The Sunday Supplement #01

People who are worried about their health often ask what dietary SUPPLEMENTS are, and whether you can trust such drugs. Customers do not always understand how these products differ from medicines, how to take them, and whether to be afraid for their health. Below we will look at all the issues related to such additives, starting with the features, ending with the rules of choice and the place of purchase.
What are dietary Supplements?

First, let’s look at what dietary supplements mean, and how it stands for. Under the abbreviation there are three words–Dietary Supplement. The product contains substances intended to be taken with food to improve the body’s functioning, restore metabolic processes, reduce the risk of diseases, restore the gastrointestinal tract and purify the body. The effect is achieved by ingesting components that have a positive effect on humans or animals.

Many people know what the abbreviation dietary supplements means and often confuse THEM with medications. But dietary supplements are not. This is a cross between food and medicine. In the Russian Federation, the turnover of such drugs is not regulated, which is why many products are manufactured without compliance with the requirements and with a deviation from the declared composition.

Conditionally, dietary supplements are divided into three types:

Parapharmaceuticals. They are used for preventive purposes and for additional therapy. The composition includes marine products, plants, elements of animal tissues.
Nutraceuticals. This category includes vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, di–and monosaccharides. They are used for normalization of nutrition, saturation of the body with necessary components, General health improvement and prevention of diseases.
Eubiotics. These dietary SUPPLEMENTS contain live microorganisms, including their metabolites that affect the gastrointestinal tract. Their task is to limit the reproduction of pathogenic microorganisms and restore microflora. They are used for the treatment and prevention of dysbiosis.

There is also a more “small” classification of dietary SUPPLEMENTS for vitamins, minerals, sports nutrition, amino acids, probiotics and essential fatty acids.

Many people have no idea how dietary SUPPLEMENTS differ from medications. As a result, a person buys a drug in the hope of getting a quick effect and is disappointed. To avoid this, let’s look at the differences between the two tools:

Medicine — a drug based on a special formula, and its action is directed at a specific organ or system in order to treat the disease. The composition of these products include synthetic substances. After manufacturing, medicines are tested, clinically tested, and then put into production. The task of the drug is to solve a specific problem, which is indicated in the instructions.

Dietary SUPPLEMENTS are a universal remedy, the main component of which are plant components and only a small part of synthetics. The composition may include extracts of plants with a complex composition, for example, Ginkgo leaves, blueberry rafts, and others. In other words, the formula is not fixed and can change. After production, supplements do not pass clinical trials, because they relate to food.