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What to Watch on Dietary Supplements |
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Written by ray
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Thursday, 24 August 2006 |
A prescribed dietary supplement is intended to supply nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fatty acids or amino acids) that are missing or not consumed in sufficient quantity in a person's diet. This may include herbal supplements which have a history of claims that they cure or prevent certain diseases. The medical utility and regulatory status of dietary supplements is controversial. Successfully controlling diabetes is complicated, and a new study indicates that diabetics who take dietary supplements, while following other healthy behaviors, feel healthier and look after themselves better.
The dietary supplement industry is a dynamic one. Scientific research on the associations between supplements and health is accumulating rapidly. The number of products — and the variety of uses for which they are promoted — have increased significantly in the last few years. Dietary supplements appear in forms like capsules, tablets, gelcaps, liquids and softgels. While they are typically obtained form drug and health store, dietary supplements are also extensively bought from national discount chain stores, groceries, food stores, direct sales, TV advertisements and via online vendors and websites. Dietary supplements should not also be used as diet replacements. They have no known (and proven) nutritional benefits and may as well bring adverse effects due to their unknown properties.
Being the supreme authority over foods and drug regulations, the FDA has the primary power to oversee everything that pertains to dietary supplements such as product information, production, distribution, claims and the likes. It is also powered with regulatory jurisdiction both on advertisement and the medical literatures that cover specific dietary supplements. Under any circumstances, FDA only allows three basic claims to be used in dietary supplements. This helps in the elimination of misleading assertions that often cause consumers to doubt of the dietary supplements properties. These basic claims include: nutrition support claims, disease claims and nutrient-content claims which must be employed only when appropriate.
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