Diane P, you asked a great question! The European supplements market for example has more controls over supplement manufacturing and there is a move to restrict the strengths even further with what is called CODEX legislation. This has found strong opposition in the United States and there is strong lobbying against implementing CODEX-like regulations in the manufacturing and sales of supplements in this country. Those who oppose it go under the umbrella of Health Freedom and include many physicians, supplement manufacturers, among others. Here is an example of their position if you are interested on learning more about this industry. http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/docs/Laibow_Dean_CODEX_act%5B1%5D.2005.11.169.pdf
The FDA has specific guidance on labeling supplements and you can learn more about it by reading the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act(DSHEA) on this website. http://www.fda.gov/opacom/laws/DSHEA.html
Since most vitamins and others are sold as "food" supplements (as oppose to drugs), people find themselves with a pretty tough task when buying them. This is why it is really important to find a trained professional that can suggest the type of supplements, their strength and also monitor results. Higher strength does not necessarily mean better. But in certain cases, for example CoQ10 which is great to support healthy heart functioning especially when there is a history of hypertension, a higher dosage of at least 800mg per day will be more beneficial than 100mg/day. Most multivitamins have small strengths of several vitamins and minerals, when taking these with a well-balanced diet, the product will supplement. But most of us buy supplements because we do not eat right therefore expect these supplements to give us everything our bodies need in lieu of good nutrition. This is not always the right thinking. However, there are those supplements such as glucosamine that are hard to find on food sources and we need to know what is the best strength. In those cases if you do not have a health professional helping you, the safest thing to do will be to follow the manufacturer's daily recommendation.
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Diane P, you asked a great question! The European supplements market for example has more controls over supplement manufacturing and there is a move to restrict the strengths even further with what is called CODEX legislation. This has found strong opposition in the United States and there is strong lobbying against implementing CODEX-like regulations in the manufacturing and sales of supplements in this country. Those who oppose it go under the umbrella of Health Freedom and include many physicians, supplement manufacturers, among others. Here is an example of their position if you are interested on learning more about this industry. http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/docs/Laibow_Dean_CODEX_act%5B1%5D.2005.11.169.pdf
The FDA has specific guidance on labeling supplements and you can learn more about it by reading the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act(DSHEA) on this website. http://www.fda.gov/opacom/laws/DSHEA.html
Since most vitamins and others are sold as "food" supplements (as oppose to drugs), people find themselves with a pretty tough task when buying them. This is why it is really important to find a trained professional that can suggest the type of supplements, their strength and also monitor results. Higher strength does not necessarily mean better. But in certain cases, for example CoQ10 which is great to support healthy heart functioning especially when there is a history of hypertension, a higher dosage of at least 800mg per day will be more beneficial than 100mg/day. Most multivitamins have small strengths of several vitamins and minerals, when taking these with a well-balanced diet, the product will supplement. But most of us buy supplements because we do not eat right therefore expect these supplements to give us everything our bodies need in lieu of good nutrition. This is not always the right thinking. However, there are those supplements such as glucosamine that are hard to find on food sources and we need to know what is the best strength. In those cases if you do not have a health professional helping you, the safest thing to do will be to follow the manufacturer's daily recommendation.
December 24, 2008 - 12:41amThis Comment
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