What are Dietary Supplements? -
What are Dietary Supplements?
“A dietary supplement is a product taken by mouth that contains a “dietary ingredient” intended to supplement the diet”, according to the FDA website. (www.cfsanf.fda.gov/~dms/ds-oview.html) Also the FDA defined what they consider to be a dietary ingredients, “The dietary ingredients in these products may include : vitamins, mineral, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, and metabolites." (www.cfsanf.fda.gov/~dms/ds-oview.html)
Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act of 1994 (law that regulates supplements)
Before 1958, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulated dietary supplements as they regulated Drugs, which insured the consumers safe and high quality supplements. However, in 1994, President Clinton gave birth to the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which changed the way the FDA regulated dietary supplements. As a result of this law, the supplement companies now have a lot of power on how they make their supplements and how they market their supplement's health claims. Before, the creation of DSHEA law, supplements had to pass strict FDA law before they could sale their supplements. However, now, “Dietary supplements are no longer subject to the pre-market safety evaluation”, according to FDA website. www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dietsupp.html
How does DSHEA Law protected Consumers
DSHEA law is like Robin-hood because it gives the consumer (you & me) Dietary supplements. However, it robs us because we are not insured that we get what we paid for when it comes down to supplement safety, and supplement quality. However, I personal think DSHEA law is OK because it gives me access to supplements that help me reach my fitness goals. However, on the other side, the DSHEA law is not that great because I willingly know I spend money on supplements that do not meet up to their Nutrtion labeling or "Supplement Fact sheet" statements, which means I don’t get what I paid for. However, Coming back to the point, what does the DSHEA do for the consumer?
· The DSHEA give the FDA the power to set up the Good Manufactory Practices regulation with the supplements manufacturing companies (GMPs), which means FDA can have some control over their preparation, packing, and holding of dietary supplements.
· Also the DSHEA, set up the Commission on Dietary Supplements, which has seven members who are appointed by the president. These seven member's requirements are:
o 3 members must be qualified by scientific training, and have experience to evaluate supplements' health benefits,
o 1 of these members must be trained in pharmacognosy
o 1 of these members must be trained in medical botany
o 1 of these members must be trained in traditional herbal medicine
How does DSHEA laws NOT PROTECTS consumers?
- “Dietary supplements do not need approval form FDA before they are marketed”, according to FDA website. www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-oview.html
- “Supplement Manufacturers Companies do not need to register themselves nor their dietary supplements products with FDA before producing or selling them”, according to FDA website. www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-oview.html
- It Empowers Supplements Manufactures to be their own judicial system when it comes down to market Health Claims. What I mean by this is, thanks to DSHEA law , supplements companies do not have to show their credibility of their research that supports their health claim for a supplement to FDA or any other governmental committee.
- It empowers the supplement manufacturers to regulate themselves, to insure that every supplement made has the right amount of ingredients that it is stated on the “Supplement Fact” panel. Now think about it logically. Supplement Companies want the most amount of money they can. So do you think supplement companies will not take short cuts to capitalize on their raw supplement making materials to produce the most they can with what raw materials they have?. This logical assumption is only made if the supplement company did not buy the cheap raw materials. In other words, many times you and I buy supplements and we do not get what we paid for.
Five items that need to be on all supplement bottles according to DSHEA law according to the FDA website (www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-oview.html)
1. Name of the supplement.
2. Name and place of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor.
3. Complete list of ingredients.
4. Net weight of the supplement produced.
5. Nutrition label called “Supplement Facts” panel .
Are Dietary Supplements Safe?
It all depends on who you ask! Some health Professionals say that supplements are not safe, while other health Professionals say that dietary supplements are safe. For example, www.aids.org talks about how they use supplements like Glutamine and Lipoic-Acid to help patients with AID's. I personally support supplementation because it has worked for me in my own fitness goals. Also, I have Personal sold supplements to individuals that had intestinal disorders that need to absorb protein in a shake form, which means they use meal replacements to get their protein intake. However, I do not recommend not to eat foods, and only take supplements. DON'T EVER TAKE ANY SUPPLEMENT LIKE BAR OR MEAL REPLACEMENT TO REPLACE REAL FOOD BECAUSE IT IS UNHEALTHY. However, I am not saying all supplements are safe because as I mention earlier that the FDA does not regulate supplements, and therefore, every supplement company acts differently when it comes to how they manage safety. CAUTION, Many Supplement Companies Just Want “The Money”.