Choosing the right nutritional supplements for weight management

By Brandi Schlossberg

It seems one of the most common health and fitness drivers is to lose weight, especially since beach season has officially arrived. Whether a person simply wants to drop a few pounds and tighten up that waistline or needs to lose a good amount of weight for health reasons, the quest to weigh less is one shared by many.

Of course, the tried and true method for slimming down tends to involve a combination of both diet and exercise. This usually means making healthy choices when it comes to what you eat and how much you eat, as well as developing a schedule that allows for regular exercise.

Managing one’s weight may also involve the use of quality nutritional supplements to help streamline and enhance the results that come with improving what you eat and increasing the amount of time you spend exercising. Taking extra care to select the right nutritional supplements for weight management may help push you closer to your goal.

For starters, you may want to reach for a quality multi-vitamin. When you alter your eating habits, you don’t want to worry about depriving your body of any vital vitamins and minerals, and the right multi-vitamin can provide peace of mind that you are filling those gaps.

Calcium is another nutritional supplement to consider. Peer-reviewed research has revealed a link between eating low-fat dairy products and losing weight.¹ By taking a calcium nutritional supplement, you may be able to tap in to some of these potential weight loss benefits without consuming the calories associated with dairy foods.

Seeking out a nutritional supplement created to increase your daily intake of fiber may be a simple way to help promote weight loss and weight management, as well, as it can help you feel full for longer periods of time. According to the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, men ages 50 and younger should be getting 38 grams of fiber per day, and men ages 51 and older should be getting 30 grams of fiber per day. As for women, the institute recommends 25 grams of fiber for those who are ages 50 and younger and 21 grams of fiber for those who are 51 and older.²

These are just a few of the nutritional supplements that can provide benefits for weight loss and weight management. Be sure to do your research, and find the nutritional supplements that best meet your specific needs when it comes to slimming down.

 

Sources:

¹Zemel MB. The role of dairy foods in weight management. National Center for Biotechnology Information. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16373953. Published December 2005. Accessed June 2014.

²National Research Council. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2002/Dietary-Reference-Intakes-for-Energy-Carbohydrate-Fiber-Fat-Fatty-Acids-Cholesterol-Protein-and-Amino-Acids.aspx. Published September 2002. Accessed June 2014.