How Long Should I Take Supplements? 3 Common Time Frames

A mother talking to her two children while holding health supplements.

Supplementation timelines vary depending on your symptoms and health goals.

One of the most common questions that people have when they start taking natural medicine is, how long should I take supplements for? The answer varies depending on your goals. In this article, we will discuss three common supplement time frames: 1) short-term supplementation for temporary symptom relief, 2) medium-term supportive supplementation to optimize a specific area of health, and 3) long-term nutritional supplementation to cover gaps in diet.

Note: This article provides general information based on our opinions and professional experience. It may not apply to your individual circumstances; always get personalized guidance from your own healthcare provider.

1. Short-Term Supplementation for Symptom Relief

Short-term supplementation for the relief of temporary symptoms that crop up from time to time is one of the most common ways that people use natural medicine. This type of supplementation is highly intuitive: Start using the appropriate product when symptoms arise and stop using it after they resolve. In some cases, people like to continue using these targeted supplements for a week or so after symptoms resolve.

When using supplements this way, it is important to stop using them if symptoms worsen or if symptoms fail to improve within the expected timeframe. Though it varies by symptom and by individual, as a rule of thumb, you should begin to experience temporary relief of minor issues within 15-30 minutes, sometimes sooner. Generally, improvements build over time and with repeated doses. These supplements often need to be re-dosed regularly until the symptom is fully resolved. This is true of supplements like Nature Profen, Nature Tussin, Col-Icky, and Peace & Calm.

When it comes to acute immune support — Zinc Defense, Nature’s Biotic, Elderberry Elixir — improvements in symptoms should begin to be seen after following the label directions for 1-3 days; improvements are expected to continue until symptoms are resolved.

Knowing when to contact a doctor for evaluation is important, and self-treatment with supplements shouldn’t be a substitute for professional healthcare. Times when it is important to contact your healthcare provider include any moderate to severe symptoms, worsening symptoms, chronic symptoms, or symptoms in a very young infant or otherwise vulnerable person.

2. Medium-Term Supplemental Support for Optimizing A Specific Aspect of Health

Many people use supplements to optimize a specific aspect of their health. Examples include probiotics for good gut health, histamine supporting herbs during pollen season, immune support herbs in the fall and winter, nootropics for optimum cognitive function, and nervine herbs to support a calm, balanced mood and nervous system.

This is a medium-term supplementation strategy and in general should be reassessed seasonally or every 3 months. Reassessment involves taking a look back to see how your health has improved and considering whether to continue for another 3 months or so.

As with short-term supplementation, timelines vary quite a bit by individual, but in general, you should start feeling improvements in your health after beginning supplementation in the following timelines:

Digestion: 1-4 weeks
Mood: 1-4 weeks
Cognitive function: 2-4 weeks
Energy: 2-4 weeks
Respiratory: 2-6 weeks
Skin: 2-6 weeks
Joints: 4-8 weeks
Female hormones: 2-4 cycles

A woman looking over her shoulder and smiling happily.

Of course, improvements may be felt sooner than this, and you will likely continue to experience improvements over the coming weeks and months. This type of supplementation is best guided by a professional who can assist you with strategy.

Next we cover three common medium-term supplementation strategies to improve 1) immune health, 2) detoxification, 3) gut health after probiotics.

Seasonal Immune Support

Supplementation for immune support and balance is a popular strategy in our community — particularly in the fall and winter months, during back-to-school season, and when traveling.

Timelines can vary from family to family, but many find that the following work:

Seasonal immune support: begin when you notice days getting shorter and cooler, and continue as long as “bugs” are going around in the community.
School/daycare: begin 1-2 weeks before school or daycare begins, and continue as long as “bugs” are going around the classroom.
Travel: begin 1-2 weeks before travel, and continue for the duration of the trip plus 1-2 weeks after returning home.

Supplements that are often used for medium-term immune support include Immunity Boost, Immune Support Max, Elderberry Elixir, Essential Immune Support for Kids or Adults, and more.

Detox Support

A short-term detox regime is a well-loved strategy among natural-health aficionados for getting health back on track after a period of suboptimal habits or feeling symptoms like sluggish digestion, low energy, low-grade headaches, dull skin, achiness, PMS, brain fog, etc.

When doing a detox, good diet and lifestyle habits are foundational and herbal detox support like Clease & Reset and Lovin’ Your Liver Detox are an optional boost.

General detox timelines:

Seasonal: 1-2 weeks
After a holiday: 2-7 days
After taking medication or a long period of suboptimal habits: 2-4 weeks or until feeling like your “old self.”

If you’re interested in learning more about detoxification, you may like the following articles:

Gut Health Support After Antibiotics

Many people like to take probiotics after a round of antibiotics in order to offer their microbiome and gut health some TLC. There is no shortage of opinions on the best way to care for the microbiome after antibiotics. What follows is our opinion, which has changed over the years and may continue to do so as we become aware of new information in the field. When in doubt, check in with your healthcare provider to make a plan that is customized to your unique health and circumstances.

General timelines for probiotic usage after antibiotics:

Antibiotic Support Probiotic: during antibiotic use + 2-4 weeks after
Maintenance Probiotic (e.g. Infant & Kids or Women’s Health): minimum 2-3 months after Antibiotic Support Probiotic
Optional Gut Support Herbs TummEase (Kids) or Cleanse & Reset (Adult): as needed for digestive comfort

For more information about healing the gut, check out these articles:

3. Long-term Supplemental Support to Address Nutritional Gaps

Because our modern diets aren’t as complete or nutritious as we’d like, many people turn to supplementation to make up for nutritional gaps in their diet. In this case, supplementation can happen year round or as long as the diet is missing key foods.

Our supplemental long-term nutritional support includes:

Omega 3 fatty acids for those who consume less than 2 servings of fatty fish per week
Grass Fed & Finished Beef Liver Capsules to provide micronutrient support to those who don’t consume enough animal products
Nature’s Nutrients to provide micronutrient support to those who don’t consume a wide variety of plants
Prenatal & Postnatal Daily Nutrients to support the micronutrient needs of moms and their growing babies.
D3 + K2 in child and adult dosages for those who may not create enough vitamin D3 through sun exposure
Methyl Factors (methylated B12 + folate) for people who need extra methylation support.
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Summary

An important part of any supplement plan is knowing how long you plan to take supplements and when you expect to see improvements. Though individual circumstances vary, in general short-term supplementation should continue as long as symptoms are present, medium-term supplementation to improve a specific aspect of health should be reviewed at least every three months, and long-term supplementation for nutritional gaps can continue for as long as certain nutrients are lacking in the diet.

The opinions in this blog article are based on the education and experience of the Dr. Green Life Team.