Have you been an easy target of food supplement agents lately? Armed with convincing literatures, they are on the loose peddling all kinds of lies, myths and half truths that at times you are irritated especially on their sales pitches that their products, marketed as cure-all drugs, have all the curative properties to cure all kinds of diseases—from cancer to any ailment you can think of. For purposes of evading any debate on the issue of food or dietary supplements, we made our own research on the subject in order to address the products’ frequently asked questions. Thus, this product of our research. Dietary or food supplement is intended to provide nutrients that may otherwise not be consumed in sufficient quantities. Supplements as generally understood include vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, among other substances. U.S. authorities define dietary supplements as foods, while elsewhere they may be classified as drugs or other products. There are more than 50,000 dietary supplements available. More than half of the U.S. adult population (53% - 55%) consume dietary supplements with most common ones being multivitamins. These products are not intended to prevent or treat any disease and in some circumstances are dangerous, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. For those who fail to consume a balanced diet, the agency says that certain supplements "may have value." Effects of most of these products have not been determined in randomized clinical trials and manufacturing is lightly regulated; randomized clinical trials of certain vitamins and antioxidants have found increased mortality rates.

Need for dietary supplements

Dietary supplements are unnecessary if one eats a balanced diet. Moreover, many supplements have no practical effect. For example, glucosamine and chondroitin, often thought to relieve joint pain, have been shown to be without benefit. Relief reported for these supplements may be explained by the fact that many people taking them on a doctor's recommendation are also taking other pain relievers. Another common supplement, omega-3 fatty acids, has been similarly shown to be without benefit for healthy individuals. Some supplements are harmful. For example, one study funded by the National Institute of Health found that men who consumed vitamin E supplements had a higher rate of prostate cancer than men who did not. Also, it has been found that calcium supplements puts people at a greater risk for heart attacks. Supplements may create harm in several ways, including over-consumption, particularly of minerals and fat-soluble vitamins which can build up in the body. The products may also cause harm related to their rapid absorption in a short period of time, quality issues such as contamination, or by adverse interactions with other foods and medications.

Regulation United States

In the name of deregulation, the Dietary Supplement Health And Education Act of 1994 restricted the Food and Drug Administration from exerting authority over supplements as long as manufacturers made no claims about preventing or treating disease. As a result, the FDA currently regulates dietary supplements as a category of food, and not pharmaceutical drugs. In contrast with pharmaceutical manufacturers — who must demonstrate their products are effective as well as safe — supplement manufacturers are not required to demonstrate efficacy. Supplement manufacturers must, however, indicate a product is safe prior to introduction. The product cannot be marketed for 75 days following filing of this information with the FDA. Listing the information, however, does not mean the FDA regards the product as necessarily safe. In practice, the FDA has said it has lacked funds to determine whether a given supplement should be considered "hazardous" and, thus, removed from the market. In one situation where this standard was reached (Ephedra), the agency faced significant opposition from the supplement industry and the U.S. Congress, and thus limited itself to making announcements about Ephedra's problematic safety records on the FDA website.

In 2007 the FDA implemented a "good manufacturing practices" policy to ensure dietary supplements "are produced in a quality manner, do not contain contaminants or impurities, and are accurately labeled." Also in that year, the FDA implemented a rule requiring that supplement manufacturers submit reports of serious adverse events involving their products. Because of the 1994 legislation, the FDA must demonstrate that individual supplements are unsafe using its adverse events reporting system, which may capture only 1 to 10 percent of all adverse events linked to supplements. In 2012 the director of the FDA’s Dietary Supplements Program, called the level of non-compliance with regulations on dietary supplements “astonishing." Based on audits completed by the FDA’s compliance division in 2011 and 2012, the official, Dan Fabricant, said it was estimated that nearly 70% of dietary supplement manufacturers are currently not compliant with rules governing "good manufacturing practices." Fabricant also indicated that FDA had concerns regarding under-reporting of adverse events. A 2001 study, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, found broad public support for greater regulation of dietary supplements. According to Consumer Reports, the 1994 law "has left consumers without the protections surrounding the manufacture and marketing of over-the-counter or prescription medications" and it became the FDA's responsibility to prove that a supplement is not safe. Similarly, Time described the 1994 legislation as "ill-conceived and reprehensible", that "gives the industry virtually free reign [sic] to market products defined as dietary supplements, while severely limiting the FDA's ability to regulate them".

Quality Rules (U.S.)

FDA rules require that supplements meet specifications for "purity, strength, and composition and has been manufactured, packaged, labeled, and held under conditions to prevent adulteration." FDA inspectors can look at a company's records upon request. However, enforcement is difficult given the number of supplement manufacturers and the 16% decline in FDA investigators from 2003 to 2006. Suppliers provide certificates of analysis stating that they have tested the material. In the U.S., contamination and false labeling are "not uncommon". The United States Pharmacopeia offers a "seal" that may indicate that the product has been tested for integrity and safe manufacturing, and it is the only certification program that conducts random off-the-shelf testing. In 2008 ConsumerLab.com criticized the USP for proposing a 10 microgram per daily serving limit on lead in dietary supplements and drugs. It noted that under the FDA's 2006 guidance on lead in candy, only 0.2 micrograms of lead per serving are allowed. Consumer lab randomly tests some dietary supplements and makes the results available to subscribers. It has reported that 25% of the supplements it tests have problems, and half of the multivitamins category had similar problems. NSF International, HFL Sport Science, and the Natural Products Association[ also have dietary supplement certification programs.

Permissible claims (U.S)

The FDA says that if a product sold in the U.S. as a dietary supplement is promoted or claimed as a treatment, prevention or cure for disease, it is considered an unapproved — and thus illegal — drug. In addition, all supplements must, in the U.S., include on the label a statement that all claims by the seller "have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration," and that the product "is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." Supplement makers are permitted, however, to claim their product supports the structure or function of the body (e.g., "glucosamine helps support healthy joints" or "the hormone melatonin helps establish normal sleep patterns"). The FDA must be notified of these claims, which must be substantiated according to FDA rules. In reality, however, inaccurate claims are very common. For example, the compound hydrazine sulfate is promoted as a treatment for cancer, despite no significant evidence that it is either safe or effective. In the U.S., a supplement may include vitamins, minerals herbs, amino acids, or any substance historically used as a diet supplement. Products must also be for ingestion as a pill, capsule, tablet, powder or liquid and not represented for use as a conventional food or as the sole item of a meal or diet. Finally, the products must be labelled as a "dietary supplement".