Nutrition basics (17)
- Sodium: How to tame your salt habit now
- Water: How much should you drink every day?
- Nutrition Facts: An interactive guide to food labels
- see all in Nutrition basics
Healthy diets (8)
- Vegetarian diet: How to get the best nutrition
- Mediterranean diet: Choose this heart-healthy diet option
- DASH diet: Healthy eating to lower your blood pressure
- see all in Healthy diets
Healthy cooking (15)
- Meatless meals: The benefits of eating less meat
- Healthy meals: Cooking for 1 or 2
- Whole grains: Hearty options for a healthy diet
- see all in Healthy cooking
Healthy menus and shopping strategies (10)
- Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid: A sample menu
- Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious?
- Healthy breakfast: Quick, flexible options to grab at home
- see all in Healthy menus and shopping strategies
Nutritional supplements (2)
- Dietary supplements: Nutrition in a pill?
- Herbal supplements: What to know before you buy
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Dietary supplements: Nutrition in a pill?
When using dietary supplements, assess your needs, evaluate the merits of taking supplements, and understand how to choose and use them.
By Mayo Clinic staffDietary supplements aren't intended to be a food substitute because they can't replicate all of the nutrients and benefits of whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables. So if you're generally healthy and eat a balanced diet, daily dietary supplements may not be worth the expense. However, if you can't eat enough healthy foods or have certain conditions, you may benefit from taking a daily dietary supplement
Whole foods: Your best source of micronutrients
Whole foods are your best sources of vitamins and minerals. They offer three main benefits over dietary supplements:
- Greater nutrition. Whole foods are complex, containing a variety of the micronutrients your body needs — not just one. An orange, for example, provides vitamin C plus some beta carotene, calcium and other nutrients. A vitamin C supplement lacks these other micronutrients.
- Essential fiber. Whole foods provide dietary fiber. Fiber, as part of a healthy diet, can help prevent certain diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and it can also help manage constipation.
- Protective substances. Whole foods contain other substances recognized as important for good health. Fruits and vegetables, for example, contain naturally occurring food substances called phytochemicals, which may help protect you against cancer, heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Many are also good sources of antioxidants — substances that slow down oxidation, a natural process that leads to cell and tissue damage.
(1 of 2)
- Duyff RL. American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. 3rd ed. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2006;133.
- Fletcher RH, et al. Vitamin supplementation in disease prevention. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 1, 2010.
- Practice Paper of the American Dietetic Association: Dietary supplements. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2005;105:460.
- Practice Paper of the American Dietetic Association: Fortification and nutritional supplements. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2005;105:1300.
- Tips for the savvy supplement user: Making informed decisions and evaluating information. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/ConsumerInformation/ucm110567.htm#basic. Accessed April 1, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on