For many consumers, taking one or more dietary supple-ments is a natural addition to a healthy lifestyle. The decision to take a dietary supplement may be based on the recommendation of a doctor, a dietitian, or a friend. Television, newspapers, magazines, websites, and persuasive marketing materials in the pharmacy or supermarket may sway buyers.
Information regarding dietary supplements abounds but can be misleading or contradictory. Understanding Dietary Supplements is a guide to making informed choices.
Chapters provide
- Both an overview and detailed information about key supplements
- Coverage of a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals, herbs and botanicals, drugs, and other options
- Jargon-free explanations of how each supplement can work on the body
- Safety concerns about interactions and misuse
- Regulations imposed on the industry and recent trends in the industry's development
- A glossary and listings of outside resources
Included here, the full text of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994—the model for the FDA's regulation of dietary supplements—affords guidance to deciphering labels and determining value. Understanding Dietary Supplements is an easy-to-use guide to a much demanded but often misunderstood group of products.
Jenna Hollenstein is clinical editor at the Pri-Med Institute of M|C Communications in Boston, Massachusetts. Her work has been published in Nutrition Reviews, Nutrition in Clinical Care, ILSI News, Pri-Med in Practice, and Pri-Med Online.
