Nutritional supplements

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Nutritional supplements are meant to complement a healthy diet, not replace it. If you're generally healthy and eat a wide variety of foods, you probably don't need nutritional supplements.

In certain cases, however, fortified foods and dietary supplements may be useful in providing one or more nutrients. For example, women who are pregnant or hoping to conceive are advised to take prenatal vitamins that contain folic acid.

You also may want to consider a nutritional supplement if you don't eat enough healthy foods or don't eat a healthy variety of foods — especially if you have an underlying medical condition.

Talk with your doctor or a dietitian about whether nutritional supplements might be appropriate for you. Be sure to ask about possible side effects of nutritional supplements you're considering — and if they have interactions with medications you take.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free, and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID-19, plus expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

Nov. 19, 2021

See also

  1. Alcohol use
  2. Alkaline water
  3. Artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes
  4. Autism spectrum disorder and digestive symptoms
  5. Bad food habits at work? Get back on track in 5 steps
  6. Breastfeeding nutrition: Tips for moms
  7. Why is BVO in my drink?
  8. Butter vs. margarine
  9. Caffeine content
  10. Caffeine: How much is too much?
  11. Is caffeine dehydrating?
  12. Calcium
  13. Timing calcium supplements
  14. Calorie calculator
  15. COVID-19 and vitamin D
  16. Can vitamins help prevent a heart attack?
  17. Can whole-grain foods lower blood pressure?
  18. Can zinc supplements help treat hidradenitis suppurativa?
  19. Carbohydrates
  20. Chart of high-fiber foods
  21. Cholesterol: Top foods to improve your numbers
  22. Clear liquid diet
  23. Coconut water: Is it super hydrating?
  24. Coffee and health
  25. Cuts of beef
  26. DASH diet
  27. DASH diet
  28. DASH diet: Recommended servings
  29. Sample DASH menus
  30. DASH diet: Shopping and cooking tips
  31. Diet soda: How much is too much?
  32. Dietary fats
  33. Dietary fiber
  34. Diverticulitis attack triggers
  35. Diverticulitis diet
  36. Vitamin C and mood
  37. Prickly pear cactus
  38. Does soy really affect breast cancer risk?
  39. Don't get tricked by these 3 heart-health myths
  40. Eggs and cholesterol
  41. Enlarged prostate: Does diet play a role?
  42. Fast food: Tips for choosing healthier options
  43. Fasting diet: Can it improve my heart health?
  44. Fiber supplements
  45. Ground flaxseed
  46. Food safety
  47. Foodborne illness
  48. Gluten sensitivity and psoriasis: What's the connection?
  49. Gluten-free diet
  50. Gout diet: What's allowed, what's not
  51. Grass-fed beef
  52. Slide show: Heart-healthy eating after acute coronary syndrome
  53. Heartburn medicines and B-12 deficiency
  54. High-protein diets
  55. How to track saturated fat
  56. Intermittent fasting
  57. Juicing
  58. Kratom and pregnancy: Not a safe mix
  59. Low-fiber diet
  60. Low-glycemic index diet
  61. Meatless meals
  62. Mediterranean diet
  63. Menus for heart-healthy eating
  64. Moldy cheese
  65. Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
  66. Multivitamins for kids
  67. Nutrition rules that will fuel your workout
  68. Nuts and your heart: Eating nuts for heart health
  69. Omega-3 in fish
  70. Omega-6 fatty acids
  71. Organic foods
  72. Paleo diet
  73. Phenylalanine
  74. Picnic Problems: High Sodium
  75. Prenatal vitamins
  76. Probiotics and prebiotics
  77. Magnesium supplements
  78. Safely reheat leftovers
  79. Sea salt vs. table salt
  80. Health foods
  81. Mediterranean diet
  82. Vegetable recipes
  83. Antioxidants
  84. Fruit 5 ways
  85. Guide to gourmet salt
  86. Guide to herbs and spices
  87. Portion control
  88. Cooking fish
  89. Guide to beans and legumes
  90. Planning healthy meals
  91. High-fiber diet
  92. Sodium
  93. Taurine in energy drinks
  94. Nutrition and pain
  95. Vitamin C megadoses
  96. Trans fat
  97. Underweight: Add pounds healthfully
  98. Vegetarian diet
  99. Vitamin D and MS: Any connection?
  100. Vitamin D deficiency
  101. Can a lack of vitamin D cause high blood pressure?
  102. Vitamin D for babies
  103. Vitamin D toxicity
  104. Vitamins for MS: Do supplements make a difference?
  105. Water after meals
  106. Daily water requirement
  107. What do the dates on food packages mean?
  108. What is BPA?
  109. What is meant by the term "heart age"?
  110. Whole grains
  111. Yerba mate