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Will
dietary supplements benefit your health?
January 1999
Over
half of all adult Americans view dietary supplements positively
-- according to a recent survey -- and would continue to take them
even if their doctor advised them to stop. Articles describing new
and exciting research results appear regularly in the media. Nonetheless . . .
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Determining
which supplements are appropriate for specific health needs
continues to be a challenging task.
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The
needs of individuals vary greatly, and experts don't agree about
the benefits of supplements. Thus, people are making their own choices
about what supplements to take -- both botanical and nutritional
-- for purposes ranging from sports nutrition and longevity to dieting
aids. Many people are taking several different supplements at the
same time.
For
all these reasons, there is a clear need for more and better information
for consumers to act both safely and wisely.
To
learn about the health benefits of specific dietary supplements,
explore these links
to sites that provide additional information.
Browse
elsewhere on this SQ website to learn important information about
safety, reading the label,
questions you can ask the supplier,
and standards and government
regulations.
Standard
terminology, an important first step in evaluating health benefits:
Not all terms used to describe dietary supplements, particularly
botanicals, are well-defined or consistently applied. A name used
on one product label may not mean the same thing on another.
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