{"id":659109,"date":"2026-10-28T01:02:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T01:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/659109\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T01:02:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T01:02:19","slug":"ask-your-doctor-this-key-question-before-taking-any-supplements-says-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/659109\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask Your Doctor This Key Question Before Taking Any Supplements, Says Expert"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supplements<\/a> are everywhere. Stroll down the aisle of your local CVS<\/a>, and you\u2019ll find an entire aisle dedicated to them, nestled next to the cold and flu medicine<\/a>. You\u2019ve likely seen influencers touting the benefits of various supplements, and gotten targeted ads promising they\u2019ll change your life. <\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing about supplements: They\u2019re not approved<\/a> by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While companies are legally responsible<\/a> for ensuring their products are safe and the claims on their labels aren\u2019t misleading, supplement regulation isn\u2019t as strict as it could be<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Related: What\u2019s the Best Time of Day To Take Multivitamins? Here Are 3 Things To Consider<\/a><\/p>\n

When it comes to vitamins and nutrition, most doctors recommend a food-first approach rather than relying on supplements\u2014especially because it\u2019s tough to know exactly what\u2019s in your supplement and how effective it is. Dr. Earl Campazzi, MD<\/a>, author of the new book The Right Supplements: A Doctor\u2019s Method for Knowing What Your Body Actually Needs, generally agrees with that, with caveats.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can understand their thoughts, and in my practice they are often right, but not when there is a true deficiency,\u201d Dr. Campazzi tells Parade. \u201cTrue deficiencies are rare, but when you have one, the supplement is the treatment. My former dean at Johns Hopkins, Alfred Sommer, is credited with preventing blindness <\/a>and saving millions of children\u2019s lives across Asia and Africa with a vitamin A capsule that costs two cents and is given twice a year. It worked because those children were deficient. So they\u2019re not a waste of money\u2014the waste is taking them without information.\u201d<\/p>\n

But how can you get said information? Below, Dr. Campazzi explains\u2014including the first question to ask your doctor, and the labels to look for on bottles when shopping. <\/p>\n

\ud83e\ude7a<\/a>SIGN UP for Parade\u2019s health newsletter with expert-approved tips, healthy eats, exercises, news & more to help you stay healthy & feel your best self<\/a>\ud83d\udc8a<\/a><\/p>\n

The First Question to Ask Your Doctor Before Taking a Supplement<\/p>\n

According to Dr. Campazzi, the first question to ask your doctor before taking a new supplement is, \u201cHow will I know if it\u2019s working?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the key question, because for most of the supplements people take, they have no idea whether it\u2019s working or even harming them,\u201d he explains. \u201cThere can be a good reason to take a supplement that doesn\u2019t have a blood test attached to it, but you should give your symptoms a brief daily rating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: 6 Supplements That Are Actually Worth It for People Over 50, According to Doctors<\/a><\/p>\n

For example, something you take to sleep better can be rated 0\u201310 for the night\u2019s sleep and 0\u201310 for grogginess. \u201cRate a few nights before you start, so you have something to compare with. That\u2019s it: 30 seconds soon after waking, because almost none of us can remember dinner from a week ago,\u201d Dr. Campazzi says.<\/p>\n

The Top Labels to Look for on a Supplement Bottle<\/p>\n

No, supplements aren\u2019t FDA-approved\u2014but certain labels can signal stricter regulations, according to Dr. Campazzi, meaning you\u2019re more likely to get the nutrients you think you are.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome bottles look like they won the Olympics, with multiple gold seals and accolades. Only four of those seals mean anything to me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Related: The Supplement Pharmacists Wish More People Would Tell Their Doctor They\u2019re Taking<\/a><\/p>\n

They include: <\/p>\n

USP Verified (United States Pharmacopeia): the product contains what it claims, in the amounts listed, without harmful levels of contaminants.<\/p>\n

NSF Certified: confirms label accuracy and screens for contaminants.<\/p>\n

NSF Certified for Sport: also tests for more than 280 banned athletic substances.<\/p>\n

ConsumerLab: passed their independent testing.<\/p>\n

The Importance of Talking to Your Doctor Before Taking a New Supplement<\/p>\n

The labels listed above tell you what\u2019s in a supplement, not whether they can help you (or hurt you). That\u2019s why Dr. Campazzi always, always recommends talking to your doctor before taking a supplement. \u201cMany supplements are as active in the body as drugs, and some interact with medications and with each other,\u201d he warns. \u201cMost of the time there isn\u2019t a problem, but adding St. John\u2019s wort to an antidepressant<\/a> can push serotonin to dangerous levels, a reaction called serotonin syndrome. Kevin, a healthy 43-year-old patient of mine, took a double dose of a \u2018thermogenic\u2019 pre-workout supplement and ended up in the emergency room with a racing heart from the synthetic stimulant it contained.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, as noted, unless you have a true deficiency (something a doctor can help identify), supplements can just be a waste of money. Especially if you don\u2019t know exactly what you\u2019re taking. \u201cIn the book I call it the \u2018blend trap:\u2019 a \u2018proprietary blend\u2019 lists a dozen or more ingredients and one total weight, without saying how much of each,\u201d Dr. Campazzi says. \u201cEven a research lab couldn\u2019t sort out cause and effect with that little information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Campazzi\u2019s Personal Supplement Stack<\/p>\n

Curious what a doctor who studies supplements for a living actually takes? Don\u2019t worry, we asked Dr. Campazzi. Here\u2019s what he says, noting: \u201cThese fit my labs and my life; they are not a recommendation for anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pure Encapsulations Vitamin D3\/K2, 4,000 IU \/ 100 mcg, every morning. \u201cI have fair skin and minimize sun exposure even when I\u2019m outside,\u201d Dr. Campazzi says. \u201cMy level was low before I started, and the K2 helps steer calcium into bone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qunol Extra Strength CoQ10, 200 mg, every other day. \u201cI take a statin, and my CoQ10 level was low on a blood test. It\u2019s normal now,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Pure TheraPro Methyl Multi, 2 capsules twice a day. \u201cMy folate (vitamin B9) and B12 levels were low; they\u2019re normal now.\u201d Dr. Campazzi says.<\/p>\n

Long story short: According to Dr. Campazzi, supplements can be a good idea. But it\u2019s always important to talk to your doctor before taking one, and choose brands that have undergone legitimate third-party testing.<\/p>\n

Up Next: <\/p>\n

Sources<\/p>\n

Dr. Earl Campazzi, MD<\/a>, author of the new book The Right Supplements: A Doctor\u2019s Method for Knowing What Your Body Actually Needs<\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Parade<\/a> on Oct 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the Health & Wellness<\/a> section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Supplements are everywhere. Stroll down the aisle of your local CVS, and you\u2019ll find an entire aisle dedicated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":659110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,85,46,543],"class_list":["post-659109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-nutrition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=659109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=659109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=659109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=659109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}