Throwing together a concoction of supplements to cover all of your bases may seem harmless but this can often lead to unfortunate side effects if your body is already high in particular nutrients. To make your life that little bit easier, we have gone ahead and created a simple supplement guide featuring 10 popular products, along with their benefits and side effects.
Vitamin D-3
For: strong bones
Vitamin D-3 assists the body with the absorption of calcium & phosphorus, which promotes strong, healthy bones. Vitamin D-3 can also help improve your mood, encourage weight loss and boost your immune system.
Biotin
For: nervous system, energy levels
Biotin provides plenty of great health benefits including for the hair, skin, liver, eyes and the nervous system. Aside from these benefits, Biotin also aids people with type 2 diabetes by regulating blood sugar levels.
Collagen
For: Joint pain, hair, skin & nails
As one of the most important proteins present in our body, collagen helps to strengthen the connective tissue in our ligaments, skin, muscles and tendons. Collagen can also help to improve the strength of your nails & hair, speed up your metabolism, relieve joint pain and can improve your skin health by increasing elasticity, reducing wrinkles and slowing down the (visible) ageing process.
Magnesium
For: Anti-inflammatory benefits, performance, anxiety
Magnesium has plenty of terrific health benefits including muscle relaxation, anti-inflammatory properties and the ability to help convert food into energy. But this is just scraping the surface! Magnesium can also help to diminish stress & anxiety, can reduce symptoms of depression, improve exercise performance and has been proven to relieve symptoms of PMS including cramping and mood swings. Magnesium is great to take after an intense workout to help lessen the burden of sore muscles the following day.
Melatonin
For: Promotes sleep
Although Melatonin also has plenty of great benefits, its best known benefit is sleep promotion. Melatonin works alongside your circadian rhythm which dictates when it’s time to go to sleep and wake up. Unfortunately, many of us have lower than ideal melatonin levels meaning we sometimes can struggle to fall asleep at night. This can be for many reasons including insomnia, jet lag, too much blue light before bed and not enough natural light throughout the day.
Taking melatonin can help to decrease these symptoms and assist your body with falling asleep naturally at night by regulating your internal body clock. A few other side benefits include improved eye health and treatment of heart burn.
Zinc
For: Improves immune system
Zinc is a mineral that our body does not naturally produce, which means we are forced to find zinc through particular food items and of course, supplements. Although technically foreign to our body, zinc is required for several important bodily functions including the healing of wounds and the defence of our immune system. Other benefits include improved mental performance, decreased inflammation and skin repair.
Whey Protein
For: Muscle growth, inflammation
Whey protein is one of the most popular supplements out there, enabling fitness enthusiasts the nutrients they need to build and maintain muscle mass and increase overall strength. Whey protein is made from the isolated proteins found in the milky liquid developed during the production of cheese. As well as increasing muscle mass, whey protein has also been proven to assist with weight loss through its ability to satiate the body for longer periods of time, meaning users are more likely to eat less calories.
Lecithin
For: cholesterol, digestion, heart health, mental health
Lecithin is naturally produced by your body and consists mostly of fatty acids. It can also be found in a handful of ingredients such as eggs & soy which means it can also be introduced through diet. Lecithin can help to lower cholesterol, assist easy digestion, increase heart health and can also help to ward off the symptoms of dementia. Lecithin can also help to prevent blocked ducts for breast feeding mothers.
Digestive Enzymes
For: Healthy digestion, gas, bloating, constipation
When you develop a stomach or intestinal disease, your body fails to produce particular enzymes which are crucial to assist with the healthy digestion of food. Taking Digestive enzymes can improve these symptoms which can include bloating, gas, diarrhea and cramping after eating.
Probiotic
For: Healthy bacteria, allergies, mental health
Probiotics are comprised of healthy bacteria which helps to balance out the bad bacteria in our stomach. Some of the noticeable benefits associated with healthy gut bacteria from probiotics is a healthy immune system, weight loss and healthy digestion. Probiotics have also been linked to improved mental health including decreased stress & anxiety.
Hopefully, this guide will help you to make the right decisions for your body next time you’re wandering the chemist aisles in search of health supplements. To be extra sure you are making the right decisions, it doesn’t hurt to make an appointment with your local GP for confirmation.
