Today is World Science Day, so let’s get nerdy about what’s really going on with all of those supplements you’re seeing on your social media feed.

If your algorithm is similar to mine, you’ve got countless influencers popping up on your feed to sell you a supplement that has “changed the game.” Or while scrolling Facebook, you might have noticed (and subsequently worried about) an old friend selling some liquid drops that they swear will help you lose weight and change your life. How do you make sense out of the thousands of supplements on the market and what should you actually be taking? Let’s make it a little easier…

I’m going to spoil the moral of the story right at the top today: supplements are just that — supplemental! They are not required for your diet, and they should never be used as a food item (meaning your protein powder should not replace the other protein in your diet).

*Your doctor may recommend that you take a supplement to aid in remedying an inadequate intake of a specific vitamin or mineral.

Here’s the main thing to remember:

Dietary supplements don’t need prior approval from the FDA to be marketed to you. This means the quality, strength, and purity of a dietary supplement is wholly in the hands of the company making it, which may or may not be trustworthy. Potential safety issues: containing new and untested ingredients, containing undisclosed ingredients, and/or containing illegal ingredients like banned stimulants or anabolic steroids.

There are some enforced guidelines for dietary supplements in the U.S. They must be natural (or at least present in nature), and they may be synthetic only if the synthetic material produced is a replica of a natural substance. However, product descriptions, suggested use, and claims are provided by the company, and they are mostly unregulated.

Many supplements claim to improve fat loss, strength, or muscle gain, but few are rigorously substantiated.

Know the difference:

ACTIVE ingredients are the ingredients in the supplement that provide the intended health benefit. The amount is required on the label.

INACTIVE ingredients only need to be listed in descending order of weight (so no exact amounts required). Typically, these are sweeteners, flavors, acids, etc. that make the product more palatable.

A PROPRIETARY BLEND is a blend of ingredients under one heading only required to list the total weight of the blend — so you can’t tell the exact amount of each ingredient in it, making it easier to get away with including more “filler” or inactive ingredients.

What should you do?

If this is all sounding pretty grim, don’t worry, you can still be an informed consumer!

Look for third-party verification on the label. The most common third-party entities are Informed Choice and the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF International).
Avoid proprietary blends.
Look up supplements in Google Scholar or PubMed and do research using quality studies.
Know that some every day supplements may lead to toxicity if overconsumed — check your dosage!
If you have a medical condition, talk to your doctor before using supplements. (Supplements are also intended for those over 18 years old.)

Did you know?

Caffeine is the world’s most popular supplement (or if you want to sound fancy, “ergogenic aid”)! It has a myriad of benefits as well as drawbacks when used excessively, or if you have certain medical conditions.

Optimal caffeine dosing for benefits during your workout: 1.4-2.7mg/lb. bodyweight around 1 hour prior to exercise (for someone that is 125 lbs., that would be in the realm of 2 regular cups of coffee).
Doses greater than 2.7mg/lb. bodyweight increase the potential for an adverse/impairing effect.

We covered a lot today — great job sticking it out through the end! For those of you wondering about those “skinny drops” my friend was selling, don’t worry, I looked into it for you, and more than likely they won’t make much of an impact.

The old adage applies: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

If you want to try a specific supplement, there are plenty with actual benefits and now you can be an educated consumer. Be sure to check in with your doctor first!

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