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The Truth About Supplements

As a general rule, remember that every nutrient your body needs can be procured from food in abundant quantities so long as you maintain a balanced diet with variety.

Financial incentives push many companies to manufacture and market dietary supplements as medicines to many ailments or with claims of health benefits. Many social media influencers tag in with the marketing drives for their vested interests. Here are some fact about such supplements.

Most dietary supplements claim to treat or prevent some medical conditions in the human body. These claims do not come with any scientific research to support their claim¹. Most often, their claims are just a play of words by the manufacturers. They can create a surplus of nutrients (or supposed nutrients) in the body which can harm the individual especially with liver related conditions.

In all honesty, you do not need any dietary supplements unless:

• You diet is not balanced or consumed on time; in which case you are malnourished.
• You are engaged in abnormally intensive activities like body building and super intensive sports that demands certain nutrients in higher doses and within a specific time frame.
• Your body, due of certain conditions, is not producing nutrients that it should produce normally. In such a case, you cannot rely on food alone to neutralise these deficiencies and one have to depend on supplements.

In the first and third case, you would have already fallen sick and your doctor who would have diagnosed your sickness and prescribed you supplements. So don't jump into buying supplements thinking you lack some nutrients; especially liver detox supplements. Remember that most vitamins and minerals in abundance can harm you.

In the second case though, it is easy to cheat yourself into believing that you are engaged in super high intensive programs. Your trainer may advise supplements too — for "faster results". Bhooti's position is that you don't need supplements for your everyday normal intensity workouts if you are eating a balanced diet and on time.

What is "normal" intensity is indeed a question here. Intensity is judged based on your strength and endurance levels, which is mathematically judged using one rep max and other figures. However, you can judge it based on the level of fatigue and exhaustion you sustain for the next few days².

You can always invoke the contrast principle by watching high intensity workout sessions of professional athletes and comparing your intensity with them. Although what's intense to you may not be intense to them, there is a point of intensity up to which you don't need dietary or sports supplements, and a balanced and timely diet can take care of your nutritional requirements.

Contrary to what you would be feeling while working out, this point is intensity is a quite high — take a look at hard labourers like stone breakers, masons and farmers who engage in intense physical work, with no dietary supplements and yet healthy if they consume a balanced and timely diet. You surely would not be exercising as intensely as they work.

If on the other hand, you experience sustained fatigue and exhaustion², do consult your doctor instead of self-diagnosing or listening to online influencers giving medical advise.

Speaking of online health and fitness influencers, they are as common on the Internet as pests are in an unclean kitchen. Both deserve to be thrown out.

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