (Mason 115). The effectiveness of dietary or nutritional supplements largely depends on the usage of correct supplement for the purpose intended for. Most people use the supplements without clearly knowing how to use them or rather not following the instruction prescribed by the doctor or physician, hence, causing the supplements to be ineffective if wrongly used.

Therefore, the nutritional or dietary supplements need to be used wisely; people should be educated on the use of these products and made to understand the purpose of them. Since the supplements as much as they contribute to the betterment of the body’s health, they also have disadvantages which should not be ignoredThey can prove to be harmful to the person’s health. Office of dietary supplements is one of the organizations determining the correct intake of the nutritional supplements. Many Americans use the dietary or nutritional supplements for various reasons, hence, need has arisen to determine the effectiveness of the supplements (Porter 78).

Although the supplements have proven to be