A gram of prevention: boost your health with a custom supplement program

Better Nutrition, July, 2003 by Joe Morgan

Popping supplements without regard for your diet, your particular risk factors or the proper dosages may be costly in terms of dollars-and your health. But a program tailored to supplement a balanced diet may bring you something absolutely priceless: disease and disability prevention.

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It's best to take your supplements at mealtime. For one thing, vitamins and minerals are food components that help the body metabolize other food components. Also, fat-soluble nutrients--vitamins A, D, E and K, and beta-carotene--need a little oil or fat to enhance absorption. On the other hand, calcium can block the absorption of vitamins, so it's best to take calcium at another time of day--preferably evening because calcium offers a calming effect, which is helpful at bedtime.

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Once you have decided on a healthy supplement regimen, you still have to look at the delivery system of the nutrients you need. Supplements come in a variety of forms.

Here's a quick guide to determining which form might be right for you.

* If you find large tablets difficult to swallow, you could pay a little extra for capsules. And whether you down capsules, tablets or gel caps, you'll still be absorbing the same nutrients.

* Some vitamins and minerals are sold in spray form for the mouth or nose. While some say that such sprays are absorbed more efficiently by the body, there's really no proof to back up that claim.

* Liquid vitamins are another option, and liquid multivitamins contain the same nutrients as tablets and capsules. Their drawback, however, is that their main ingredient is often sugar to mask the bitter taste.

* If you're a strict vegetarian or vegan, you'll want to shop around for animal-free, non-gelatin capsules. The gelatin used in most vitamin capsules is an animal product.