Natural Supplements
Some supplements do have really significant health benefits, and I am sure that is something that we will be talking about today. Some of the more popular supplements are found in a multivitamin (which may help you to not have to take a dozen pills every day), but you can also buy them as a stand-alone supplement. Herbal supplements typically do not get as much scientific testing, nor are they as tightly regulated as medications.
It is important to know about potential benefits and side effects of herbal supplements before purchasing. For instance, taking a combination of herbal supplements, or using supplements along with prescription medications, can have dangerous, even life-threatening, results. Herbal products may present an unexpected risk since many supplements contain active ingredients that exert powerful effects on the body. Some supplements can contain ingredients not listed on the label, and those ingredients can be unsafe.
In the European Union, food supplements are regulated like foods, with the legislation focused on vitamins and minerals used as ingredients of food supplements. The primary EU legislation is Directive 2002/46/EC, which covers vitamin and mineral-containing food supplements. The EU Commission regulations are designed to promote safety of food supplements and appropriate labelling. The FDA regulates dietary supplement manufacturing, production, labeling, and packaging under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), which was passed in 1994 as an amendment to the federal food code.9 Companies who manufacture dietary supplements are liable for having proof of their products safety, and ensuring label claims are truthful and non-misleading.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) definition of dietary supplements is included in the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, DSHEA, amended the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a separate regulatory framework for these ephedra products, seeking to achieve an appropriate balance between providing consumers with access to dietary supplements they might want to use to maintain and enhance their health, and giving FDA regulatory authorities to act on supplements or dietary ingredient products that pose safety problems, make false or misleading claims, or are otherwise adulterated or misbranded. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, DSHEA, amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to set up A distinct regulatory framework for these ephedra products in an attempt to strike the right balance between providing consumers access to dietary supplements that they may be choosing to use to help maintain and improve their health, and giving the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authorities to take action against supplements or supplement ingredients that present safety problems, have false or misleading claims, or are otherwise adulterated or misbranded. Dietary supplements are found in a variety of forms including tablets, capsules, powders, energy bars, and liquids and are sold at retail stores as well as online. Under Federal food law, products intended to diagnose, treat, treat, alleviate, or prevent a medical condition are drugs, and are subject to regulations applicable to drugs, even when products intended for diagnosis are labelled as dietary supplements.
Boilerplate The FDA, an agency in the United States Department of Health and Human Services, protects public health by assuring safety, effectiveness, and security of human and animal drugs, vaccines, and other biologic products used in humans, as well as medical devices. Specific circumstances include whether there is suspected violations of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and if a product is believed to pose a risk to the public health, or whether a product falls under a Food Safety Modernization Act–Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) rule. FDA encourages consumers not to use these products or those like them, as these products have not been evaluated by FDA as being safe or effective for the intended use and could be harmful.
Safety Monitoring The main mechanism to monitor supplement safety is through a voluntary reporting system established by FDAs Centers for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition called the Centers for AEs in Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CAERS) Reporting System. Under DSHEA, supplement manufacturers are not required to prove safety or effectiveness; Rather, the DSHEA deliberately minimizes the supervision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and emphasizes the value of the industry to the U.S. economy.
As the food additives industry continues to grow, and patients continue to utilize food additives, there is a need to revise and update the Federal Food and Drug Administrations oversight and Federal Trade Commissions oversight of the food additives industry. The FDA regulates dietary supplement quality, safety, and labeling, while the Federal Trade Commission oversees advertising and marketing; however, there are significant challenges in enforcing regulations, and the best government oversight has yet to be achieved.
Dietary supplements are regulated differently from conventional foods and medications by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pharmaceuticals undergo the rigorous FDA approval process before entering the marketplace; medications are considered unsafe until proven safe. In Australia, most supplements are regulated in a complementary medicines category that includes vitamins, minerals, herbs, aromatherapy, and homeopathic products, though some products can be considered foods with specific uses and are regulated by food authorities. These only apply to supplements that contain vitamins and/or minerals, in those cases in which those products are regulated as foods, and address supplement composition, including its safety, purity, and bioavailability. Because manufacturers claims are frequently promising and entirely positive, Congress has created guidelines that address the definitions of supplements, safety issues, ingredients and nutrition labels, supplement claims, best manufacturing practices, and novel food ingredients.
Your first step should be to talk to your healthcare provider about your options, as the efficacy and safety of supplements can vary depending on your personal circumstances and health.
If you have low levels of vitamin C and are having difficulty getting enough from foods you eat, talk to your health care provider about taking a supplement. Eating foods that are high in vitamin C is important for your overall health, particularly if you are at risk of high blood pressure. I am president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, which is the trade association representing what we call the mainstream base of the dietary supplement industry, products used by millions of Americans who buy them at natural foods stores, the mass-market, through direct sales, and mail-order.