Health Supplements: Should People Take Health Supplements or Are There are So Many Dangers?

Blood samples were taken before and after the study to compare changes in calcium homeostasis and bone biomarkers. The Wilcoxon paired-sample test was used to assess baseline samples to supplementation and exercise samples after the 8-week study with the statistical significance set at p<0.05. The results showed and increase of 42.8% in 25-OH-vitamin D and a 17.5% decrease in PTH and 14.6% in BAP. The researchers findings suggest, the combination of vitamin C and E coupled with aerobic training may improve the regulation of calcium levels through the effect on bone that normally decreases in the elderly and further study with longer durations should be undertaken to evaluate BMD and fracture risk.

An increasing number of people are using products to enhance their diets. A recent estimate indicates, “Americans are spending some $6 billion annually on nutritional supplements, and the market is growing by 20% every year” (Zahn, 1997). Of these supplements, the increase in herbal remedy use is most dramatic. Zahn holds that the increase can be attributed to the widely held belief that herbal substances are healthy and harmless because of their natural origins (1997). Unfortunately, research on these supplements, herbal or otherwise, has not transmitted to the public as quickly as the diet enhancers themselves. The phenomenon leaves many consumers misguided by skewed advertising and

Dietary supplements are becoming more and more widely used. Whether it be for sport performance, herbal, or just a vitamin, many are being used and misused. People do not understand how dietary supplements are regulated and what the pros and cons are.

advising them on when to take them. Adding calcium and vitamin D to diet helps with bone density.

According to the 2002 Harris poll, seven out of ten adults in the United States take vitamins, minerals, herbs, or other supplements (Schardt 2). Due to media advertising, dietary supplements are becoming more popular. Companies compete to have the best supplements. It is said that forty percent of American adults take vitamin supplements and over the counter products, which total in several billion dollars (Farley 2). Although many of the supplements claim to be healthy and help lose weight, the dangers are endless. Dietary supplements can be illegally spiked and are not safe. Therefore, putting regulations on dietary supplements and their safety hazards is necessary.

The body can synthesize vitamin D with the help of sunlight, from a precursor that the body makes from cholesterol. Osteoporosis is, " any failure to synthesize adequate vitamin D or obtain enough from foods sets the stage for a loss of calcium from the bones, which can result in fractures" (Whitney & Rolfes, 2013, p. 349). There are several common risk factors for developing osteoporosis, which lead to the condition of reduced bone density.

As osteoporosis occurs due to calcium deficiency, diet habit changes are crucial, allowing the body to recover and strengthen the bones. Bone strengthening nutrition often includes an increase intake of calcium and vitamin D (5).

include Calcium and Phosphate both can only be useful to bones when the needed amount of Vitamin D is present in the body to absorb it. The elements create strong bones and protect against disorders such as osteomalacia, which is the softening of bones. This vitamin is also needed for your immune system to function properly, since it helps combat infections and viruses. The immune system is not the only system in your body affected by Vitamin D, in fact almost everything you do is aided by Vitamin D, the respiratory system is just another example. The reason we can breathe easily is because our body has the recommended amount of Vitamin D to ensure healthy

Omega-3s are also influential in promoting cardiovascular health by lowering the heart rate and pressure, reducing risk of cancer, and improving mental health from conditions (like depression and bipolar disorder) and a host of other health conditions.

3. Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains serum calcium and phosphate concentrations to enable normal mineralization of bone and to prevent hypocalcemia tetany. It is also needed for bone growth and bone remodeling by osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Without significant vitamin D bones can become brittle, thin, or misshapen. Vitamin D sufficiency rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Together with calcium and vitamin D also helps protect older adults form osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to become weak and fragile. While reading the controversy on page 328 in our books it was interesting to me how this disease affects people more so by their gene, sex, age, and race. What also popped out to me was how later on in life we cannot make up the calcium we failed to take in our younger years. The amount of Calcium and Vitamin D we take as children affects us all the way into our older age. Of course taking Calcium and Vitamin D at any age is better than not taking any at all, but it does not stop osteoporosis it can only slow it down.

As prescription drug is becoming more and more common and widespread among the American society, it is obvious that drugs should have high quality in order to protect the consumers from any substantial danger that the drug could pose. Not just prescription drugs but dietary supplements as well. There has been an 80 percent increase in dietary supplement consumptions. But sadly the The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (1994) has helped manufacturers from facing FDA regulations. Furthermore, dietary supplements are being labeled as food and I don’t believe that they should be because people are less educated when it comes to medication and drugs, so if they happen to take in contaminated drugs, they would not know how to deal with

One of the best ways to have healthy bones is carrying a food with fresh, unprocessed foods, which maximizes natural minerals, so that the body can have the raw materials needed to perform their functions.Nutrients that play a fundamental role in bone health are calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, fluorine, vitamins D and K, macronutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates and fats, and other dietary components such as oxalates , phytates, fiber, sodium and caffeine. Getting enough calcium is essential to maintain adequate bone mass from early adulthood to old age

The “accrual of high-level evidence,” according to a review of studies that was published last year in an American Medical Association journal, shows “that the supplements lack efficacy across a range of health outcomes.”

You have only to walk down the aisle at your local supermarket to discover that there has been a vitamin revolution. Every possible vitamin and mineral needed by the body is available in capsule, pill, tablet, or powder form. Once your body has reached the point of unhealthy functioning, or you have placed such a strain on your body from over consumption that one of the related diseases has taken hold, it's almost impossible to correct one problem without creating another” (Fir, 2005.p1). This is why eating the right amount and the right foods and staying away from alcohol are the best way to go. Having a healthy diet is not as far fetched as people may think all they need to do is develop a healthy eating habit and stick to it. If society doesn’t start thinking about the health risks that follow by not eating healthy and drinking alcohol in the future can be deadly because some of the major organs in the body can stop working from not being properly taken care of, and alcohol can play a major part in this also.