6 Key Factors You Should Know about Dietary Supplements

Hi! How are you? It is a nice winter day and holiday is coming soon. It is one of my favorite times of the year. Because this means family time, gathering with friends and relatives. Of course with festive parties and great food. It sounds joyful right?

Speaking of food, people are getting more cautious on their diet day by day. And many people I know, are using dietary supplements these days.

So, what is a dietary supplement? Well, according to FDA’s definition “A dietary supplement is a product intended for ingestion that contains a “dietary ingredient” intended to add further nutritional value to the diet. A “dietary ingredient” may be one, or any combination, of a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical, an amino acid, a dietary substance for use by people to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake, a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, or extract.”

I have experience with dietary supplements both on regulatory and project development side. Let me give you some tips. Here are 6 key factors you should know about dietary supplements:

1.  Their composition and purpose, are designed for use without prescription or monitoring of treatment. (However the doctor or physician should be informed when using a dietary supplement.)
2. They are for administration in accordance with a specified strength and posology.
3. They are an oral, external or inhalation preparation (such as tablets, capsules, softgels, gelcaps, liquids, or powders)
4. The period of traditional use is complete presenting evidence on expert opinion.
5. The data on the traditional use of the product is sufficient; especially when it is proved not to be harmful in specified conditions of use.
6. Manufacturer is a key parameter. As stated by FDA, manufacturers of dietary supplements are responsible for making sure their products are safe before they go to market.

You can check the links and articles related to this topic below for more details:

• https://ods.od.nih.gov/
• http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/UsingDietarySupplements/ucm110567.htm
• https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/
• http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874112001134
• http://ec.europa.eu/health/human-use/herbal-medicines/index_en.htm#geninf

Please share your comments below. Have a wonderful week!

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