Regarding supplements, I have seen people get divided into two categories, and both are based on their perceptions. Some people are afraid of seeing pills and powder, and some get excited thinking about shortcuts and magic pills. These are just perceptions due to a lack of science-based education.

In my earlier career stage, I was from the magic pill category. Now I am from non of two types after getting educated. So what exactly did I get educated about supplements?

There are many questions still revolving around us about supplementation. Some are myths, and few are real, like Are supplements unnatural? Are they necessary? Do they have side effects? How exactly are they made?

We will discuss all the above questions and try to get answers through scientific evidence. Let’s figure it out first. 

 

ARE SUPPLEMENTS UNNATURAL?

Let’s first under what is the main thing which distinguishes between NATURAL & UNNATURAL. Let’s keep it simple: So anything made by nature is NATURAL, and anything which man causes is UNNATURAL. E.g., MILK is natural, but what about PROTEIN POWDER? Green tea is natural, but what about GREEN TEA EXTRACT? I have mentioned these two examples because these two supplements are common and famous one comes in powder form, and the other comes in Tablet form.

To understand whether they are Natural or unnatural, we first need to find out what they are, how they are made, and the purpose behind them.

 

WHAT IS PROTEIN POWDER & HOW ARE THEY MADE?

So Protein is a nutrient that is essential for our body to survive, grow and perform in day-to-day life,(PMID: 32496725) (PMID: 23595206) which we can get from Food Like Milk, Eggs, Chicken, Red meat, Paneer, Soya, Legumes, Pulses, Dals, etc (PMID: 24482589). Similarly, there is a Protein in milk named ‘WHEY’ which gets extracted from milk and is sold as the name WHEY PROTEIN POWDER in the market.(PMID: 707915)

In the same way, there are different types of teas, and similarly, there is a tea name ‘GREEN TEA,’ which is hyped for weight loss.(PMID: 20175431) I used the name hype for many reasons, which I may discuss in another blog. Green tea has many health benefits and is commonly used in china beverages.(PMID: 20370896) Now Green tea has a nutrient name epigallocatechin gallate. Let’s make it short form to understand it better EGCG, many health benefits are related to this nutrient present in GREEN TEA LEAVES, but it’s in small amounts; hence to get this nutrient (EGCG) in suitable dosages, it is extracted from green tea leaves through a chemical process and get packed in capsule form and labeled as GREEN TEA EXTRACT SUPPLEMENT and sold in the market.(PMID: 16876833)(PMID: 26198245)(PMID: 27883924)

 

Now let’s understand what the purpose of making this Supplement is. This is important.

Most foods contain protein, but they also contain Carbohydrates and fats. In fact, Soya, Legumes, Pulses, and Dals contain more carbohydrates than proteins. In contrast, Eggs, Chicken, Red meat, and Paneer contain High-quality protein as well as fat. Now that doesn’t make them good or bad, but it makes it difficult for people who need protein to build muscle and reduce or maintain body fat. Also, WHEY is the fast digest protein that gets digested faster(PMID: 9405716). On the other hand, it is very convenient to carry & consume this protein powder during traveling or on a busy schedule. Also, this protein powder looks pretty beneficial for vegetarian people so they can get a sufficient amount of protein without getting much Carbohydrates & fat.

These Protein powders are also very convenient and helpful to the old age population who don’t have an appetite to eat whole food or don’t have teeth to chew it. These powders can also help people gain muscle mass lost due to an accident or severe illness. Hence this WHEY which comes from Whole milk, gets extracted and stored in powder form so that it can be used easily just by adding some water and mixing it; no need to cook or chew; hence it saves time and health people those who need it. 

Similarly, Green tea extract is made to get benefits like antioxidant, cognitive function, etc. through EGCG because the benefit is with dosages of EGCG. We can get this very easily through supplementation rather than Green tea leaves where you have to drink a good amount of cups daily also bearing bad taste of green tea extract which many times market as with pleasant taste in commercial advertisements done by heavily paid celebrities.

NOW THE QUESTION COMES, ARE THEY NECESSARY?

So the answer is NO & YES; exactly, it’s subjective. People who want to build muscle, lose body fat get shredded to a certain level, people with a busy schedule or any medical illness or old population for them it WHEY PROTEIN might be necessary on other hand people who want health and fitness and don’t bother about body aesthetic for them it is not required they can entirely rely on the whole good. So if you have read the above things carefully, you might have a good perspective.

Similarly, people who don’t have time for 4 to 5 cups of green drink daily due to taste and busy schedule or some other beverages habits like regular tea or coffee can benefit from having 1 to 2 capsules of green tea extract supplements.

 

NOW THE MOST CONCERNING QUESTION IS, DO THEY HAVE SIDE EFFECTS?

People who smoke cigarettes and consume alcohol also have this concern regarding supplements! I can understand it’s not supplements that scare them. The image of the capsule relates them to the medicinal pill. Also, you might have heard about kidney stone or liver failure due to consumption of specific supplementation.

So the answer is again NO & YES; strictly, it’s based on dosages and the brand. Dosage is something which can make anything poison, even water too. Consuming whey protein without any purpose is similar to drinking lots of milk or consuming lots of eggs or chicken without any reason can put you in trouble. Your body needs a reason to process these nutrients. Similarly, a specific population who can’t tolerate green tea extract in regular dosages due to a lack of enzymes in their liver (I will get into the detail in some other blog) can be in trouble. Hence the thumb rule is always to start new things with small dosages, give the body time to adapt and build its strength, and then gradually increase dosages and get to the optimum level.

 The whole purpose of this blog is to educate people about the supplement, and that they are not magic or evil, they can be very beneficial if used with proper research. Just because something is in powder, capsule, or tablet form doesn’t make it harmful. It would be best to educate yourself to discover what is precisely inside it and how and why they are made.