Nutrition Messages to Consumers
Abstract
Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act is an act passed into law in the year 1994 that defined a dietary supplement as a product that aims to supplement the diet taken by people that contain dietary nutrients in the form of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, botanicals or even herbs. The product is intended to be taken orally in the form of a capsule, soft gel, liquid, powder or gel cap and it should contain a label showing that it is a dietary supplement. Dietary supplements have positive and negative outcomes. Positive results include supplementation of diet with vitamins and minerals, help reduce the risk of diseases and aid faster recovery of diseases. Negative results include toxicity, adverse side effects and dangerous side effects due to active ingredients in weight loss dietary supplements. Many dietary supplements available in the market, it is essential to have regulations so as to ensure safe nutritional supplements that are fit for human consumption. Food and Drug Administration plays a vital role in regulating supplements available in the market to ensure safety to the consumer. Nutrition messages on functional foods have helped the uptake of the foods as they have been seen to be healthier than other foods. Such studies conducted have shown that with the promotion of functional foods it will help in reducing the unhealthy eating habits seen in America.
DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
Introduction
Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act is an act passed into law in the year 1994 that defined a dietary supplement as a product that aims to supplement the diet taken by people that contain dietary nutrients in the form of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, botanicals or even herbs. The product is taken orally in the form of a capsule, soft gel, liquid, powder or gel cap and it should contain a label showing that it is a dietary supplement. While including herbs as a dietary supplement, it is important to note that it is the plant or plant part such as flowers, leaves or seeds used due to their scent, flavor or active ingredients in them for health-related properties. Herbal Dietary supplements contain one or more herbs used due to their health properties. They are also required to label all the herbs in the Supplement (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2014).
It noted that in America, many adults are using one or more dietary supplement daily or occasionally. Most common supplements used by most adults include iron, calcium, Vitamin A, and D supplements to provide minerals and vitamins. Herbs commonly used include garlic and Echinacea and other products such as probiotics, fish oils, and glucosamine. With such an alarming rate of dietary supplements usage, it is essential to provide comprehensive information to the consumers about the nutrition facts of the supplements. Manufacturers provide information on the ingredients, active ingredients in a serving and ingredients added to the supplement. Such information has been helpful to the consumer although the user needs a …
