Jumpstarting Your Weight Loss: A Guide On Using Diet Supplements
Your health is important, and losing weight requires determination, research, and an active diet plan. To succeed, you need to be educated on diet supplements.
That’s where we come in. We want to help you achieve your fitness goals, whether that is to lost 30 pounds, gain muscle, or prepare for an athletic event. We’ll thoroughly explain how to prevent vitamin deficiency, important ingredients, and other important aspects that we’ll discuss later on in this post.
So let’s get started!
Supplementation
What Should You Know Before Taking Any Diet Supplement?
If it's your first time taking supplements, take time to research them so you can fully utilize them. By doing this, you'll know exactly how your supplement works and can effectively add it to your diet. Read this section for additional tips to help you get the most out of your diet supplements.
Should I Speak To A Doctor Before Taking Supplements?
Yes. Both you and your doctor need to work together to determine what mineral/vitamin is right for you.
If you are already using diet supplements, make sure that you inform your doctor. Studies show that people don't tell their doctors that they are considering already taken supplements.
You might think that most negative side effects come from prescription medicine. However, some diet supplements can lead to side effects if it's used with other medications, or when specific health conditions exist.
Even if you have a major health problem, taking too much of the supplement can lead to problems. So we suggest that you talk to your doctor before using a dietary supplement.
Kidney Safe Supplements Are Available
There are vitamins, mineral pills, and supplements that are made for patients with kidney disease. These supplements show only to provide only information that the healthcare care providers know you’ll need.
As a result, you might have to get a prescription to purchase them. This is because they don’t have specific nutrients found in OTC (over the counter) products. As a result, there’s no risk of unwanted nutrients entering your body and harming it. Some of these supplements have extra calories and protein.
Many mineral pills and vitamins can be reimbursed depending on your insurance once they order the supplement with a prescription.
Supplements Come In Different Forms
Many people know about liquid supplements in the form of special drinks, juices, or shakes that have calories, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
For instance, there are some supplements made for patients suffering from kidney diseases, but we suggest that you speak to your doctor first.
There are also cookies, puddings, bars and additional foods that can be used as an alternative to liquid diet supplements. If you’re malnourished, then your social worker can help you get the supplements via your insurance.
What Should I Do If I Experience Side Effects?
First, discontinue using the supplement. Next, speak to a health care professional or doctor about which supplements are right for you. The MedWatch Reporting Program gives users the information on how to report your issue to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
What Look For When Buying A Diet Supplement?
If it’s your first time buying diet supplements, then you’ll want to take time researching every product. Here are some more important things to notice when buying supplements:
Is It FDA approved?
Having your supplement approved by the FDA improves its credibility. Avoid using supplements that aren’t FDA approved, as they are more likely to cause potential health problems.
Ingredients
Here is a table discussing the most common ingredients found in dietary supplements:
Ingredient | Is it Safe? | Does it Work? |
|---|---|---|
African Mango seed extract is used to reduce the formation of fat tissues. | African mango appears to be safe, but there are some side effects due to overuse. It can cause sleeping problems, headache, gas, and flatulence | African Mango can help you lose a small amount of weight. |
Caffeine - Caffeine is an important ingredient needed to give you a boost of energy and stay alert, burn calories, and increase the breakdown of fats. | Caffeine is safe when used in doses up to 300-500 mg a day. However, it can also make you shaky, jittery, or nervous. | Dietary supplements with caffeine will help you lose weight or reduce weight gain over time. However, when you use caffeine too much you grow a tolerance for it, This tolerance might reduce the effectiveness of caffeine on your body weight over time. |
Calcium is a mineral needed to have healthy bones, blood vessels, nerves, and most of your body’s important functions. | Calcium is safe when used in the recommended dosage range. This is about 1,000-1,200 calories a day. Consuming an excessive amount of calcium (around 2,000 - 3,000 a day) can decrease your body's ability to absorb zinc and iron. | Calcium helps you with reducing fat absorption and burning fat. |
Chromium is a mineral needed to help regulate the body’s blood sugar levels. It can increase fat loss and muscle mass and decrease your food intake and appetite. | Chromium is safe for adults who drink around 20- 45 mg a day. When used in larger amounts. | Chromium can help users reduce a small amount of weight and body fat. |
Beta glucans are dietary fibers that are found in fungi, bacteria, yeasts, barley, and oats. They can slow down the time it takes for the food to travel through your digestive system, which helps make you feel fuller | Beta glucans are considered to be safe (at around 10g a day for 12 weeks). | Beta glucans have a minimal effect on body weight. |
Pyruvate is naturally produced in your body. Pyruvate is known to improve exercise performance, reduce body fat and body weight, and increase fat breakdown. | Pyruvate is safe when consumed at 30g a day for 6 weeks. And, it can cause bloating, gas, diarrhea, and irritation in the intestines because of gas. | Using Pyruvate can lead to small counts of weight loss. |
Carnitine is also produced in your body. | Carnitine supplements are great if used from about 2g a day. However, they can cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and nausea. | Carnitine supplements can help you lose some weight. |
Green tea is a beverage that’s known throughout the world. Green tea and its extract form can be found in dietary supplements as they both help reduce weight by increasing your burning calorie intake. | While drinking green tea is safe, drinking tea extract can be risky. Green extract can cause abdominal pain, constipation, increased blood pressure and nausea. | Green tea might help you lose a small amount of weight. |
What Are The Side Effects? (more)
Here are the most common side effects you’ll experience when trying dietary supplements:
Reviews Of Other People
You should also look at consumer testimonies when getting diet supplements. When researching, check to see if there are multiple negative reviews about its quality. If there are more than 3-5 negative reviews, chances are the supplement is not good for you.
Types Of Diet Supplement
No diet supplement is made equal. Each of them is designed to suit a different stage of physical development. Here are the most common dietary supplement types that are currently available
Weight Loss Supplements
Weight loss supplements help support fat loss by increasing the metabolism, minimize cravings, and maintain a healthy appetite. They also help reduce the number of calories a user eats daily, making it easier for them to drop the pounds.
Science Behind Weight Loss Supplements
To learn more about weight loss supplements, you have to know the reality behind it. Scientifically, each supplement is designed with a set of ingredients (i.e., creatine, citrulline malate, etc.) that are tailored to give you energy or help your muscles recover.
There is a lot of false information out there about dietary supplements, and it's up to you to differentiate between fact and simple "bro science." Here are some myths we'll debunk to enhance your understanding of weight loss supplements.
Your Diet is 80% of the Battle
Let’s talk about the quality of your diet before we speak on the science behind the weight loss supplement. One of the biggest mistake people tend to make is assume that their dietary supplement is the fat burning solution they’ve been looking for.
However, sticking to a calorie restricted diet is the correct way to go. If you’re able to select your food wisely and do this consistently, then you’ve completed at least 80% of the work. The other 20% comes from diet supplements and exercise.
Diet supplements can help you enhance your fat loss, but it’s only possible if you have a restricted diet set in place. They can help reduce appetite, deliver a boost of energy, and increase your metabolism so your body and burn more calories.
Take a serious look at your diet and see if it fits your weight loss goal. To obtain a toned physique and lose fat, you have to eat less calories than your average maintenance level, eating a lot of protein, and maintaining the right eating habits with fresh vegetables, healthy fats, and slow digesting carbs.
Too Much Caffeine Will Wear You Out
If you're a serious coffee aficionado, who needs at least 3-4 drinks a day, be careful about using a dietary supplement. Most supplements, unless they are specified, have caffeine or a caffeine-like ingredient. If you're planning to use a stimulant fat burner, be cautious about your caffeine intake throughout the day.
While you will the benefits that you get from a large caffeine intake, if you’re mixing your fat burners with coffee and other caffeinated beverages, you might burn out too early.
So while you think that combining fat supplements and coffee will help increase your results, you're reducing the positive effects by over-stimulating your body. You can either use decaf coffee or take the decaf coffee at the same time you take the supplement.
Before you start using a dietary supplement, make sure to look around a bit to see which one matches your preferences. There is a multitude of different products available to use, so don't jump into one first one without noticing the differences amongst them all.
Types of Weight Loss Supplements
There is a myriad of weight loss supplements that are available. When shopping, check the contents of each supplement to see which one works best for you. Here are the most common weight loss supplements you should consider:
Garcinia Cambogia Extract
Garcinia is a medium to a large sized tree that's grown in Southeast Asia and India. It contains hydroxycitric acid (HCA) and can be used to make medicine
Benefits
Side Effects
Apple Cider Vinegar Pills
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is created by fermenting apples with bacteria and yeast. Its pill form contains a more dehydrated version of ACV. People might choose the pills over the traditional ACV if they don't like the smell or taste.
The amount of apple cider vinegar in pills charge depending on the brand. On average, one capsule measures in at 500 mg, which is the equivalent to about two teaspoons. Also, some brands like to add additional ingredients like cayenne peppers to aid your metabolism,
Benefits
Side Effects
For those who are wondering where to get their best ACV pills, we’ve got you covered. Usually, you’ll only have to use it with the correct dosage to make a relaxing drink. Please look at our buying guide to ensure that you’re getting the best apple cider vinegar possible.
Green Coffee Extract
As its name suggests, green coffee extract comes from extracted green coffee beans. And it has a substance called Chlorogenic Acid, which was known to help improve the patient’s mental health.
Like most extracts, green coffee extract is filled with pharmacological antioxidants and active compounds. Two of the most well-known ones are caffeine and chlorogenic acid. Chlorogenic Acid is one of the main ingredients in making green coffee beans. And it's the most of the chlorogenic acid is removed once the coffee is being roasted.
Because of this, regular coffee beans have a different effect. (although there is a multitude of reasons to drink quality coffee if you enjoy it). Green coffee extract is like regular coffee beans without being roasted.
Benefits
Side Effects
Forskolin
Forskolin is made from a plant that’s in the mint family. This plant originates from India, Thailand, and Nepal. And it’s been used in conglomeration with the Ayurvedic medicine.
People use forskolin supplements for a multitude of reasons. But there is very little substantial evidence that exists to support its use for any health condition. Some research states that Forskolin will aid in muscle building and weight loss.
In one study, obese and overweight men took around 250 mg of 10% forskolin extract around twice a day. After 3 months, they had an increase in testosterone levels and lost more body fat in comparison to men who were taking the placebo. But more research has to be conducted to establish its safety and confirm these results.
Benefits
Side Effects
Food Supplementation
Food supplementation occurs when a manufactured product is created to help the user’s diet. Food supplements can be taken in pill, powder, liquid, capsule, or tablet form. The supplement can provide nutrients extracted from synthetic, in combination or individually.
All women who are of childbearing age (and is sexually active) needs to take a 400mg folic acid supplement to prevent congenital disabilities (i.e., spina bifida). Some pregnancies are unplanned so women should take folic acid even if they're using contraceptives.
In some occasions, your doctor might advise you to take a food supplement. For instance, supplements might be used for weak bones, and sometimes older patients have a hard time absorbing the nutrients needed from food and their need to take extra nutrients in supplement form.
Usually, you don't have to take food supplements if you're healthy and have a balanced diet. This means that a diet that contains a myriad of foods, including vegetables, fruit, and starchy foods (possibly wholegrain), fish, low-fat dairy, and meat. Taking too many supplements can have too much unnecessary side effects.
Does My Child Need Food Supplements?
Some children and infants can benefit from taking a good food supplement. Your doctor or other health professional is the only person who can recommend it for your child.
If they advise you to add supplements to their diet, make sure that you use a product that’s made for their age group. Since children and infants are smaller than adults, they are more likely to consume unsafe amounts.
Advice Before Taking A Supplement
What Is Shown On The Supplement Label?
The label must show:
What Is Ashwagandha?
Also, Ashwagandha is easy to add to your diet. Ashwagandha is used as a fine powder and mixed in ghee or honey. It’s usually digested in capsule form in Western countries.
The average recommended dosage is 300 - 1000 mg. For people who suffer from anxiety or insomnia, having a teaspoon of ashwagandha and a cup of milk before bedtime is proven to keep the user calm.
Benefits Of Ashwagandha
Since its a natural plant root, there are a lot of health benefits when using this supplement. Here are ones you’ll experience if you take ashwagandha regularly.
Increases Fertility
Not only does ashwagandha increase your energy in general, but it might also have positive effects on your sexual performance, libido, and fertility. This is due to ashwagandha's antioxidant effects. However, this herb is used to regulate hormones and enhancing men's testosterone.
In an 8-week, double-blind, placebo controlled, and randomized, men aging from 18-50 with no experience in resistance training took either 300 mg of ashwagandha daily or a placebo when exercising in resistance training.
Those who were taking ashwagandha experienced larger increases in testosterone throughout the 8 weeks, as well as the strength and muscle size in comparison to the placebo. And they’ve noticed greater reductions in body fat percentage and exercise-based muscle damage.
Ashwagandha has also improved the semen quality of infertile men. Within a 3-month trial, men who used ashwagandha have a reduced chance of sperm death, and improved minerals in sperm such as zinc, iron, and copper.
Reduces Blood Sugar Levels
Based off a few studies, Ashwagandha can reduce blood sugar levels. One study found out that it improved insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion in muscle cells. Also, there are some studies found that it increases insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion in your muscle cells.
Also, women can benefit from using ashwagandha. Women who have taken the supplement for more than 8 weeks experienced increased orgasm, lubrication, arousal, satisfaction, and the number of sexual improvements and encounters.
Stress
Did you know that ashwagandha is good for reducing mental stress? Taking about 300 mg of Ashwagandha twice a day after food for about 60 days appears to improve the stress symptoms of those affected.
Anti-Tumor Effects
Using ashwagandha has the ability to reverse the effects of brain tumors, and cancer cell mutations. And the herb has been used to suppress the oncogenes, that promotes cancer development.
Cardiometabolic health
Having a healthy stress response is necessary for your cardiometabolic health. Too much insulin will lead to weight gain, high cholesterol, unhealthy weight gain, high blood pressure, and central adiposity.
Uses of Ashwagandha
The way you use Ashwagandha, and its dosage depends on what you're trying to treat. And there isn't a standard dosage that's been proven by medical trials.
Ashwagandha can be used in its powdered form for dosages ranging from 300 mg to 2 grams. You can buy it in powders, capsules, or liquid extracts from supplement or health food stores.
Vitamins
Vitamins are important nutrients your body needs in order to function properly. Although your body receives vitamins and minerals from the food you consume, some of the foods have more vitamins than others.
There are two categories for vitamins. Fat-soluble vitamins such as - A, K, D, and E. These vitamins are used to dissolve fat and store the vitamins in your body.
And there are water soluble vitamins such as the B- complex (B12, B6, riboflavin, folate, and niacin) and C vitamins. Water-soluble vitamins must dissolve in water so your body can absorb.
Because of this, your body is unable to store these vitamins. Any vitamin B or C that's not used will pass through your system as lost vitamins (mainly when you pee), so you'll need a fresh supply of water-soluble vitamins every day.
What Is The Most Common Vitamin Deficiency?
Statistics state that iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency to date. For instance, it states the iron deficiency affects about 25% of people.
This number can increase to 47% in children, as their bodies are more reliant on iron to survive. Unless they are given iron-fortified or iron-rich foods, they have no foundation to fall back on.
About 30% of menstruating women might be iron deficient as well, due to their monthly blood loss. On average, 42% of pregnant women might suffer from iron deficiency. Also, vegans and vegetarians have an increased risk of iron deficiency. They only use non-heme iron which isn't absorbed as easily as heme iron.
What Does Vitamin Deficiency Cause?
No matter what you consume, you want to create a diet that protects you from vitamin deficiency. Here are the main effects of it so you'll know how to remain healthy.
Fatigue
Without the recommended daily amount of vitamins, your body starts to react differently. People who suffer from vitamin deficiency are more likely to become tired and unable to stay active. Most of the time, this fatigue is caused by a lack of Vitamin D in your body.
A large study was conducted on female nurses and found a connection between fatigue and low Vitamin D levels. What’s more interesting is that the researches found out that 89% of the nurses were vitamin deficient.
To reduce fatigue make sure that your body is full of Vitamin D. Do this by including foods such as orange juice, egg yolks, milk, cereal, tuna fish, salmon, and cheese. By doing this, you’ll stay alert and more focused throughout the day.
Bleeding Gums
Sometimes, a tooth brush can fix irritated gums. However, bleeding gums are due to a lack of Vitamin C. Vitamin C plays an important role in immunity, wound healing, and acts as an antioxidant to help prevent cell damage.
The human body is unable to make Vitamin C on its own. Since its a water-soluble vitamin, you'll have to consume it every day to keep your gums clean and healthy.
Vegetables have the highest source of Vitamin C, so make sure that you include foods such as broccoli, spinach, winter squash, tomatoes, etc. As a rule of thumb, eat about 3 vegetables a day to ensure that your levels are in tact.
White Or Red Bumps On The Skin
Some people have keratosis pilaris, which is a condition that causes bumps on your arms, thighs, buttocks, and cheeks. These bumps might also be accompanied by ingrown or corkscrew hairs. Usually, this illness appears in children and naturally disappears once they reach adulthood.
There are no studies that know why the bumps are caused, but they can appear when your hair follicles produce too much keratin. This causes elevated bumps in your skin which can be red or white.
Keratosis pilaris might have a genetic component. This means that if your family member has it, the higher the chances you’ll suffer from it. That being said, people who suffer from this tend to be low in Vitamin C and A. This includes food such as dairy, eggs, fish, fruit, vegetables, dark leafy greens, and organ meats.
Fitness Supplements
Fitness supplements are used for athletes trying to enhance their performance, or average gym goers looking for an extra energy boost. But, you have to know how to use them in order to receive their benefits.
Types of Fitness Supplements
For starters, you have to understand the different types of fitness supplements available. The only two you need to focus on is pre-workout and post workout supplements. Pre-workout supplements are used to give your body the energy it needs to reach its full potential.
On the other hand, post workout supplements are necessary so your muscles can heal and recover. By using both supplements, you'll help your body stay in good condition, have better exercise sessions, and improve your gym results.
Pre workout supplements
Before you pack your bags and go to the gym, you need a pre workout shake to help stay energized. Pre workout supplements work by adding ingredients such as caffeine, creatine, and Beta-Alanine, to maintain your body's energy during your workout.
The best pre-workout supplements use creatine. This is because creatine helps the body activate the ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Because ATP is the main energy carrier in your body, having more of, it means better performance during HIIT, hard circuit training, or strength training.
Pre-workout supplements help with:
As a rule of thumb, you want to drink your pre-workout supplements 30 minutes to 2 hours before you go to the gym. This will give the ingredients time to get in your system and provide the energy needed to complete your workout.
Post Workout Supplements
So you've taken your pre-workout and experienced record-breaking results in the gym. What do you do afterward? Well, your muscles will need to recover after such an intensive exercise. The best way to speed up the recovery process is through post workout supplements.
Post workout supplements were designed to encourage and speed up optimal muscle recovery after intensive workouts. They are made to help you:
You need to take your post workout supplement at least 30 minutes after exercise. This gives your body enough time to recover from exercise while giving it time to absorb the nutrients in the post-workout supplement.
Nootropics
Nootropics is a group term used for a set of chemicals. Nootropics act as brain boosters: supplements that are used to increase the cognitive performance and brain health. Nootropics work in many ways to help produce a wide range of benefits to the brain.
These benefits include increased focus attention, focus, memory, relaxation, stress resistance, alertness, and more.
Science Behind Nootropics
Nootropics that benefits your brain health tends to enhance your cognition as well. It does this by boosting your brain pathways to help increase cognition. Here’s a graph explaining how Nootropics works with your brain:
Nootropics Usage | Explanation |
|---|---|
Brain Energy | Your brain consumes at least 20% of your body’s energy, making it the body’s most demanding organ. Nootropics can enhance your energy by by delivering raw material, and enhancing your mitochondrial efficiency and more. |
Brain Chemicals | Neurotransmitters create a neuron-to-neuron communication, regulating all of the cognitive and memory functions. Sharpening receptor sensitivity, increasing the neurotransmitter production, can contribute to a more optimized neurotransmitter status. |
Brain Bloodflow | Whether affected by age and injury, having an impaired circulation can reduce the cerebral function. Supporting nitric oxide levels and blood vessel can help increase the delivery of oxygen to your brain. |
Brainwave Frequency | There are different brainwave frequencies whose order ranges from highest to lowest: gamma, beta, alpha, theta, and delta. Some nootropics can raise certain frequencies to help achieve certain effects. |
Brain Regeneration | Only a few compounds can benefit from neurogenesis, the process where the brain develops and grows it’s neuronal tissue with goals of maintenance, plasticity, and brain cell repair. |
Brain Protection | Nootropic neuroprotectors can assist your brain’s defenses against conditions and compounds. |
Conclusion
To conclude, understanding how to use diet supplements is the best way to lose weight. But, you also have to include consistent exercise and a restricted diet in order for it to work. Ultimately, by doing this, you'll start experiencing a loss in pounds in a few months.
