The role of dietary supplements in disease prevention and in maintaining health and well-being: lipid and carbohydrate metabolism as examples

Health cannot be understood simply as the absence of disease, but rather as a dynamic state of balance based on the body’s ability to adapt, self-regulate and maintain functionality over time. Well-being represents the subjective expression of this balance and of an individual’s physiological, mental and social resilience. It is within this conceptual framework that the use of dietary supplements can be situated, as they are increasingly used not only to prevent deficiencies but also to support the physiological processes that contribute to maintain health. Recognising both the complexity of obtaining evidence on the efficacy of dietary supplements and the need to adapt research methods in order to determine their efficacy, in the present narrative review we illustrated selected case studies (dietary fibre, phytosterols and bergamot) intended to maintain normal lipid and carbohydrate metabolism.