Supplements
Overview: Have you had your one-a-day today? Dietary (food) supplements taken by mouth via tablets, capsules, liquids, softgels, gelcaps, powders and bars is a common practice most mornings across the developed world. Individuals fixate on the notion that a multivitamin and mineral tablet or single supplement will insure they are getting adequate nutrition especially when they know they aren’t eating well. How valid is that thinking?
In the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, the U.S. Congress defined the term ‘dietary supplement’ as a product taken by mouth that contains a "dietary ingredient" intended to supplement the diet. The "dietary ingredients" in these products may include: vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C; herbs or other botanicals such as St. John’s Wort, and substances that come from a natural source --- organ tissues, enzymes, metabolites and glandulars such as glucosamine. Whatever their form may be, DSHEA places dietary supplements in a special category under the general umbrella of "foods," not drugs, and requires that every supplement be labeled a dietary supplement. Currently, makers of dietary supplements cannot legally say dietary supplements can diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. They can say, however, they contribute to health maintenance and well-being.
On June 22, 2007, the FDA finalized new regulations stating that manufacturers of dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, herbs and other supplements, will have to test their products for purity. Unlike pharmaceutical manufacturers, dietary supplement makers have not been required by law to prove their products are safe or effective. These new regulations now require a statement of safety and purity and they place of manufacture will be subject to periodic inspection.
What Thielen Student Health Center Can Do For You: The TSHC Wellness Center first asks you to review several reliable web sites with information on supplements about which you may have questions. If you still have questions, an appointment with a Registered, Licensed Dietitian will help you devise a daily eating plan to facilitate your getting adequate nutrients.
You may be asked to complete an online food frequency questionnaire to determine if you are omitting an entire food group either as a result of an allergy or a food dislike. A list of your current medications will be reviewed to determine if there is any drug-supplement interaction not previously shown. This may be done prior to or after an appointment.
Resources
Last update: 22 Oct 2007
For more information, please contact:
Iowa State University
Thielen Student Health Center
515-294-5801
