DIETARY SUPPLEMENT

Once, there were not many people who gave much thought to dietary supplements. Today, many supplements have crowded the market shelves. Even breakfast cereals, bread, and drinks are coming fortified with nutrients.

Popularity of dietary supplements

The growing popularity and increasing market base has prompted the introduction of many dietary supplements with new nutrients following different formulas. How popular they are can be judged by the fact that even doctors are have started prescribing dietary supplements.

The label

Every dietary supplement bottle sports a label. Labeling the bottle is a must. The label contains general informational details along with a list of all the nutrients used. The various nutrients in the supplement are listed according to their ratio present in the formula. Label proves an important source for verifying the efficacy of the product. How good a supplement is can be judged by checking out the properties of its nutrients. Information about the properties of the various nutrients can be had from medical books, websites and libraries.

Food and Drug Act and dietary supplement

Though these come under the purview of FDA they are regulated in a different manner when compared to food and drugs for they are different from either food or a drug. FDA reserves the right to renew or withdraw the license of any supplement at any time. However, withdrawing or cancellation of the license can be done on the basis of strong and valid reasons only.

Safety regulations

These supplements have been tested on animals wherever possible. People have used the dietary supplements. Any untoward reaction they experienced has been promptly reported. These have been recorded and the supplements have been verified once again on the basis of these reports. Thus dietary supplements are safe to such an extent. Still to be on the safer side, buying from reputed manufacturers and dealers is highly recommended.

Necessary precautions are advisable for

The very young and the very old should keep off these supplements. Pregnant women or ailing persons too should avoid dietary supplements as a precautionary measure.

Too much of nutrients are also harmful. Nutrients taken in their natural form in a well balanced diet are easily accepted by the body and cause no harm. But vitamins taken in a supplement form tend to build up in the body. The risk of over dosage is ever present. Overdose of vitamins are positively harmful.

The doctor should always be consulted before taking dietary supplements.

The words, ‘natural, pure and standardized' do not always mean that the product is safe and devoid of side effects.

Athletes and dietary supplements

Dietary supplements are widely used by athletes. Supplements contain different nutrients that may act in differing ways. Sportsmen taking dietary supplements should necessarily consult a doctor.

Otherwise they stand the risk of adverse health complications caused by reactions. Further, they may test positive to blood or urine tests for, some nutrients are banned for sportsmen.

Dietary supplements have turned a billion dollar industry. People are buying off the counter products in the misguided hope that ‘too much is too good.' But as in the case of everything else, too much of the supplements have a negative toll on the body.