How Do I Know If My Supplements Are Working? And How Will I Know When to Stop Taking Them?
How do I know if the supplements or recommendations are helping?
This is a really good question and one worth asking yourself too. You’ve decided you want to feel better. You’ve made the commitment to yourself to improve your health. You’ve also made the financial commitment to purchase the food and/or supplements recommended to help you achieve your health goals. You’ve made the time commitment to adjust your lifestyle in ways that support your goals. We recommend that you try to implement the recommendations or curation for at least three months before you reassess. You may notice some changes quickly, but some things take time to balance or improve. It often takes months or years of imbalance in our body before we become aware of obvious symptoms or challenges. It takes time and effort to recreate balance and harmony in the body so we encourage patience while you take note of changes and improvements. This rebalancing should include the dietary and lifestyle adjustments we share in our Wellness Guides that accompany your curation. Supplements are rarely the only piece of the puzzle, which is why we focus on educating and empowering you with ideas to support your food and drink choices, as well as lifestyle suggestions that include movement, rest, connection and more. These are specific to your health goals and play a role in how well your body will respond to the nutrition supplied in the curation as well.
One other guideline is whether the curation is a targeted curation or a maintenance type curation. For example, the Active Curations, Empowered Aging, Digestive Maintenance, Whole Food Starter Kit, Stability Now and in some cases Love your Liver or Female Hormonal Bliss would be maintenance type curations. The others are more targeted and typically only used for a specific period of time.
So, what’s changed with your health challenges? Let’s revisit where you started.
It helps to go back and look at the concerns that led you here.
- Were you battling digestive issues or energy swings?
- Were you waking at night and struggling to feel rested in the morning?
- Did you have hormonal challenges and leg cramps?
Today, how are you feeling?
- How is your digestion? Better, worse, different, or the same? Are you no longer having constipation, bloating or heartburn? Learn more about how to support your digestion in these blog posts.
- How about your energy levels? Are they more stable and consistent?
- How about your sleep? Are you sleeping more deeply and waking more rested?
- If it’s been at least two months, have you noticed any improvements in your hormonal challenges?
- Are you still experiencing leg cramps with the same frequency?
If the answer is that things are improving, but you still have some symptoms occasionally, it’s probably worth continuing what you’re doing for another month or two and then revisiting.
If the answer is that things are not improving, we suggest you meet with one of our practitioners for a more personalized and targeted approach to supporting your health goals.
If the answer is that your health challenges have been resolved, we suggest you continue another week or two with the supplement recommendations and then reduce, and then stop. If symptoms return, you may need to resume your supplements for a bit longer. If not, continue to eat a balanced diet and continue to practice your healthy lifestyle and enjoy!
Oftentimes, the dietary and lifestyle adjustments you’ve made become your new normal and you may choose to continue them long-term. We usually recommend supplements for a period of time. . At some point you may need them again, but not indefinitely. There are exceptions, but our goal is not for you to take a handful of supplements every day for the rest of your life!
How Will I know When to Stop Taking Them?
This is another important question and one that can be a bit tricky to answer. As you read above, there are a variety of outcomes after following dietary, lifestyle, or supplement recommendations. Generally, we would say if you’re no longer experiencing the challenges that led to your specific curation or supplement, you may no longer need it.
For example, if you were experiencing frequent leg or foot cramps and upon recommendation, you increased your water intake, started adding electrolytes, and took magnesium supplements, we’d recommend you continue drinking plenty of water and likely the electrolytes if you are active or sweat often. But if you are no longer experiencing cramping, you could reduce or eliminate the magnesium and observe your body’s response. If the cramps return in two weeks, you may still need magnesium, but at a lower amount or frequency. If they don’t return, continue with the water and electrolytes and your other healthy lifestyle and food choices.
If you are unsure whether or not continuing the supplements is right for you, we’d suggest you meet with one of our NTPs. They are skilled in identifying when and if supplementation is helpful and can help you identify food and lifestyle choices that will best meet your needs.
About the Author
Christie Banners is a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner as well as a yoga teacher. Her title here is Chief Wellness Officer. Sharing information about the powerful impact of balanced nutrition and lifestyle choices became her passion and purpose after experiencing dramatic changes in her own health and that of her family. Her mission is to make healthy eating fun and approachable, not perfect or unattainable. Food and lifestyle choices should not add to our stress. Instead they can bring us joy and satisfaction using a moderate, delicious, and sustainable approach to nutrition, as well as activity level and stress management. She hopes we can empower you to fuel your body, mind and spirit with the food and connection you need to thrive! Read more about Christie.
The information presented on this website is intended for educational purposes only. Statements within this site have not been evaluated or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This content is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any specific condition or disease, nor is it medical advice and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise. Readers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health conditions or concerns. One should always consult a qualified medical professional before engaging in any dietary and/or lifestyle change or new health program. Curated Wellness does not take responsibility for any health consequences of any person or persons following the information in this educational content.
