DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS

"Health impact study finds seniors who take certain dietary supplements live longer, more independent lives." - A recent ad campaign promoting dietary supplements.

DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS: TO TAKE OR NOT TO TAKE IS THE QUESTION

The Time magazine in 1992 published a cover story over vitamins, declaring them more important than previously thought of in fighting against cancer, heart ailments, and aging, that perennial concern of humans. Written by Anastasia Toufaxis, it begins with a graphic account of customers lining up outside a natural food store for their favorite food supplements, and discussing the merits of individual nutrients.

Are dietary supplements necessary for a normal adult, or even growing children, or is it just some hype, read the italicized ad above, created by marketing and manufacturing companies bent on increasing their market share? The FDA web site says that more than half of the U.S. adult population uses these products. More than $6.5 billion were spent in 1996 alone on dietary supplements.

Definition

As per FDA, vitamins; minerals; herbs, botanicals, and other plant-derived substances; and amino acids (the individual building blocks of protein) and concentrates, metabolites, constituents and extracts of these substances.

Their use and what they contain?

For weight loss: super girls with super bodies.

With drug therapy

AS muscle enhancers: big boys with big muscles need them.

Performance enhancers: big players need them sometimes.

For relieving pain, "energizing" and "detoxifying" the body, or providing "guaranteed results: normally false claims.

Read below for more on this.

Some usual stuff found inside:

protein powders
creatine
amino acids
growth hormones
DHEA , over-the-counter, may elevate blood pressure, with lowered levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, and liver damage.

hydroxy methylbutyrate (HMB)
Bottled herbs with all kinds of claims.

Illegal constituents make their way.

The most significant issue at stake is the use of substances that produce instant results but which have long term detrimental health effects. The 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, or DSHEA seeks to regulate the marketing of supplements with rules on labeling and correct information being provided.

The use of following phrases should be treated with caution: "detoxify," "purify" and "energize","breakthrough," "magical," "miracle cure," and "new discovery," and products that claim to cure a wide range of unrelated diseases with no side effects. The problems is that FDA has to treat dietary supplements as food products and not as drugs. They can act only when unsafe and potentially dangerous products are put in the market.

Who represents them and what they say?

'An estimated 70 percent of American consumers enjoy the health benefits of a wide array of herbal remedies and dietary supplements, manufactured by an industry that takes very seriously its commitment to the health of its customers and the quality of its products,' says the web site of NNFA.

The leading organizations that protect the interests of the supplement industry are: The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA), and the Utah Natural Products Alliance (UNPA). They have recently fought against the use of steroids in dietary supplements - an issue that has constantly plagued athletes all over the world.

The final word?

The Times report that vitamins and minerals are very crucial for an active functioning of the body is really to the point. A regular intake of fruits brings with it an increase in levels of activity and efficiency that anyone can observe personally. But our body can easily digest the naturally available vitamins in fruits, as that is what it is used to. That can not be said about artificial pills. Supplements make sense when used by the sick with therapies, but a normal adult should learn to do without them. Or else we may end up trying to promote habits of eating junk food with dietary supplements.