by Joel Hirschhorn

Created on: December 03, 2008

As someone who has been taking vitamin and mineral supplements for some fifty years I have followed a simple guiding philosophy: Better to be safe than sorry. The smart way to look at this practice is to see it as a kind of insurance for achieving good health. First, do no harm. Second, see vitamin and mineral supplements as one way to emphasize prevention of disease and illness, exactly like eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.

One valid concern is questioning whether any supplements may cause problems with respect to prescription medicines one is taking. Many prescription medicines pose significant issues. Some supplements may interact and interfere with prescription drugs, reducing their intended effectiveness or causing some new kind of medical problem. I use a Mayo Clinic website to check for possible interactions. Of course, it is also wise these days to talk to your physician about what supplements you are taking to get their professional opinion about which ones may present problems. For example, after surviving a heart attack I stopped taking several supplements on the advice of my cardiologist.

Another concern these days of hard economic times is cost. There are enormous variations in the cost of nearly all supplements. There simply is no reason to spend large sums of money on supplements. There is considerable competition among what seems like an infinite number of suppliers. These days one should always use the Internet to check prices among competing companies. Over years I have discovered that buying from catalogs you receive once you make a purchase from a company can be foolish. All too often the prices in catalogs are much higher than what the same company offers on its website. The other smart practice is to stay alert to sales at retail stores, especially buy one and get one free type of sales at drug stores like CVS.

The third concern is the practical one of exactly when during the day to take supplements. Almost always the advice given on the products themselves is to take the supplement with a meal. The chief reason is to ensure good bioavailability of the supplement. Taking many supplements on an empty stomach does not allow sufficient time for the body to absorb the chemical. The other reason is that many supplements can actually make you feel sick to some degree when taken on an empty stomach.

The other "when" question has to do with the specific effect of some supplements. For example, there are times when I feel that my immune system needs a boost to fight off a cold or some other ailment. At those times I usually take a little more of some supplements that are known to help your immune system. Another situation is when eating some type of foods it may make sense to take more of a certain supplement. For example, when eating meats and fatty foods it makes sense to take more of a supplement that has the capacity to lower cholesterol.

Supplements may provide some benefits, but they should never be viewed as a substitute for a generally healthy lifestyle. Avoiding being overweight and sedentary is probably far more important in the long run than taking supplements.

Learn more about this author, Joel Hirschhorn.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.