1. Dietary and Herbal Supplements
Carole Fischer
Kaplan University, HW499: Bachelors CAPSTONE IN HEALTH AND WELLNESS

2. What are dietary and herbal supplements?
A product that:
Contains one or more dietary ingredients (including vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and certain other substances) or their constituents.
Intended to be taken by mouth.
Labeled as a dietary supplement.
(See references…)

3. Purpose Intended to supplement the diet.
If you don't eat a nutritious variety of foods, some supplements might help you get adequate amounts of essential nutrients.
Supplements can't take the place of the variety of foods that are important to a healthy diet.
(See references…)

4. Precautions
Look for reliable sources to evaluate claims about supplements.
Some sites to consider:
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)
PubMed (
FDA (
National Library of Medicine’s Medline Plus (

5. Regulation in the United States
Regulated by the FDA as food.
Classification is determined by the information that the manufacturer provides on the product label or accompanying literature.
The label of a dietary supplement or food product may contain one of three types of claims: a health claim, nutrient content claim, or structure/function claim.
The NIH describes these claims: “Health claims describe a relationship between a food, food component, or dietary supplement ingredient, and reducing risk of a disease or health-related condition. Nutrient content claims describe the relative amount of a nutrient or dietary substance in a product. A structure/function claim is a statement describing how a product may affect the organs or systems of the body and it can not mention any specific disease. Structure/function claims do not require FDA approval but the manufacturer must provide FDA with the text of the claim within 30 days of putting the product on the market.”
(See references…)

6. Safety
Talk to your healthcare provider to check for supplement-drug interactions, if you are pregnant, if you are about to have surgery, or if you have any medical conditions.
Follow the directions on the label.
Natural does not always mean safe.
A supplement may contain several compounds, so be sure to read the label carefully.
(See references..)

7. Dietary and Herbal Supplement Research and Recommendations
Some herbs and botanicals have been studying in relation to prevention and treatment to ailments such as urinary tract infections, upper respiratory infections, and even nausea. For example, cranberry, ginger, and Echinacea.
Dietary supplement recommendations are measured by dietary reference intakes, adequate intake, and tolerable upper intake. DRI tables can be reviewed at
(See references…)

8. References
Dietary supplements: What you need to know. (2011). Retrieved from
Using nutritional supplements wisely. (2014). Retrieved from
Dietary and herbal supplements. (2015). Retrieved from
Herbs at a glance. (2016). Retrieved from
Dietary Reference Intakes. (n.d.). Retrieved from