Nutritional Supplements

Nutritional Supplements & Compounding Solutions

Pavilion Compounding Pharmacy carries a variety of nutritional products. We always consider the healing power of nature in the selection of products and manufacturers. It is our pleasure to work with your physician in any nutritional recommendations.

Drug-induced nutrient depletion occurs when the medications we are taking for our various health issues block the absorption, storage, metabolism, or synthesis of essential nutrients in the body. When nutrients are blocked or depleted in this fashion over a prolonged period of time, health problems can develop secondary to those depletions. An example would be with drugs such as Prilosec®, Nexium®, Protonix®, Prevacid®, or any other proton pump inhibitor where both magnesium and calcium are depleted.

Pavilion Compounding Pharmacy also carries many high-potency, multi-strain probiotics as well as professional-grade omega 3 oils. Visit our virtual dispensary or our online shop to browse our vast supply of products to meet your individual needs!

Benefits of Nutritional Supplements

Good nutrition is essential for optimal health, but eating right is not always possible. Busy schedules, limited accessibility to fresh whole foods, and personal tastes can prevent anyone from consuming the wide variety of foods they need for complete nutrition. Furthermore, certain weight loss diets and other special diets may prevent someone from eating foods including all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients they need for good health. What’s even worse is that some fruits and vegetables are not as nutritious as they used to be. This leaves a large number of people at risk for nutritional deficiencies.

Nutritional deficiencies can cause a number of health problems. Poor nutrition can be difficult to remedy, in that one person may not get enough omega-3 fatty acids and another person may have a vitamin B deficiency. Fortunately, a nutritional supplement can boost levels of specific vitamin or mineral, or replenish a broad spectrum of nutrients missing from an otherwise healthy diet.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates both finished dietary supplement products and dietary ingredients. There are currently no FDA approved supplements – drug manufacturing professionals are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products prior marketing.

Types of Dietary Supplements

Dietary supplements include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and herbal supplements, known botanicals.  The 14 vitamins in food help the body grown and function properly. Different vitamins do different jobs, such as helping the body resist infection, maintain nerve health, promote proper blood clotting, and get energy from food.

Minerals, such as calcium, build strong bones and teeth. Iron helps transport oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Potassium keeps the muscles and nervous system working properly, while zinc helps the immune system fight off infection and illnesses.

Amino acids and proteins are the building blocks of life, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The body breaks down the proteins in food into amino acids, and then uses these amino acids to make proteins it can use for various functions. Amino acids help the body break down food, grow, repair body tissue, and perform a wide variety of other jobs.

There are three types of amino acids:

Essential amino acids – cannot be made by the human body and therefore only available from food; the 9 amino acids are histidine, leucine, lysine, isoleucine, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine,tryptophan, and valine

Nonessential amino acids – can be made by the human body when it is not available from food; nonessential amino acids include asparagine, arginine, alanine, glutamic acid, cysteine, glutamine, aspartic acid, proline, glycine, serine, and tyrosine

Conditional amino acids – not essential except during illness or stress; conditional amino acids include arginine, glutamine, cysteine, tyrosine, ornithine, glycine, proline, and serine

While it is not necessary to get all nonessential and essential amino acids at every meal, it is important to get a balance of them throughout the day. Nutritional supplements can ensure complete nutrition every day.

Dietary supplements may also include probiotics, enzymes, and metabolites. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that live in the body, usually in the digestive tract. Enzymes support a variety of physiological functions, such as breaking down the carbohydrates and proteins in food. Metabolites play a role in metabolism, which is the conversion of food into life-giving energy.

Nutritional Supplements and Side Effects

The active ingredients in many supplements can have a strong effect on the body. In some cases, active ingredients and non-active ingredients can cause side effects.

The risks for side effects are greatest when the consumer takes supplements at high doses, instead of prescription medicine, or taking multiple supplements at once. Some supplements increase the risk of bleeding or can change the individual’s response to anesthesia. The Office of Dietary Supplements warns that some supplements can interact with medicines in dangerous ways. For example, vitamin K can prevent Coumadin from thinning blood and preventing blood clots. St. John’s wort can hasten the breakdown of certain drugs, such as heart disease medicines, and reduce their effectiveness. Antioxidant supplements, such as vitamins C and E, can decrease the effectiveness of certain cancer chemotherapies.

The Importance of Compounding Nutritional Supplements

Drug compounding can help consumers get the nutrients they need at the right doses. Compounded drugs contain two or more active ingredients, combined to maximize the effectiveness of their active ingredients while reducing the risk of side effects. Blended in a variety of combinations, compounded medication ensures that each patient gets exactly what he or she needs in convenient doses. A supplement product might contain fish oils along with calcium, iron, or vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, or D, for example.

Compounding nutritional supplements can also greatly reduce the number of doses throughout the day. Instead of taking 5 supplements, for example, someone can take all 5 in one easy pill.

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