When trying a new supplement, like most people, you probably wonder “how will I know if it’s working?” The answer is either “Give it time, and you’ll feel it working,” or “Give it time, and you won’t feel it working.”

If you’re thinking, “Huh?”, please let me explain.

To know when a supplement is working, you must first understand the two kinds of supplements in question.

Let’s tackle the “Huh?” supplements first, the ones you won’t feel working.

How do I know I need a supplement?

When there’s a vitamin or other nutrient deficiency, it’s sometimes symptom-free, something you won’t know you have. You may assume that “I feel fine, so I must be fine.”

Unfortunately, in the case of nutrients like vitamins C and D3 and nutrients like CoQ10, to name just a few absolutely essential health givers, it’s unlikely you really are fine.

I’ll focus on D3 for the moment, but almost every other supplement falls into the “feel it” or “won’t feel it” category.

Too many of us are dangerously D3 deficient—and don’t know it. I say dangerously because a 2014 study found that people with vitamin D3 deficiency were twice as likely to die prematurely—from all causes.

Why?

The logic is simple. D3, as well as C and CoQ10, are prime players in millions of cellular interactions we literally can’t live without—and can contribute to an early death if not present or not functioning properly.

In the US and Europe, it’s estimated that more than two-thirds of the population is D3-deficient, and that roughly 13 percent of all deaths in the US, and 9 percent in Europe, could be attributed to D3 deficiency.

Similar deficiencies are found in vitamin C, in the B vitamins complex, in CoQ10, hormones, essential minerals like magnesium and potassium, essential fatty acids. Just about everything we need to thrive, most of us just don’t keep a full tank of.

So here’s a gentle reminder to all of you good people who feel fine—please get yourself tested for D3 and any other deficiencies. Remember that all of the essential nutrients, working together, can reliably:

• Help boost your immune system
• Reduce your risk of high blood pressure
• Lower your blood pressure if it’s high
• Reduce your risk of depression
• Reduce your risk of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and several kinds of cancer
• Help delay, even prevent, cognitive decline, generally, and Alzheimer’s, specifically

When To Take Supplements?

A twice-yearly C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test, and other tests like the hemoglobin A1C test as needed, are dependable measures of what’s going on in your body. Their results will help your doctor see your benchmark levels of all the essential nutrients and customize an overall health plan that might include a supplement or two.

So now let’s look at the other type of supplement, the type that brings results you can feel or see.

How do you know your supplement is working?

It depends on what your supplement is meant to do. If it’s meant to relieve symptoms or attack their causes, you should feel it working over time. Because nutritional supplements work with your body’s natural chemistry to gradually correct deficiencies or imbalances, they can take a few days to several weeks before you feel them “kick in”.

For example, if you’re taking a supplement for arthritis, it could take a week or two to start to feel more flexible and limber…with results that continue ramping up over the next several days and weeks.

Your joints didn’t start hurting overnight…so we can’t expect a healthy and effective remedy to work overnight either.

But here are just a few conditions that you can expect quick results from:

• Pain
• Allergies
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Digestion
• Insomnia
• Fatigue

On the other hand, if your supplement is meant to slow a disease’s progression, or to strengthen, rebuild, or replenish damaged cells or systems, it won’t be fast acting. Healing takes time, especially when it takes place at the micro-cellular level. So does your body’s adjustment to something new that you’re putting into it. And just as many diseases have no overt cause or symptoms until a long time has passed, it might be weeks or months before improvements show up in a measurable way.

Finally, if you’re supplementing for more strength or energy, it depends, of course, on your own benchmark level when you start. If you’re doing a maximum 10 repetitions of an exercise now, for example, and can do 20 repetitions a month later, that’s a pretty good sign your health is improving. If you can walk briskly for 10 minutes without feeling out of breath when you start, and you’re up to 20 minutes after a few weeks or months, ditto.

One last note on ensuring your supplement does what you want it to do.

You’ve got to believe. Studies have shown that a positive state of mind improves all health results.

But again, the best way to see if your supplement is working is to get tested before you start taking it, and test again after 6 months. If you see positive changes in what you’re testing for, congratulations. You can be sure your supplements are working.

So here’s to your good health.

References

• DeNoon, Daniel. “The Truth About Vitamin D: What Kind of Vitamin D is Best?” Published December 17, 2009. Last accessed April 27, 2018.
• Connealy, Leigh Erin. “5 Vital Vitamins and Minerals: A, B9, B12, Calcium, D3” Newport Natural Health. Published January 23, 2017. Last accessed April 27, 2018.
• Connealy, Leigh Erin “8 Vitamins for Eye Health” Newport Natural Health. Updated February 19, 2016. Last accessed April 27, 2018., 2018.
• Lite, Jordan. “Vitamin D deficiency soars in the U.S., study says” Scientific American. Published March 23, 2009. Last accessed April 27, 2018.
• “Vitamin D” Updated February 11, 2016. Last accessed February 10, 2018.
• Kolata, Gina “Why Are So Many People Popping Vitamin D?” New York Times. Published April 10, 2017. Last accessed April 27, 2018.
• “Vitamin B12 Deficiency: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment” Published April 19, 2017. Last accessed April 27, 2018.

Last Updated: May 22, 2021
Originally Published: May 10, 2018