How Do I Monitor Nutritional Supplements?

If you want to keep track of the nutritional supplements you take and how they are affecting you, you should keep a diary. This will allow you to track your use of supplements in whatever way you see fit.

What you might be wondering, even more than how to monitor nutritional supplements, is whether you should be monitoring what you take.

The resounding answer is yes. You should keep track of anything you put into your body.

Remember to keep in mind that supplementation of any kind is not enough for your overall health and fitness needs. Exercise is important. Go PRO today for access to certified personal trainers, workout plans, and more.

Why Should I Monitor Nutritional Supplements?

There are a couple of reasons you should monitor the nutritional supplements you are taking. First and foremost, you need to ensure they aren’t causing any medical problems for you.

Many people believe that if they take natural nutritional supplements they don’t have to worry about side effects. The truth, however, is just because it is natural doesn’t mean it won’t produce side effects.

Many supplement companies take advantage of this common misconception that natural things are always safe.

Rattlesnakes are natural, but you wouldn’t stick your hand into a snake’s mouth assuming you won’t get bitten.

Natural supplements can be dangerous. Some have long-term side effects that can hurt anyone; others should not be taken by people with certain medical conditions or by people who are taking specific medications.

Before starting a regime, it would be a good idea to educate yourself on what the FDA has to say about them as well as other respected medical sources, such as the Mayo Clinic.

There is a more benign reason you should monitor nutritional supplements as well, and that is to determine how effective they are for you.

For instance, if you decide to start taking an energy-boosting supplement — such as ginseng — you would track the time of day you take it, how long it is before you feel the effects, and then how soon it starts to wear off.

This can help you determine whether or not it is the right supplement for you.

If you are taking multiple supplement types, you will want to start one supplement at a time, give the supplement a week or so to start being absorbed by your system, and then start taking the next supplement.

Make any notes about how you are feeling and if there are any changes in how you are feeling as you add new supplements to your regimen.

What Do I Use to Monitor Nutritional Supplements?

You have a couple of options for monitoring your nutritional supplements. First of all, you can use the internet to find nutritional diaries (such as this one). You can use these on your computer or you can print them out and write in them like you would any type of diary or journal.

Often these types of diaries allow you to change the information in them to suit your current needs. However, if you are choosing a free nutritional diary, your choices are going to be more limited.

Your other option is to create your own diary in a notebook or a journal. You should determine in advance the things you want to record in your diary so that you don’t find yourself with different information each day.

In your diary, make room to record the following:

• The name of each supplement
• How large a dose you are taking
• Any results, positive or negative, you feel while taking the supplement
• Space for notes at the end of each day to record any other observations

What Do I Do with the Information I Gather?

The idea of monitoring your supplements is to ensure that everything goes the way you expect. If this is the case, you are just using your diary or journal to keep track of that information.

You may want to record the final results in a different place for future reference in case you decide to try a similar program again.

In addition, you could even consider posting your information online. You can talk with other people about how different supplements work and how they made you feel. This could be valuable for others who are considering a supplement regimen.

If you start feeling weird or wrong or, worse yet, you become ill, you can use the information you gather and show it to your doctor. This could end up being a valuable tool for your diagnosis and treatment.

Finding the right supplements might help take your total body health and fitness to the next level.

Combining your supplementation with an exercise routine can also yield great results. Go PRO today for access to certified personal trainers, workout plans, goal trackers, and more!