Dietary Supplements
This area has grown rapidly in recent years and research, regulations and policies on the use and efficacy of these compounds is exceedingly variable. Please see the critical thinking issues to review how to evaluate the status of knowledge in these new areas.
Critical Thinking Questions
- Evaluation of current data in developing areas:
- Has the supplement been shown to be helpful and causative in animal models, if human data are not available.
- What epidemiological data have been collected and has a review article used the Bradford-Hill criteria to evaluate the strength of the data?
- Have there been studies to demonstrate that the supplements are not harmful and the safe range of intake is clearly defined?
- Have standards of preparation been established to guarantee quality and consistency of the product?
- If there are randomized clinical trials (RCT) check the design for a control group and blinding, if possible.
- Are sources of information without financial link to the product?
- Are there adequate whole food sources of the supplement that are generally available, which would be a better option and remove the bias of financial gain for manufacturing the compound?
- Are there any known interactions with common drugs used in
the population?
- What is the model of disease used in the treatment with this product? Western (allopathic), Eastern, Homeopathic, Osteopathic, etc.
- Is it practical that any large study be carried out to determine the efficacy of the product? Why or why not?
- If it has been used as ìfolk medicineî for a long time, under what conditions, method of preparation, concentrations, length of time of use, etc.?
Resources and Links
Definition
- What
Are Dietary Supplements?
NIH/Office of Dietary Supplements - Overview
of Dietary Supplements
US Food and Drug Administration
Examples
- Amino
Acids: the Building Blocks of Proteins
Iowa State University Extension - Herbal Supplements
- Vitamins
and Minerals
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Food and Nutrition Information Center - Sport Supplements
- MEDLINEPlus on Sports Supplements
National Library of Medicine - Muscle Building Supplements
Mayo Clinic.com - Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- MEDLINEPlus on Sports Supplements
- Soy
- Soy:
Health Claims for Soy Protein, Questions About Other Components
US Food and Drug Administration - Soy
and Other Phytoestrogens
Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre (Toronto, Canada)
- Soy:
Health Claims for Soy Protein, Questions About Other Components
- Phytoestrogens
- Phytoestrogens
and Breast Cancer
Cornell University Program on Breast Cancer & Environmental Risk Factors in New York State - Nutrition and Cancer Prevention: New Insights into the
Role of Phytochemicals, edited under the auspices of
the American Institute for Cancer Research.
HSL 5th Floor: W 20.5 AD559 no.492 2001 - Using
Phytoestrogens to Treat and Prevent Illness
Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre (Toronto, Canada)
- Phytoestrogens
and Breast Cancer
Regulations
- Dietary Supplements:
Industry Information and Regulations
U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) - Dietary Supplement
Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA)
U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
Use in the U.S.
- National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III : Use of Dietary Supplements 1988-1994 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Research Information
- International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS) Database Office of Dietary Supplements
Provides access to bibliographic citations and abstracts from published, international, and scientific literature on dietary supplements.
NCCAM