When you're out shopping at your local supermarket, you've probably ended up in the supplement aisle more than once, scanning the shelves for anything to make you a bit healthier, give you an energy boost, or fill a nutrient that you're lacking. But what supplements are likely to help you the most in your day to day life—after all, you can't spend hours and hours looking up each and every one—and how can you pick out the good ones from the ones that'll just turn your urine different colors as they exit your body?
If you're looking for a few supplements to pick up next time you're at the supermarket, then here's what you need to know.
Potassium
Unless you're shotgunning a few bananas, cups of yogurt, clams, or prunes every day, it's a safe bet that you're probably running low on potassium. This necessity isn't brought up as often as iron or calcium, but the effects of low potassium should be publicized more widely—they include muscle cramps, frequent headaches, nausea, and even changes in the rhythm of your heart. 1 in 5 people hospitalized—for any reason—are low in potassium, which means it's quite likely that you are too. Picking up a potassium supplement when you're at the supermarket can help boost your energy levels, regulate your blood pressure, and even make your heart healthier.
Vitamin D
With dark, cloudy winter still covering most of the United States, it's a good bet that you're not getting the Vitamin D that you need from the sun—and you definitely aren't getting enough to sustain your body just from your diet. Lack of Vitamin D has been traced to hundreds of different problems, including bone pain and muscle weakness, asthma, diabetes (type 1 and type 2), multiple sclerosis, and even cancer, so it's imperative you keep your Vitamin D levels nice and high all year 'round—just under 4000 IU a day seems to be the upper limit.
Upping the amount of milk in your diet, alongside a nice supplement of 1,000IU a day (or even 2,500-3,000IU a day if you're very deficient), with the rest coming from sun exposure and your diet, will help your Vitamin D levels stay above sea level and keep you healthy for years to come.
Melatonin
Looking for a supplement that will shorten migraine headaches, cure jet leg, and help you fall asleep easier with no medical "hangover" the next day? Pick up a bottle of melatonin the next time you're in the supplement aisle. Melatonin is a natural hormone your body produces, and is directly turned on or off by light exposure—meaning that when you're in a dark room, your body gets started producing melatonin to help you sleep, and can be stopped by the introduction of light in the room.
For a world that stares at a backlit screen for most of their day in one form or another, a melatonin supplement can help cancel out the bad effects of all that blue light and lull your body into sleep. Around 1-3mg a night should be ample for the average person (start low and creep higher if you need to); if you suffer from sleep phase delay disorder or insomnia, however, you can safely take 5mg a night to get some much-needed shut-eye.
To learn more about what you can get at the supermarket to boost your health, contact services like Instant Inventory Service.
