Dietary supplements and beauty products should be purchased with caution. Using products obtained from the black market can be very harmful. When choosing supplements and beauty products, what to look for so that the purchased product is safe and produces the desired results?
There is no shortage of supplements and beauty products in stationary and online stores. The rich assortment attracts customers, but it can be confusing to some. The greater the choice, the greater the doubt. What if there is a product on the shelf next to us that closely matches our expectations? Moreover, how do we recognize whether the chosen product will meet its purpose? Are there any ways to separate the wheat from the chaff?
How Does a Dietary Supplement Differ From a Medication?
As for supplements, it’s a good idea to check whether the product is advertised as a medication. If so, this is a warning sign. Supplements are not medications. They are food products that are supposed to supplement deficiencies in the body (especially vitamin deficiencies). Supplements are merely an addition to a daily diet. In no way should they be treated as a substitute for complete meals.
Medicines must be thoroughly tested before they are approved for sale. In contrast, in the eyes of the law, supplements are simply food, so the manufacturer does not need a specific license to sell them. This makes it all the more important to distinguish good supplements from bad ones.
How to Tell if a Supplement Is Effective?
Firstly, check the composition of the product. Follow the rule: “the fewer ingredients, the better.” A high number of preservatives, dyes, or other additives is not beneficial.
For taking a supplement to make sense, it is worth finding out what specific vitamins or elements you lack. For example, if you need vitamin D, it would be good to check how much of it is contained in the product you want to take. Without getting yourself tested first, taking supplements does not make much sense and may even lead to unpleasant health problems.
You should also pay attention to whether the supplement has been tested and its effectiveness has been clinically proven. You can find many sites on the web that list safe and proven products. Our favorite is the AEGATE website.
Are Over-the-counter Beauty Products Safe?
It depends on which country the product comes from. For example, there are strict regulations on the production and sale of beauty products in the European Union. Each preparation undergoes a series of tests before being introduced into the market.
In the United States, the sale of beauty products is also controlled, although the regulations are much more relaxed. This is clearly shown by the number of banned substances in the cosmetics industry – there are only 10 of them.
In the European Union, the analogous list contains 1100 substances. Therefore, cosmetics produced on the European market are considered to be safer. Before applying a product, it is a good idea to check whether there are any potentially dangerous chemicals in its formulation.
