Economies on crises and people becoming more and more stressful, food seems to be not enough for the body to cope up with. With lots of time focused on work and other daily activities, the time we spend in eating becomes less and we tend to under nourish our body. We easily become weak, get tired, more prone to diseases and infection. Eating food is not enough, we need to get more help. And thus, here is where supplements steps in.
What are supplements? Supplements are technically speaking, considered drugs which are produced by most companies nowadays. They contain some of the most important elements that a person needs to nourish the body and maintain health. These include vitamins, minerals, extracts and even herbs. They are produced and packaged into different forms which are discussed below to provide us extra source of nutrients to sustain life.
But before making any supplements, companies follow a set of standards which are found in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 or DSEA. These include:
It should consist of the following:
- A vitamin
- A mineral
- An herb or other botanical substance
- An amino acid
- A concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract or a combination of the above
It should follow these criteria:
- It should be for intake in pill, capsule, tablet, powder or liquid form
- Should be not be a conventional food or as an item for a meal or diet
- Must be labeled as dietary supplement
The US companies strictly follow these standards so that there would not be a problem though there are private groups that would make their supplement in other ways but those will not be covered by the DHEA therefore you should take them at your own risk.
What are the types of supplements?
As with the US standards, there are about 5 types of supplements that you can have but there are actually more types but they are not covered. Here are some of them:
- Pills, capsules and tablets – These types are the most common forms of supplements in which you can easily take it in depending on how your doctor prescribes you to have it. This is best suited for concentrated components or extracts.
- Powder form – This is a supplement in which you can mix with water so you can take it in. Great for hardcore diet people as you can make it into a habitual drink.
- Liquid Form – This is a supplement that has been already been turned into liquid. The most common one would be vitamin syrup like vitamin c.
- Injectable – This has been popular these days as they have discovered when they do intramuscular injections of certain vitamins like from this site, which showcases their Vitamin B12 injections. There are others too though they endorse other vitamins for it. So far, it works for most people and it is growing its popularity in the health conscious society.