Nutrition Final - Dietary Supplements
Research on Supplements?
"Weight loss Supplements Found to Contain Dangerous Drug" -->Published in chemistry journal Drug Testing and Analysis "Many herbal supplements don't include what's on the label" -->Testing commissioned by the NY Attorney Generals Office
What is the best advice?
BUYER BEWARE!
Examples??
-->An herbal supplement may not contain the correct plant species. -->ingredient amount may be lower or higher than the label states. That means you may be taking less—or more—of the dietary supplement than you realize. -->supplement may be contaminated with other herbs, pesticides, or metals, or even adulterated with un-labeled, illegal ingredients such as prescription drugs.
What do you have to be aware of?
Be aware that... 1) herbal supplement may contain dozens of compounds and that all of its ingredients may not be known 2) the possibility that what's on the label may not be what's in the bottle -->Analyses of dietary supplements sometimes find differences between labeled and actual ingredients.
What is the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994?
FDA regulates dietary supplements under a different set of regulations than those covering "conventional" foods and drug products (prescription and Over-the-Counter).
Who is responsible for taking action against any unsafe dietary supplement product after it reaches the market?
FDA, Food and Drug Administration
Who's job is it to make sure that product label information is truthful and not misleading?
Manufacturers
Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), who is responsible for ensuring that a dietary supplement is safe before it is marketed?
The dietary supplement manufacture
How do they know that a supplement is unsafe?
The people get sick or die
Do manufacturers need to register their products with FDA and get FDA approval before producing or selling dietary supplements?
They do not need to
Proprietary Blends?
Used to define legal ownership of a specific blend of specific ingredients Allows manufacturers to put what they want on the labels HIDE WHAT THEY WANT Prevents investigation into whether the product is safe and/or is effective
