Dietary supplements take a vibrant role in health, and they generate billions of dollars in sales. However, the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t have the regulatory authority to review supplement products before they go to market. That means none of these products earn FDA-approval because it’s not offered. The FDA only investigates genuine medicines and drugs that make medical claims. The U.S. Congress defines dietary supplements in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 as any product taken orally that contains one or more dietary ingredients. These ingredients typically include herbs, botanicals, organ tissues, enzymes, amino acids, vitamins and minerals.

The Benefits of Supplements

Many supplements do provide triggers for healthy body processes, as do natural foods and nutrients. However, the supplement industry is rife with ripoffs, unregulated products and contaminants. No official government organizations supervise the production processes of dietary supplements, and consumers must rely on third-party inspections and a given company’s desire to earn a reputation for quality.

Discuss Dietary Supplements with You Physician

Before beginning any course of dietary supplements, you should discuss the matter with your doctor or healthcare provider. Simply ordering a product based solely on its advertising claims is risky. Cheap supplements for vitamin supplementation are usually cheap for a reason — such as contamination, not meeting projected vitamin percentages or using risky packaging processes.

Using Supplements Wisely

Your doctor or pharmacist can usually advise you about the companies that have earned strong reputations for delivering high-quality dietary supplements. Some supplement ingredients might react adversely with your doctor-prescribed medications. Don’t trust inflated claims because supplements aren’t permitted to do any of the following:

• Marketing products as a treatment or cure for disease
• Making claims of reducing cholesterol or treating heart disease
• Making claims of disease prevention
• Suggesting that products are cures that just haven’t had time for FDA approval
• Guaranteeing that supplements won’t trigger side effects or complicate your health
• Recommending the substitution of cheap supplements in place of expensive drugs

Combining dietary supplements with regular medications always generates some risks, so you should discuss the situation with your doctor or professional medical provider. Many supplements contain active ingredients that can trigger negative responses and even life-threatening risks.

Online Vitamins — A Special Case

Vitamin supplementation is usually considered safer than other types of supplements as long as you buy the products from a reputable company. Many people legitimately experience vitamin and nutritional deficiencies. However, the risks of buying supplements online still include the following situations:

• The risk of not getting what’s advertised on the bottle.
• Variances in active ingredients
• Unlicensed counterfeit products sold without authorization
• Contamination of heavy metals in imported products
• Excessive use of filler and synthetic ingredients
• Little or no quality-control inspections
• False claims of hypoallergenic formulas

Many studies confirm what many suspect: 50% of Americans take multivitamins, but one out of five take herbal supplements. That means the possible repercussions of buying vitamins online are more extensive than those of taking other types of dietary supplements.

Vital Force Therapy & Wellness

At Vital Force Therapy & Wellness, the company specializes in regenerative medicine, IV vitamin therapy, hormone optimization and gut health treatments. This legitimate medical practice offers chiropractic care and other holistic solutions to medical issues that include functional medical protocols under the supervision of a staff MD. The practice can provide reliable, proven IV vitamin therapy to correct deficiencies and optimize your prospects for living a healthier lifestyle. The practice is located in Hoover, Alabama, and routinely serves patients from the greater Birmingham area. Services include diagnosing and treating vitamin deficiencies, mold toxicities, heart disease, thyroid and autoimmune diseases, gut disorders, chronic fatigue, chiropractic disorders and hormone disorders through bioidentical hormone replacements manufactured by a private compounding pharmacy.

Getting Medically Reliable Replacement Therapies

Unfortunately, buying vitamins and hormone replacement dietary supplements is at best a crap shoot. When you have real-world issues, you should receive medically reliable therapies. If you’re finally ready to get started on genuine vitamin or hormone replacement therapy, contact Vital Force Therapy & Wellness today at 205-352-9141. The offices are located at 1580 Montgomery Highway, Suite 14-B, Hoover, AL 35216, and you can also email the practice at [email protected].