Supplements as treatment

The practice of taking supplements to treat an illness or disorder is called a therapeutic application.

Examples of therapeutic use include taking vitamin C, zinc or Echinacea to cure a cold or reduce its symptoms; ginko to improve mental function or to treat Alzheimer’s disease; ginseng to treat diabetes; calcium or vitamin D to improve bone density. Multi-vitamin and mineral tablets, or Vitamin B preparations are sometimes taken as a ‘pick-me-up’ when you feel tired or depressed, or to relieve a hangover, reduce feelings of stress or to relieve premenstrual tension.

Therapeutic applications for micronutrient and some herbal supplements have been demonstrated in clinical studies, but their use should follow a professional diagnosis of the cause of the illness, clear evidence of the therapeutic value of the supplement and an assessment of your dietary need for supplements as a treatment.

As a treatment for non-specific illnesses such as a general feeling of stress, the value of supplements is doubtful. Your body does use micronutrients when it is organising a stress response, but a balanced diet meets the needs for minor stress and medical treatment is needed formajor stress incidents.

Self-diagnosis and treatment of disease could result in non-diagnosis of the real cause of an illness, and so to a lack of treatment that would be most beneficial.