The Skinny on Supplements

I've always tended to err on the conservative side where dietary supplements are concerned. I could never see the point in adding all kinds of questionable (and often expensive) substances to my diet without a real reason. So I say, unless there's a real medical reason to take a supplement (i.e., high blood pressure, high cholesterol, fibromyalgia or arthritis) or your doctor has recommended it to you, don't waste your money.

As far as diet supplements that propose to curb your appetite, help you lose weight or "cleanse" your system, be very afraid. First of all, many could be dangerous. Second, what do they teach you about how to eat right for your body? Nothing! I'd avoid them, personally.

Now, vitamin and mineral supplements are a different story. Particularly if you're on a weight-loss plan where you're restricting your calories, you may not be getting the required amounts of certain vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy in the short and long term. The ones I'm thinking of are Vitamins A, C, all the B vitamins, and calcium. To remedy this, look for a good multivitamin that gives you 100% of the RDA for a broad range of vitamins and some minerals. Then, since you probably aren't getting enough calcium anyway, take a calcium supplement with vitamin D to help you absorb it. Vitamin D, while the hot new "vitamin of the week," is still important for a variety of health reasons. For more information on dietary supplements, try http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp.

Since I am trying to manage my high cholesterol without taking meds, I'm supplementing my diet with pharmaceutical-grade fish oil and plant sterols, both recommended to me by my physician. I'm considering dropping the plant sterols and seeing how that affects my numbers, if at all. Other than that, though, I'm saving my money for real food.