NUTRITIONAL
& DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
What is the truth about
nutritional supplements? With all the marketing hype and celebrity
endorsements it is difficult for the consumer to sift out the truth about
nutritional supplements and diet plans.
In the United
States, the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) regulates dietary supplements differently
than drug products (either prescription or over-the-counter). First,
drugs are required to follow defined good manufacturing practices (GMPs).
The FDA is developing GMPs for dietary supplements. However, until
they are issued, companies must follow existing manufacturing
requirements for foods. Second, drug products must be approved by
the FDA as safe and efficacious prior to marketing. In contrast,
manufacturers of dietary supplements are only responsible for ensuring
that their products are safe. While the FDA monitors adverse effects
after dietary supplement products are on the market, newly marketed
dietary supplements are not subject to premarket approval or a
specific postmarket surveillance period. Third, while DSHEA requires
companies to substantiate claims of benefit, citation of existing
literature is considered sufficient to validate such claims.
Manufacturers are not required, as they are for drugs, to submit
such substantiation data to the FDA; instead, it is the Federal
Trade Commission that has primary responsibility for monitoring
dietary supplements for truth in advertising. A 2004 Institute of
Medicine (IOM) report on the safety of dietary supplements
recommends a framework for cost-effective and science-based
evaluation by the FDA.
(Dietary Supplements: A Framework for
Evaluating Safety. National Academies Press Web site.
Accessed at
books.nap.edu/books/0309091101/html/R1.html on October 8, 2004.)
The lack of consistent and
reliable botanical products represents a formidable challenge both in
clinical trials and in basic research. A majority of the commercially
available dietary supplements have not been sufficiently
characterized or standardized for the conduct of clinical trials capable of
adequately demonstrating safety or efficacy, or predicting that similarly
prepared products would also be safe and effective in wider public use.
Because of the above limitations over
the past few decades, thousands of studies of various dietary supplements
have been performed, but to date, no single supplement has been proven
effective in a compelling way. (This is one reason why many doctors will not
recommend nutritional supplements except in respect to very specific
nutrient deficiencies.) Until such a time as the same standards
of clinical trials applied to drugs are applied to nutritional supplements,
there will not likely be a "scientifically" compelling case.
This is not to
say that the only evidence of benefits for dietary supplements is anecdotal. There
are several supplements for which studies have yielded positive, or at least
encouraging, data. Good sources of information on some of them can be
found at the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database and a number of
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Web sites. The NIH Office of Dietary
Supplements (ODS) annually publishes a bibliography of resources on
significant advances in dietary supplement research. Finally, the ClinicalTrials.gov database lists all
NIH-supported clinical studies of dietary supplements that are actively
accruing patients.*
How to
compare vitamins
How to
choose supplements
Eat
your way to better health
Remember: No supplements can substitute for a healthy
diet and lifestyle.
They are after all, dietary supplements not
replacements. For more information on diet and health visit
the
American Dietetic Association web site.
Self-diagnosis is rarely,
if ever a good idea.
If you are experiencing specific health
disorders, it is best to consult with a health professional. If you
are currently taking prescription medicine, you should consult with your
doctor before introducing herbal or vitamin supplements to your diet.
WHY INFINITY2
INFINITY2
products are unique in several ways from the
majority of dietary supplements available.
The
combination of Infinity2’s
premium quality ingredients, advanced formulations, and a patented cellular
nutrient delivery system makes it virtually impossible for any other
nutrition company to match the effectiveness of our products.
Only
INFINITY2
has
CAeDS®: An exclusive
and highly sophisticated nutrient delivery system that ensures the rich
nutrients in Infinity2 products are absorbed and delivered to the cells of
the body, thereby achieving cellular nutrition. Simply put,
CAeDS®
guarantees maximum product effectiveness!
For additional research and information on Infinity2 products, please visit
the
web site.
![[NSF Mark (blue outline)]](blueoutlinemark.gif)
Sports Nutrition Certification.
To perform at your best,
your nutrition needs to compliment your physical
training.
* The Natural Medicines
Comprehensive Database is accessible at
naturaldatabase.com. Related NIH Web sites include
nccam.nih.gov/health,
ods.od.nih.gov, and
cancer.gov/cam. The ODS annual bibliographies can
be found at
ods.od.nih.gov/Research/Annual_Bibliographies.aspx.
ClinicalTrials.gov can be accessed at
clinicaltrials.gov
THINK
GREEN
Think before you eat. Buy locally grown produce. The fruit or vegetable
you're about to buy may be great for you, but if it traveled thousands of
miles to get to your local grocery store, then it's not great for the
environment. Buying locally also means your purchase will support local
farmers.
From the facts below you can see the harmful effects bottled water has on
our environment. Choose the greener solution by using a reusable bottle and
fill it with filtered tap water.
Paper or plastic? How about neither. Each year the United States
uses 30 billion plastic and 10 billion paper grocery bags, requiring
approximately 14 million trees and 12 million barrels of oil. Cities across
the country have begun efforts to ban plastic bags in stores, but everyone
can do their part for the environment by keeping a reusable bag handy for
shopping trips.
Bottled Water: Interesting Facts
Making bottles to meet America's demand for bottled
water uses more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel
100,000 cars for a year. And that's not even including the oil used for
transportation1.
The energy we waste using bottled water would be
enough to power 190,000 homes2.
Last year, the average American used 167
disposable water bottles, but only recycled 383.
Americans used about 50 billion plastic water
bottles last year. However, the U.S.'s recycling rate for plastic is only 23
percent, which means 38 billion water bottles - more than $1 billion worth
of plastic - are wasted each year3.
1Arnold, Emily, and Janet Larsen. "Bottled
Water: Pouring Resources Down the Drain."
Earth Policy Institute. 2 Feb. 2006. 28 June 2007.
2 "Not
Disposable Anymore." P.O.V.'s Borders.
2004. PBS.
3Fishman, Charles.
"Message in a Bottle." Fast Company Magazine July 2007: 110.
