About Supplements
Also known as food supplements, dietary supplements and nutritional supplements, “supplements” are over-the-counter medicines that provide nutrients that may be lacking in your diet. They can be vitamins, minerals, herbs, fatty acids or amino acids. This article will address safety concerns regarding the use of supplements.
Features
As of 1994, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instated the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) as a means to define what dietary supplements are and how they are to be sold.
It states that supplements are regulated according to food guidelines, as opposed to drug guidelines.
Since then, requirements have been put in place to ensure a certain degree of safety in the manufacturing and marketing of supplement products.
Currently, supplement manufactures are required to report any incidence of adverse effects caused by their products.
Identification
The FDA’s classification of supplements as “food” allows manufacturers more leeway than what is afforded the drug manufacturers. The quality of a supplement capsule isn’t regulated, which means the dosage listed on a bottle does not have to match what’s actually in the capsule.
Currently, there are no standardization guidelines applied in the manufacturing of supplements. However, the FDA is set to pass new rules governing the manufacturing and packaging of supplement products in 2010. The new rules will require accurate package labeling, meaning the dosage on the bottle will have to be in the capsule too.
Benefits
Natural supplements pose the least risk in terms of side effects and drug interactions, partly because they don’t remain in the body for long periods of time. A doctor’s prescription is not required, which makes them cheaper than prescription drugs.
Many natural supplements are used as preventive measures to ward off sickness. Researching the different types of herbs on the market will give you an idea of which ones to work into a preventive dietary plan.
Types
There are seemingly as many different types of supplements as there are physical ailments. In most cases, a certain amount of research is needed to determine which supplement is best for you. Some of the more common supplement types include:
*Multivitamin formulas for men, women, seniors, and prenatal women
*Bone and joint formulas
*Circulatory enhancing formulas
*Mood enhancement formulas
*PMS and menopausal formulas
*Digestive system formulas
*Cholesterol reducing formulas
FDA regulations prohibit manufacturers from making claims that a supplement can cure or treat a condition. Any label descriptions you find can only state how the product benefits a particular body function. Continue reading
Dietary supplements, which are and why they consume
Many are the times we were asked to serve as dietary supplements, and that is what they truly are.
The truth is that such supplements are capsules with natural products that help fight common problems or improve and we avoid the appearance of certain diseases, and thereby achieve a healthy body to 100%.
Dietary supplements are part of the food we consume daily in our diet, which acts as a complement to our daily diet to our basic needs by providing the necessary nutrients that our body needs. For the most part are made up, peptides, proteins, lipids, amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, herbs and dietary fiber.
Usually you will find in diet, health food stores and pharmacies in the form of capsules or tablets, as are foods, not drugs, they were expended without a prescription, since most have no contraindications.
Anyway here is the always say that before taking any health product, do your see your doctor you trust, remember that dietary supplements are made from vitamins, minerals, herbs and treatments that successfully reinforce the doctor has ordered. Always consult.
Malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies
Dietary supplements are composed of one or more nutrients which are finally added to the diet to correct specific nutritional deficiencies, assisting in the recovery of a patient and improve health.
Although a balanced diet by a person can get all the nutrients it needs, supplements are useful in cases of:
“Malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies: in key stages of life such as childhood, adolescence, pregnancy, lactation and age. These additions complement the nutrient-poor diets are useful in cases of alterations in intestinal absorption, chronic diarrhea, or immunosuppressive diseases.
“Anemia and low blood hemoglobin: the type in question is useful Dietary supplements of iron, folic acid and vitamin Continue reading