Why It’s Important for Consumers to Communicate Dietary Supplement Use with Their Physicians
Dietary supplements are popular among individuals who are health-conscious and those who monitor their daily nutrient intake. Any drug store or supermarket has at least one aisle dedicated to dietary supplements and they are available to consumers without a prescription. Supplement use is an easy, natural way to optimize health. However, because modern-day supplements vary, it is essential for consumers to communicate supplement use with their physician. This is particularly true for expectant mothers or anyone with a chronic medical condition.
Popular dietary supplements
Dietary supplements include a wide array of products. They are neither medicines nor foods but are used to support a healthy diet. Consumers take dietary supplements for a variety of reasons. Popular dietary supplements include probiotics, vitamins, minerals, herbs and fatty acids. Supplemental enzymes are also popular among consumers for their ability to help with digestion and absorption of nutrients. Enzymes are not only taken to aid digestion, they help to augment the activity of the natural endogenous digestive enzymes.
Why is it necessary to alert physicians about dietary supplement use?
Studies suggest that at least one-half of Americans regularly take at least one type of a dietary supplement. While supplements are not medications, they can pose a risk of adversely interacting with medications. The combination of using both dietary supplements and medications at the same time can affect the ability of the medication to work properly. It can also result in undesirable side effects. For example, combining St. John’s Wort with prescription medications can reduce your medication’s effectiveness. This is potentially dangerous for people who use drugs for heart disease, seizures or other serious health disorders.. Individuals undergoing surgery should also make their doctor’s aware of their supplement use. Depending on which supplements you use, your doctor may advise you to refrain from taking them for two weeks before and after surgery. For physicians to make a well-informed diagnosis and assessment, it is essential to understand everything related to a patient’s health. A physician who has all the pertinent information is better able to diagnose and treat their patient.
Why don’t patients typically discuss dietary supplement usage?
There are various reasons patients might not feel the need to address their use of nutritional supplements with their healthcare provider. Patients often think that, because dietary supplements are made of natural substances, they will not react with medications. This leads them to believe there is no need to disclose the information. This may be dangerous to assume, since there are possible interactions between natural substances and pharmaceutical products.
How can patients overcome the communication barrier?
Talking openly with your doctor and disclosing all health information is important. There are simple steps patients can take to facilitate an easy discussion with their physician about their supplement use. Before the appointment, patients should either write down or take a photograph of the dietary supplements they are taking. Bringing the supplement to the appointment is another option. Take the opportunity to make your doctor aware of your supplement use during your examination, before medication is prescribed. This gives your physician more time to develop a diagnosis that works with your supplements, rather than altering it at the last minute. When medications are prescribed, patients should directly ask about the potential for any reactions or adverse side effects of taking dietary supplements together with the prescribed medications.
How can physicians overcome the communication barrier?
It is important that primary care physicians take an active role in engaging with patients about supplement use. When obtaining a health history, they should ask specifically about dietary supplements in addition to current medications. If physicians take the time to become familiar with their patient’s health goals and the reasons they have for utilizing supplements, they will then be in a better position to offer information and support.
The benefits of communication
There are many benefits to patients keeping physicians in the loop about their use of dietary supplements. The most obvious is that it will enable the physician to alert the patient to any potential side effects that might result from mixing medications and supplements. Preventing side effects can be potentially life-saving in extreme instances, but adverse reactions from medications and dietary supplements can be preventable with good doctor-patient communication.
Patients should discuss why they are taking supplements with their doctor. A physician can then prescribe medications that complement dietary supplements and possibly suggest lifestyle changes to help the patient further enhance their health.
Dietary supplements and physicians
Dietary supplements benefit consumer health, and it is the primary concern of physicians to help their patients achieve optimal health. High-quality supplements, along with proper physician-patient communication, can significantly improve the patient’s ability to reach these goals. It is important to properly communicate all dietary supplement use with a physician to put consumers on the right track to enhancing and maintaining their overall health.
