A question we often have from people in our pharmacy is “do I need this?”. Often the answer you will receive is “It depends…”

Certain supplements may be required by your doctor based on a health condition you may have or a blood test which has shown a low amount of a particular chemical in your body. As you’d expect, if you’re doctor has asked you to have a certain supplement, we encourage you to follow your doctor’s advice. If you find you are not feeling well or have some type of adverse effect since initiating that supplement, you should let your doctor know.

However, a vast amounts of supplements taken are optional, and are either to supplement a perceived lack in one’s diet, or to address a health or general well-being issue. If you have a specific health complaint, ask your pharmacist or GP first before buy something from the shelf. This is to ensure that your complaint is something that should be professionally addressed by a doctor, and if it does not fall into that category, to make sure you choose the right item for you as an individual.

Your pharmacist will firstly ask you what medications or health conditions you have. Our female customers/patients would also be asked if they are pregnant or breastfeeding. Then you would be asked what exactly you are trying to address, how do you perceive the problem, and if you’ve tried anything yet to resolve it.

For example, if you’ve been feeling flat/tired and it is not a medically significant issue, and it turns out you’ve been hitting the black coffee quite hard to pep up, you may be advised to try a Vitamin B based supplement and slowly reduce your coffee. Caffeine isn’t a fantastic way to deal with fatigue especially significant amounts over a long period of time. Often Vitamin B will boost your energy without the negative effects on blood pressure and the “jittery” feeling sometimes described by people going though large amounts of coffee or caffeinated drinks such as cola.

That is a simple and common example of an exchange that would assist a customer selecting an appropriate product, as well as suggesting a lifestyle change that will also contribute to better health.

A multivitamin is a fine first step approach for most ages groups to assist persons that say they feel run don’t or don’t have a great diet. We still believe the issue of diet should be addressed and a supplement should not be seen as the one and only way to approach a problem, it will certainly help, but lifestyle need to be looked at too as a holistic approach to feeling better.

If you’d like to discuss your supplements you may directly ask the pharmacist on the link at the top of the page.