营养与饮食学杂志

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Dietary Supplements and its Legal Regulations

Osama O Ibrahim

Dietary supplements are products intended to supplement the diet, and are not drugs for disease treatments. They are vitamins, minerals, herbals, botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, metabolites and many other products. Some supplements plays an important role in health, for example calcium and vitamin D are important for keeping bones strong and folic acid is important for pregnant women to prevent certain birth defect in their babies. Dietary supplements are available in the market in the form of tablets, capsules, soft gels, gel caps, powders, drinks and energy bars. These dietary supplements do not have to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before marketing as required for prescription drugs or over-the counter drugs, but manufacturers must register their manufacturing facilities with the FDA and are responsible to having evidence that their dietary supplement products are safe and the label claims are not misleading. With a few well define exceptions dietary supplements such as pre-workout for athletics and weight loss products may only be marketed to support structure or function of the body, without claiming to treat a disease or condition and must include a label that highlight “These statements have not been evaluated by FDA and this product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases”.