What is a dietary supplement

Dietary supplements include vitamins, minerals, herbs, botanicals, and other plant-derived substances. They also include amino acids (the individual building blocks of protein) and concentrates, metabolites, constituents and extracts of these substances.

Dietary supplements come in many forms, including tablets, capsules, powders, soft gels, gelcaps, and liquids. Though commonly associated with health food stores, dietary supplements also are sold in grocery, drug and national discount chain stores, as well as through mail-order catalogs, TV programs, the Internet, and direct sales.

A product sold as a dietary supplement and touted in its labeling as a new treatment or cure for a specific disease or condition would be considered an unauthorized--and thus illegal--drug.

Supplements do not provide all the known--and perhaps unknown--nutritional benefits of conventional food.

Before starting a dietary supplement, it's always wise to check with a medical doctor. It is especially important for people who are:

• Pregnant or breastfeeding
• Chronically ill
• Elderly
• Under 18
• Taking prescription or over-the-counter medicines. Certain supplements can boost blood levels of certain drugs to dangerous levels.

In addition to medical doctors, other health-care professionals, such as registered pharmacists, registered dietitians and nutritionists, also can be sources of information about dietary supplements.

(Reprinted with permission from the United States Food and Drug Administration)

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