Turn on the TV and flip channels for a while or go on social media. Eventually, you’re going to come across some “breaking news” about a new formula or supplement “clinically proven” to normalize your blood sugar and reverse diabetes. Think about this for a moment—a cure for diabetes in a bottle? If it were only that simple. Yet, that’s what the companies that market such products want you to believe. The pitch is so great, you think to yourself, “It should work. It was clinically proven, right?” Wrong! The claims are nothing more than great marketing techniques used to gain your trust.
According to an updated position paper published by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vitamin and mineral supplements may be beneficial for people who aren’t getting the essential vitamins and minerals, they need through their diet but do not help in preventing chronic disease such as diabetes.
What are Dietary Supplements?
Dietary supplements include such ingredients as vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, and enzymes. You don’t need a prescription to buy dietary supplements. You can find supplements in forms such as tablets, capsules, soft gels, gel caps, powders, and liquids.
Vitamins are needed for normal growth and development of the body. Vitamins don’t provide energy, as some folks commonly believe, but they do help the body break down carbohydrates, protein, and fat and