Summary of dietary supplement knowledge points

For the vast majority of healthy people who eat a balanced diet and have no special diseases or needs, dietary supplements are not strictly necessary.； Only in the three scenarios of insufficient dietary intake, special physiological stage, and nutrient absorption disorder caused by disease, it is necessary to supplement on demand under the guidance of professionals. It can never replace normal diet, let alone be used as a tool to prevent and treat diseases.

I have been in the nutrition department for more than half a year, and I have met too many people who take supplements as their daily standard. A girl in her early twenties carries vitamin C, grape seeds, whitening pills, and collagen drinks in her bag, and can eat seven or eight kinds a day.； Office workers stock up on fish oil, lecithin, and aminoglycosides for their parents during New Years and holidays, so much that they can’t fit in the cabinets. When asked why they bought them, they just watched live broadcasts and said “it can prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases” and “you need to take supplements as you get older.” They never asked the doctor whether they were really lacking. The one who impressed me the most was a 62-year-old man with a history of atrial fibrillation who had been taking warfarin all year round. He secretly bought three bottles of imported high-purity fish oil and started eating it for two months. After two months of taking it, his gums began to bleed and he had black stools. Only when he came for a checkup did he find out that the anticoagulant effect of the fish oil was superimposed on the medicine, which almost caused a serious accident.

Speaking of which, the most controversial issue right now is probiotics. The academic community has been arguing for several years but there is no unified conclusion. The clinical evidence presented by one school is very clear: only people whose flora is disordered after taking antibiotics and people who are diagnosed with infectious diarrhea can clearly benefit from eating it. Healthy people who eat it randomly may disrupt their original stable flora environment, and may be prone to stomach upset and digestive disorders. ； Another school of research on functional foods has also produced data. For example, a specific strain of Bifidobacterium lactis can improve stubborn constipation in adults, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus can indeed help alleviate allergies in infants and young children. But the premise is that you have to buy the right strain number and a sufficient number of live bacteria. The first ingredient list of probiotic powder is white sugar. To put it bluntly, it is sugar water with some bacteria added. If you eat it, it is useless. It is true that you have gained three pounds.

I usually give advice to people who come for consultation. Don’t ask “what supplements should I take?” but first understand your own situation. For example, girls who are preparing for pregnancy and in the early stages of pregnancy must take folic acid supplements. This is the consensus of the medical community and can significantly reduce the risk of fetal neural tube defects. Don't believe the saying that "folic acid supplements are enough". The absorption rate of natural folic acid is far inferior to that of synthetic folic acid, so just eat it. If you are a vegetarian all year round and do not touch any eggs or milk, you are likely to be deficient in B12 and vitamin D. If the values ​​​​are low in the physical examination, you should take supplements as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too late to take supplements when symptoms of numbness in hands and feet and bone pain appear. For those who have just undergone gastrointestinal surgery, or who are unable to eat during tumor radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the doctor will proactively prescribe enteral nutrition powder and multivitamins. Just follow the doctor's advice and do not switch to so-called "high-end imported products" on your own. The ingredients are not much different, and the price is all due to tariffs and marketing fees.

People always ask me if I need to take a multivitamin supplement if I eat takeout every day? In fact, if you do the math on your fingers, even if your lunch takeout is braised chicken, you can eat half a serving of vegetables, one or two chickens, and a bowl of rice. You can eat an orange or an apple when you go fishing in the afternoon, and drink a glass of milk when you get home in the evening. That's basically enough nutrition, and you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars to buy imported multivitamins. Unless you eat fried chicken instant noodles all the time and can't touch a bite of vegetables for half a month, it's okay to supplement. But in essence, it's more cost-effective to adjust your diet first. After all, supplements can't supplement dietary fiber, nor can they supplement the satisfaction you get from eating fresh food.

Oh, by the way, don’t believe the marketing rhetoric that “naturally extracted supplements are better than synthetic ones.” Take vitamin C as an example. A bottle of synthetic vitamin C that costs a few yuan, and a bottle of “natural acerola-extracted vitamin C” that costs a few hundred yuan. There is no difference in efficacy. The more expensive part is all IQ tax. There are also anti-sugar pills and whitening pills sold online now. They are not dietary supplements in China. They are just ordinary foods. The so-called effects are all trumpeted by the merchants. I have seen several people who took whitening pills and had abnormal liver function and disorders. There is really no need to pay this unjust money.

I usually keep a few tens of yuan worth of vitamin D drops in my bag, because I sit in an office all year round and don’t get sunlight twice a week. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D was indeed low during my last physical examination, so the doctor ordered me to take a supplement. I don’t have half a bottle of other supplements at home. I’m really not sure whether I need to make up for it, so I spend dozens of dollars to go to the hospital for a nutrition-related blood test. If I’m missing something, I can make up for it. It’s more reliable than watching ten videos of internet celebrities selling goods.