Do you have any tips on how to think about taking different supplements? Is there anything you should avoid, or conversely, anything you should do?
Our biomedical expert answers one of the many questions we have received through our Q&A on social media:
- Unfortunately, it is common for certain products to be noticeably underdosed, in the sense that the active substance, or substances, are present at levels that are noticeably lower than the dosages that have been shown to be necessary to produce significant effects on what has been studied. In other words, you want to make sure that what you choose to take actually contains evidence-based dosages. In this regard, I can strongly recommend the independent database Examine.com, which does invaluable work reviewing and compiling the state of the research on hundreds of popular dietary supplements, including evidence-based dosages. What is undoubtedly most complex here is plant extracts, as these can be standardized and concentrated in different ways, which can have an enormous impact on their effectiveness.
Standardized extracts of a good type are of course considerably more expensive to manufacture, but as a consumer, in such cases, it is probably far better to focus solely on one high-quality product of this type than to waste money on 3–4 underdosed products. It is also important to keep in mind that plant-based supplements are rarely an effective choice for providing the body with vitamins and minerals. Instead, this type of supplement is ideal for standardization toward different types of bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols and alkaloids, which have completely different effects in the body than the categories of vitamins and minerals.
Otherwise, when it comes to both synergies and potential negative interactions between different products, it is unfortunately difficult to summarize this with any general advice. Each individual substance or product needs to be discussed separately. However, it is worth noting that many supplements should be taken together with food. A good example of this is fat-soluble substances, such as Vitamin D; these generally need to be dissolved in fat for absorption to be optimal.
