According to the General Health Law, food supplements are those products based on herbs, plant extracts, traditional foods, dehydrated or concentrated fruits, added or not, of vitamins or minerals, which can be presented in pharmaceutical form and whose purpose of use is to increase the total dietary intake, complement it or replace some component.

It is important to know that a nutritional supplement does not serve to obtain nutrients that should be consumed in the diet, since they are designed to complement it. The functionality of a nutritional supplement is based on the contribution of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins or minerals.

The supplements are intended for endless categories, which help complement and provide certain nutrients that over time your body produces in a smaller amount, or that due to your diet, you cannot obtain or synthesize them in your body naturally.

Some of the categories such as beauty and digestive system have very specific ingredients known to people. For example, collagen is considered the number one ingredient in the beauty category, however, when we talk about the digestive system, probiotics and prebiotics are considered as the leading ingredients in the category.

Each ingredient has its specific function in the formulation, and throughout this blog the individual functions of some specific ingredients commonly found in the shelves will be announced.

Because there is a variation between products in the same categories, it is recommended to choose the one that best suits the body’s daily needs and the one that best complements the diet.

References:
Supplements in Mexican Market – Euromonitor 2019