Vitamins, Herbs, and Nutritional Supplements: Do We Really Need Them? Presented by, Chari Tauser Kaplan University

Agenda Nutritional Value of Food Then Vs. Now What are Vitamins, Herbs, and Nutritional Supplements? Determining When it is Appropriate Proper Dosage Understanding Regulations and Requirements Credible Informational Resources Reading Labels Final Thoughts Questions

The Nutritional Value of Food: Then Vs. Now What makes up nutritional value? Macronutrients  Proteins  Carbohydrates  Fats Micronutrients  Vitamins  Vitamin A, C, D, E, K  B6, B12, B3…  Minerals  Zinc, potassium, sodium, etc. Phytochemicals  Flavonoids  Carotenoids  Alkaloids (Schlenker & Roth, 2011) Donald Davis, PhD 43 fruits and vegetables 6 out of 13 nutrients had significant decline Example:  Broccoli  1950= 130 mg calcium  2010= 48 mg calcium (Burns, 2010)  Wheat and barley  Declined 30-50% from (CNCA Health, 2015)

Factors Affecting Nutritional Value Commercial Agriculture Depletes nutrients from soil Uses fertilizers and pesticides Plant Variety at Market Big, lustrous, vibrant  More appealing  Less nutritional value Smaller, vibrant color  Less appealing  More nutritional value Preservation Methods Canning, freezing, drying, pickling  Uses chemicals, additives Reduces spoilage Increases shelf-life Loses nutritional value Cooking/Preparation Nutrients can leech out of food Heat sensitivity varies on method  Baking, boiling, frying, etc. (Healthy-Food-Site.com, 2010)

What are vitamins, herbs and supplements? Vitamins Vital nutrients Organic compounds Needed in small amounts Cannot be synthesized by the body Obtained through diet (Schlenker & Roth, 2011) Supplements Any combination of  Vitamins  Minerals  Herbs  Other Forms  Pills  Capsules  Powders (MedlinePlus, 2015) Herbs Any part of the plant  Stems  Leaves  Flowers  Roots Known as  Herbal medicine  Botanical medicine  Phytomedicine (University of Maryland Medical Center, 2011)

Determining When it is Appropriate Primary health goal  Physical  Example: Asthma  Emotional  Example: Depression  Chemical  Example: Lack of vitamin D in diet  Spiritual  Example: Chamomile for meditation Medical conditions  Pre-existing  Severity *A LWAYS CONSULT A QUALIFIED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL BEFORE ADDING IN OR TAKING OUT HERBS AND SUPPLEMENTS

Proper Dosage Understanding Herbs and Supplements should be treated like medicine Side effects and complications can occur Vitamins, Herbs, and Minerals  Have co-relationships  Example:  Calcium needs Vitamin D for absorption How much do I take? DV (Daily Value  Aka RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance)  Daily amount to stay healthy or avoid nutritional deficiencies RDA is different for some groups  Examples:  Infants  Elderly  Pregnancy (Schlenker &Roth, 2011)

Reading Labels (Monastyrsky, 2015) (Supplement-facts.org, 2012)

Regulations and Requirements Dietary Supplements  FDA food guidelines  Less restrictions than drugs  Obtain quality and safety from manufacturer  Health claims must not be false or misleading (FDA, 2014) Appropriate Health Claim “Calcium helps in the prevention of Osteoporosis” Misleading Health Claim “Calcium cures Osteoporosis”

Informational Resources Herbmed: Herb list  MedlinePlus: Herbs and Supplements  ml National Institute of Health: General Supplement information  U.S. National Library of Medicine List of Herbs  USDA: Vitamins and Minerals  minerals Nutrient Tracking ChooseMyPlate.gov  tools/supertracker.html Cronometer  Myfitnesspal.com  Self fitnessdata  elcome?returnto=/mynd/mytracking

Final Thoughts Even if something is natural, that does not mean it is good or right for you. Arsenic is natural, but that doesn’t mean you should eat a spoonful. Know what your body needs. Seek a medical professional regularly to get your levels checked to make sure your body is absorbing the nutrients. Just because you are eating it or taking supplements that doesn’t mean your body is getting it. Look for false claims on bottles. If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is. When in doubt seek it out. Use your resources and educate yourself on herbs you’re interested in. Thank You For Coming!

Questions? Please feel free to contact me at for further questions or resource information.

References Burns, S. (2010). Nutritional value of fruits, veggies is dwindling. Retrieved from diet_and_nutrition/t/nutritional-value-fruits-veggies-dwindling/#.VPCqxvnF- So CNCA Health. (2015). Declining nutrition of fruits and vegetables. Retrieved from nutrition-of-fruits-and-vegetables#.VPC7A_nF-So FDA. (2014). Q & A on dietary supplements. Retrieved from lt.htm#how_ad Healthy-Food-Site.com. (2010). Food nutritional value. Retrieved from MedlinePlus. (2015). Dietary Supplements. Retrieved from

References (continued) Monastyrsky, K. (2015). Mass market supplements: Rat poison or what? [Photograph]. Retrieved from Schlenker, E. & Roth, S. (2011). Williams’ essentials of nutrition and diet therapy. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby Supplement-facts.org. (2012). What are supplement facts? [Photograph]. Retrieved from University of Maryland Medical Center. (2015). Herbal medicine. Retrieved from Worldwatch Institute. (2013). Crop yields expand, but nutrition is left behind. Retrieved from