Why Do Dietary Supplements

“In the United Sates, dietary supplements are regulated by the FDA through the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act” (Schmillen, 2013., p. 4) but in 1994 the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act was altered by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) to create more current standards for dietary supplements (Schmillen, 2013., p. 4). “The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines a dietary ingredient as a vitamin; mineral; herb or other botanical; amino acid; dietary substance

The ingredients are extracted from the natural source with no history of serious side effects

Diabetes is a common health condition among many Americans today. As of 2014, 29.1 million people or 9.3 percent of the American population have diabetes and 86 million, or one out of three, Americans have pre-diabetes which increases one's risk for developing diabetes1. Since diabetes is a top health concern for a great number of Americans, many are open to integrative practices including dietary supplementation. With half of the American population using at least one dietary supplement and as an increasing number of Americans look to integrative medicine2, it is no surprise many opt for dietary supplements to aid in diabetes management. Cinnamon is a common household spice used in many culinary preparations and can be found as a dietary

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

In addition, be careful as certain brands of synthetic vitamins are labeled "organic" because they contain carbon. This is a marketing trick, because in order to successfully integrate all these elements into the capsules in addition to the vitamins, manufacturers have only one option: to reduce the doses of each product. Indeed, published scientific research shows that vitamins of food origin are nutritionally superior to their synthetic analogues.

When I am considering the credibility of a source, I look for formal education and fact-based evidence. In my experience, a patient's health literacy extends to that of TV advertisements and internet searches. While this can result in receiving factual information; it is easily misinterpreted. This results in risky self diagnosis and treatment. As a healthcare professional, I believe that interdisciplinary team members are working hard to meet the challenge of helping people find appropriate supplements, but there is still work to be done. Lack of covered medications by insurance companies forces patients to modify their prescribed regimen, as a result, turning to less expensive options including OTC and herbal supplements or stopping therapy

There are many different work out supplements. Some of those work out supplements are Proteins/Amino Acids, Performance Supplements, Energy Boosting Products, and Vitamins.

Even though the Pharmaceutical companies do not support it, Natural is a better option for your health because glutathione is capable of reversing damage to living cells, furthermore it is very simple to introduce into your body.

A dietary supplement is a product intended for ingestion that contains a dietary ingredient intended to add further nutritional value to supplement the diet. (8) Dietary supplements are a combination of vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, etc. more than half of adults in the United States use at least one type of dietary supplement. There are many pros and cons that come with using dietary supplements. Pros are they could help prevent certain diseases, they could correct and prevent nutrient deficiencies, and they help poor dietary habits. The cons are the side effects, potential toxicity, and they aren’t regulated.

Many believe that if they purchase natural health supplements that encompass vitamins and minerals that they are

The clear definition of an herbal supplement is defined by The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) as a product not a drug. The product contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, and dietary constituents for use to supplement the diet (“Using Dietary Supplements Wisely,” 2014). Like medications, dietary supplements exert both negative and positive effects to the body. Supplements may improve health but they also produce the potential harmful if interacting with certain drugs. For this reason, dietary supplements are regulated by FDA to ensure both safety and effectiveness

Bear in mind, that some consumer advocacy organizations such as the Natural Ingredient Resource Center (NIRC) considers a product “all natural”, if it contains at least 95% of ingredients which fits their criteria for natural ingredients. The other 5% may come from ingredients that do not meet their criteria for natural, but do not contain synthetic fragrances, artificial colors or ingredients from petrochemicals. The toxicity of each ingredient must also be minimal. So a product label which reads, “All Natural,” may not be same as one that states, “100% All Natural.” In addition to not using synthetics during the production process, organic foods are not genetically modified and do not contain any chemical food additives or solvents. Many industrialized countries including the United States require special certification for producers to list foods as organic. Therefore, organic food is distinct from private gardening or natural foods. Organic refers to both the food itself and the food production process used to produce the finished food product. In the United States, the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 in combination with Title 7, Part 205 of the Code of Federal Regulations list the specific site requirements and standards required for producers to sell foods as organic.

Herbal supplements were initially used in China and the East but it has become prevalent in the United States. As stated in the Tachjian et al. (2010) article, the herbal remedy market takes in over $34 billion annually, as 15 million Americans consume some form of the product, such as remedies or vitamins. Interestingly enough more people visit alternative medicine providers than a primary healthcare physician (Self, 2010). Herbal remedies and therapy fall “under the category of biological based therapies, which uses substances found in nature, such as herbs, food, vitamins, minerals, and botanicals” (Dossey & Keegan, 56). Herbal medicines are derived from plants and fungi through alcoholic extraction or decoction. The notion that these herbal supplements are natural, therefore they are safer for consumption is a huge misconception perpetuated by the manufacturer and well placed advertising. The use of these supplements can be harmful when combined with other drugs and can lead to death if the interactions are not properly monitored or even examined, as “herbs that seem safe under normal conditions for healthy people may not be safe for certain patient groups” (Tascilar et al., 736). These readily available and seemingly safe alternatives to prescription medicine can lead patients to unforeseen

“a product, intended to supplement the diet, that contains one or more of the following dietary ingredients: a vitamin, a mineral, an herb, or other botanical; an amino acid; a dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake; or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of any of these ingredients; 2) is intended for ingestion in tablet, capsule, powder, softgel, gelcap or liquid form; 3) is not represented for use as a conventional food or as a sole item of a meal or the diet; and 4) is labeled as a dietary supplement.” (3)

The ingredients should ideally follow FDA guidelines and be manufactured in a facility that is FDA-registered. You need to be aware that if the ingredients of a product are not listed online, it should not be trusted.