Dietary Supplements By: Jamar Flournoy HW499: Bachelor's Capstone in Health and Wellness Kaplan University

What are Dietary Supplements?  According to a law passed by Congress in 1994 called the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), a dietary supplement is defined as a supplement to the diet.  Dietary supplements are made up of one or more components like vitamins, minerals, herbs, or amino acids.  They are normally ingested orally as a tablet, capsule, powder, softgel, gelcap, or liquid.  Due to research on the topic, dietary supplements have been found to benefit one’s health. (NCCAM, 2013)

Dietary Supplements and Government Regulations  The FDA regulates dietary supplements.  Dietary supplements are not regulated the same way that prescription drugs or over-the-counter drugs are regulated.  The makers of dietary supplements are responsible for ensuring the safety of their supplements and that the labeling contains truthful information but unlike the makers of prescription drugs they are not required to provide data proving the safeness and effectiveness of their drugs to the FDA before they can sell them. (NCCAM, 2013)

Some Safety Precautions to Consider  Make sure you tell your physician about any dietary supplements you are taking.  Be mindful of the fact that some dietary supplements can interact with medications.  Be cautious if you are planning on having surgery. Some dietary supplements can affect the way your body responds to anesthesia or can cause an increase in bleeding.  Also, take precaution if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning on becoming pregnant, because most dietary supplements have not been tested in pregnant or breasting mothers.  If you have any health problems, take precaution because some dietary supplements can be risky if you have certain health problems. (NCCAM, 2013)

Additional Resources  ments/default.htm ments/default.htm  DS_WhatYouNeedToKnow.aspx DS_WhatYouNeedToKnow.aspx

Reference  National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). (2013). Using Dietary Supplements Wisely. Retrieved from: s/wiseuse.htm s/wiseuse.htm