As a Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Deanna spends a lot of my time educating her patients around supplementation.
What are Supplements:
Supplements can be single compounds or combinations of vitamins, minerals, oils, amino acids, and botanical extracts. They can be very useful to prevent illness, treat specific conditions and can be taken safely with pharmaceutical medications under supervision. Understanding when a supplement may be indicated, what form the supplement should be in and at what dose are the keys to appropriate and beneficial supplementation.
Benefits:
Supplements can complement and replenish nutrients not adequate in our diet. Patients (and the general population) are very often not consuming enough protein, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables. Even if you are consuming a healthy diet, the quality of the soil where our food is grown is often deficient of micronutrients and supplementation can remedy this. More commonly supplements can be used to treat specific conditions to minimize or prevent the need of pharmaceutical interventions and side effects. Lastly, supplementation is helpful during times in life when we have an increased need for nutrients such as during times of growth (in children and during pregnancy), injury recovery and in the elderly when nutrient absorption declines.
Forms:
Supplements can come in many different forms. The ultimate priority is that the supplement contains ingredients in it that are right form and dose. Dr. Deanna decides this based on her education, clinical expertise and what has been researched to have a therapeutic benefit. Supplements can exist in many different forms (liquid/soft gel/capsule/tablet/powder) which can very in there absortion and bioavailability.
Dr. Deanna educates you on the supplements she recommends to ensure you are informed on the indication, benefit, risk and optimal duration you should be on it. She also makes it a priority to reassess and monitor the products you are on to make sure they continue to be indicated and of benefit to you.
