You are here because you’re asking the question: “What are the best supplements for women?” Probably because of watching YouTube beauty gurus or fitness tutorials and can’t stop thinking about: “What the hell did she do to be that hot?” Then, you go to iHerb or Amazon to purchase something that can make you as beautiful. You scroll page by page but find nothing but despair since you don’t know what to choose.
Some of you may remember the hype over miraculous goji berries or weight loss tea that were considered indispensable supplements for faster weight loss. However, those of us who believed them were simply tricked to buy products that work as a placebo.
You know what? Forget about it. Today, we’ll discuss the most popular supplements for women, their benefits, side effects, and recommendations for use. Let’s dive into the world of beauty and health together!
Where to start?
First of all, answer the following questions: Am I satisfied with my body? Do I want to look like this forever? Do I have thriving health? Am I physically active? If the answers are no, then the best supplements for women are for you.
If you’re not physically active, then you should know what diet to follow. In order to do this, use macro calculators. Here, you indicate your age, weight, physical activity, and goals. Then, the calculator takes everything to account and comes up with maximum personalized diet variants. It tells you how much calories, protein, fats, and carbs you should eat in a day to either lose or gain weight.
Once you’ve done that, find a notebook where you will write what you eat in a day. This way you’ll track your nutrition. If you see that you don’t eat enough fats or protein, look up products that are rich in them. For example, avocado, fish, nuts, oil, and dairy products are rich in fats; while meat, soy products, and eggs provide you with a wealth of protein. You know the drill.
Also, drink enough water throughout the day, i.e. 0.5-1.5 ounces a day per pound of your body. Then, engage in any physical activity. It could be jogging, fitness, walking, or cycling – you name it. Only then should you think about taking supplements since some people don’t even need them if they have their diet and activity in order.
Of course, it’s best to consult with a dietician, a GP, or a personal trainer about the types of supplements and whether you can take them or not. That is why this article doesn’t promote supplement usage. We only aim to tell you all about them. It’s up to you what to do next.
What supplements does every woman need?
Do you know how big the global dietary supplement market is? According to the Market Research Future, it’s expected to grow to almost $160 million by 2025. It’s crazy, right? Now, imagine where all of this money come from. Yep, millions of people have long discovered the usefulness of supplements for their health. And they will continue purchasing them now, and then for the rest of their lives.
Even if you’re all that into sports and healthy diet, you may not have those perfect nails, glowing skin, and silky hair as those pretty girls who take supplements do. Besides, dietary supplements are 100% legal and can be purchased over-the-counter.
In 2017, the American news blog HuffPost published an article on supplements. There, they talked about the main source of vitamins, antioxidants, micronutrients, minerals, and fiber. This source is your food. It comes first, and we agree on that.
Although health experts insist on focusing on your diet, they still point out a few crucial health supplements. These are fish oil in all its forms, probiotics, Vitamin D, protein, and Magnesium. Other important ingredients for a strong health are Vitamin B12, Iron, Zinc, and Calcium. But, first things first.
Benefits of healthy supplements for women
For instance, fish oil is rich in omega-3 fats that reduce the risks of many heart diseases, help fight depression, protect your skin from wrinkles, and trigger hair growth. Different kinds of fish, seeds, nuts, plant-based oils and seafood are the main sources of omega-3 fats.
Probiotics are good yeasts or bacteria that benefit digestion, boost your immune system, and prevent genital infections in women. These good bacteria are usually found in fermented products like yogurts, kombucha, sauerkraut, kefir, some pickles, and others.
We usually get Vitamin D from the sun. When sunlight contacts with our skin, our bodies produce Vitamin D. This vitamin makes our bones stronger because it helps absorb Calcium. Hence, we get strong teeth, bones, and muscles. Vitamin D is also found in oily fish, eggs, and red meat. However, many synthetic Vitamin D supplements can be used at any time of the year.
Another healthy benefit from supplements is protein which is essential for better muscle growth. It facilitates the production of hormones and also serves as a building block for your whole body. Find protein in soy, meat, fish, eggs, and other products. You can also purchase protein powder which goes great with smoothies, pancakes, and bars.
Magnesium, as well as Calcium, is an important electrolyte. Electrolytes keep the body hydrated. That is why it is so important to replenish them after exhaustive exercise. These supplements are found in some protein powders and pills.
Iron supplements are minerals that provide us with energy since they saturate the blood with oxygen and control hemoglobin. Again, they could be found in protein powders and pills. The same goes for Zinc. However, Zinc deals more with a healthy metabolism and immune system protection.
The last but not the least is Vitamin B12. The deficiency of this vitamin and iron in your blood causes anemia. This way, people feel more stressed out, fatigued, and weak. This Vitamin is found in red meat, dairy products, and fish. But, if you’re a vegetarian or a vegan, consider purchasing Vitamin B12 in pills.
How much supplements do you need to take?
When fats, protein, and carbs intake becomes clear after you use a macro calculator, other supplements are riddles that need solving. Let us put it out for you.
Supplement | Dosage |
Iron | Around 14 mg a day |
Zinc | Around 8 mg a day |
Vitamin D | Around 10-20 mcg a day |
Vitamin B12 | Around 2.4 mcg a day |
Protein | Around 50-60 g a day (you need more protein if you regularly exercise) |
Omega-3 | Around 250-500 mg a day |
Probiotics | Around 1-100 billion CFUs a day |
Magnesium | Around 310-320 mg a day |
But before you go and buy all of these supplements, remember that it’s not recommended to take everything at once. Avoid exceeding the dose when you take pills because it leads to health problems like headaches, diabetes, liver disease, and nausea.
Before taking these best supplements for women, try to receive these elements from food since nothing beats food. First, attempt to meet your health needs in the safest way possible. Only jump into taking pills after that. Make your health your priority!
What supplements should women avoid?
Unfortunately, the supplement fairytale ends when you find out the side effects of some of them. Besides, dietary supplements do not get checked by the FDA so it’s kind of sad.
Although we have discussed healthy supplements that are not harmful to your health, remember that going crazy with doses might be bad for you. Harvard School of Public Health stresses out that Vitamin D reduces the risks of cancer, while other reports say that excessive use of this supplement increases the risks.
It’s better not to take any anabolic steroids or SARMs if you want to grow muscles. This is because, in the long run, you’ll suffer from undesired facial hair growth, violations of a menstrual cycle, lower libido, and fertility issues. Also, these drugs mutate your DNA which leads to high cancer risks.
Avoid taking herbal food supplements if you’re on medication. If you take prescribed drugs to fight some disorder or disease, herbal pills may counteract your medication and zero out its benefits. So, instead of getting rid of your unpleasant condition and benefiting your health, you make your health issues even worse.
Conclusion.
To sum up, supplements are good guys that help us get rid of unnecessary toxins, strengthen the immune system, saturate the blood, and build muscle healthily. The market of dietary supplements is growing by leaps and bounds and more and more people are begging to add supplements to their diet.
With all those varieties of both natural and synthetic supplements, it’s easy to lose your mind. That is why dieticians single out five basic supplements every woman needs – fish oil, Magnesium, protein, Vitamin D, and probiotics. They can be found both in food and pills.
However, you should remember that if you take too many supplements or mix them all, your body can let you down and become exposed to different threats like cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart diseases. That is why be careful and always consult with a doctor before purchasing dietary supplements yourself. Good luck!