By Schuyler Corrigan

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January 25, 2024

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Many people have a cupboard full of supplements that have been accumulated over the months or even years. The supplements might have been acquired due to recommendations from a practitioner; social media mentions targeted advertisements, or seasonal fads. It’s easy to get carried away with acquiring supplements, but often, people cannot remember why they started taking a particular supplement in the first place. If you’re one of those people with a kitchen cabinet full of half-used supplements, it might be time to learn how to do a supplement audit at home to assess whether these supplements are still necessary for your wellness routine.

 

Here are the steps to do a supplement audit at home:

 

Step 1: Take out all your supplements and place them on a counter or table in front of you.

 

Step 2: Pick up each supplement individually and ask yourself, “Why am I taking this supplement?” If you have a clear answer and a current reason for continuing the supplement, place it in a separate pile. If you can’t remember why you were taking the supplement or haven’t been taking it routinely for a specific reason, place it in another pile.

 

Step 3: In the pile of “currently taking for good reasons,” check the expiration date of each supplement. If any expired, dispose of the contents and recycle the bottle. Make a list of these supplements to replace if necessary.

 

Step 4: As you sort through the pile of supplements that you are currently taking for good reason and that have not yet expired, ask yourself if you have been taking any of them for more than a year. If the answer is yes, it may be time to reassess the need for the supplement or make an appointment with your prescribing provider to ensure it’s still applicable to your current state of health or if you need to discontinue or change the dose.

 

Supplements should change as your health changes. Make sure to update your supplement protocol as your health status changes yearly or season to season if needed.

 

Step 5: If you have been taking a supplement consistently for six months or more, ask yourself if you have seen or felt any benefit from it since you started. If you answered no, please write it down and consult your prescribing nutritionist or physician to follow up on any relevant lab work or to confirm whether it is still appropriate to continue taking the medication for the original reasons given.

 

Step 6: In the pile of “I can’t remember why I started taking this supplement,” check the expiration date of each supplement. It’s important to properly dispose of the contents and recycle the bottle if any of your supplements have expired. Please take a moment to consider whether you have any valid reasons to continue taking supplements that have not expired. If you do, make a note of it and check with your healthcare provider. If you don’t have a valid reason, it’s likely that you can remove that supplement from your collection.

 

Finally, with the remaining supplements, you can bring them to your ND at Richmond Natural Medicine and double-check if they still apply to your current state of health. Naturopathic doctors are here to tailor your health routine to your current state of health and future health goals. Getting a second set of professional eyes on your supplement routine might be helpful to keep them therapeutically hopeful and financially sensible to your lifestyle and budget.