Filed under Nutrition

Where Do You Usually Purchase Your Nutritional Supplements?

Where do you usually buy your nutritional supplements? Maybe you’re thinking, “Does it matter?” Yes! Only through trusted, reputable suppliers can you be assured you will get the best value for your money. So when purchasing your vitamins and nutritional supplements, be a wise shopper, as you are not guaranteed high quality and effectiveness if you purchase your nutritional supplements at the clearance bin, yard sales, auction sites, or dollar stores.

The Clearance Bin—80% off is really tempting!

It sounds like a great deal to pick over the clearance bin for vitamins, minerals, and nutritional supplements(http://www.mitamins.com), and find some for up to 80% off. But have you ever considered the quality of these discount vitamins? Cheaper doesn’t always translate to better. In fact, nutritional supplements can influence your overall health considerably for the worst if you are attracted to use them only by their lower prices. It is probable that discount products are close to their expiration dates, that formulas are outdated, or the ingredients of the nutritional supplements are sub-par and questioned by health professionals.

Yard Sales—how convenient!

You may find some nutritional supplements(http://www.mitamins.com) at your neighbor’s moving out sale. Yard sales are common, and sometimes people will purchase half a bottle of vitamins and nutritional supplements at them without thinking about the consequences. Remember that no single bottle of nutritional supplements can be applied to everyone.

Dollar Stores—one dollar? So cheap!

A hundred vitamins for just a dollar? Cheap…but wait…there are no details on the bottle about the ingredients, production date, or expiration date. You don’t even know is the vitamins are legitimate. Are you still going to take a risk and purchase them? The dollar store clerks don’t even have information about the suppliers. You can buy a book or a pencil at the dollar store, but absolutely should not purchase vitamins and nutritional supplements(http://www.mitamins.com) there.

Auction Web Sites? Interesting…

Auction websites are popular these days and you can get great deals on clothes, glasses, toys, and books through them, however, these sites are not the ideal places for you to purchase nutritional supplements. Even if you are shown a brand-name bottle of nutritional supplements from these sites, and the seller seems trustworthy, it is still not a good idea to order them.

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No Comments heriblog on Jul 29th 2010

Filed under Diet

Truly the Best Diet Tips

When it comes down to dieting, there are many rules and regulations, numerous do’s and don’ts, and countless rights and wrongs. It is often difficult for the average person to lose weight or to maintain a healthy weight without the added help from a personal trainer. But if you can’t afford a personal trainer, should you simply give up? The answer is “no.” there are certain diet tips which can help you either maintain your desired weight or shed a few unwanted pounds.

The first step towards healthy weight loss is watching what you drink. You should stay away from sugar laden sodas and juices. Drink as much water as possible. As far as your meals are concerned, you should reduce your portion size by at least 20%. This will help you reduce your daily calorie intake. Another way to reduce your calorie intake is to substitute certain foods for vegetables. For instance, instead of having pasta with chicken, try the same seasoning, but instead of pasta mix your chicken with grilled veggies. You can even make your very favorite chicken subs into your very own lettuce wraps by eliminating the bread.

Another great diet tip is to add protein into your every meal. Protein helps you feel full much longer than carbohydrates and fats. You should also make sure that you do not snack after dinner. Make dinner your last meal and try to resist those nighttime munchies. And to help yourself avoid the temptation of snacking, be sure that your kitchen is stocked with healthy foods only. If you do happen to get the urge to snack in between meals, grab an apple or other fiber rich food. Fiber will keep your tummy full for hours. So if you want to lose weight or maintain the weight you have, follow these few simple steps.

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No Comments heriblog on Jul 28th 2010

Filed under Health

Breast Health Tips

Breast health is a very important aspect of a women’s health. This is because there are many risk factors that affect the breasts, most of which may result in serious conditions such as breast cancer. In some instances, a woman may not be even aware of having some form of breast disease until it is already advanced and too little can be possibly done.

Breast massage as a method of natural breast enhancement and breast health has actually been used for years as a means of stimulating healthy breast growth and promoting breast tone, pliability and firmness. It is one of the best ways to help create a more beautiful bust line by helping to shape, tone and promote growth of the breast and the area surrounding the breast.

Facts About Breast Massage

We tone our bodies and how occurs when we tone, we lift our muscles back to at which they should be coming a more toned and defined shape. It is a fact breast massaging will create a better form due to the fact that you are stimulating the blood supply so creating a good amount fullness of the breast and all providing obvious massage techniques.

When there is unresolved tension and stress in our daily lives, it can end up creating continuous muscular tension. Tension creates a build up of toxins in the body. High levels of toxicity can cause to breast cancer and will prevent herbal breast nutrients from reaching the breast tissue cells.

Beautiful breasts are considered the hot symbol with the most appealing quality. Every woman wants to have an attractive bust line but due to lack of proper care it become saggy and loses its beauty. Here in this article you will find some easy home care of your breasts.

Large breast can put too much pressure on your back, neck and shoulder causing chronic pains. It is hard to find clothes and brassieres that fit. Some men will not take you seriously and will focus just on your breasts instead on your great personality. You will be the subject of teasing and nasty jokes.

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No Comments heriblog on Jul 27th 2010

Filed under Nutrition

Get Value For Money At Sports Nutrition Depot

Let’s face it. Sports nutritional supplements nowadays are as many as the number of athletes themselves. And these do not include new products in their early stages of manufacture, or marketing. But is this bad?


On the contrary, this can be a blessing. To appreciate this fact, all we have to do is remember that in a free market, products are competing against each other, forcing the manufacturers to lower the prices, i.e., to be more competitive. This market, in practical terms, is the place where you can find the sports nutrition of your choice. For the athletes, this market is the sports nutrition depot.


Ok, so you want to go shopping for your sports supplement. But of course you want to be prepared on what to expect with a certain depot. What should you be looking for in this depot?


Carbohydrate specific products

Enough servings of carbohydrates before or during exercise r competition, be it in solid or liquid form, will help you in during intense physical regimen. Carbohydrates can also maintain blood glucose levels and increase muscle glycogen, during intense exercise. Sports nutrition experts suggest that athletes should consume up to 350 ml of a sports drink containing carbohydrate every 20 minutes during exercise.


With solid carbs, the National Association of Sports Nutrition (NASN) suggests that athletes engaged in regular physical activities should consume up to 10 gm of carbohydrate/kg in a day. Typical American diet supplies about 5 gm of carbohydrate/kg in a day, so this will give you an idea how much do you need for consumption. But during exercise, it is suggested that athletes consume from 30 to 60 gm of carbohydrate every hour to improve performance. Sports nutrition depot displays almost all known carbo products in the fitness world.


Protein for your exercise recovery

Speed recovery is important to your regular exercise regimen. Nutritional supplement with high quality protein is will aid muscle growth and repair. Protein works with carbohydrate by producing enzymes to help carbohydrates maintain energy levels. Sports nutrition depot abounds with protein enforced products.


Vitamin C for immune improvement

We all know that vitamin C assists us in fighting disease. Current research also points to the role f vitamin C in restoring t-cell damage resulting from physical activities, and even during extreme emotional stress. But the problem is that several thousands of milligrams of vitamin is are needed to restore t-cell function. This automatically rules out the dependence on the vitamin C available at ordinary medicine stores.


Sports nutritionist also suggests that vitamin C should be consumed together with other micronutrients, such as vitamin E, and Glutathione. If taken together, the three micronutrients will help strengthen each other’s properties. Wide array of vitamin C and other micronutrients can be found in sports nutrition depot.


Bee Honey for sustained exercise regimen

Ever wonder why the bees seem to be tireless? Studies after studies prove that taking honey before and during exercise or any competitive activity improves performance. Among weight disciplined athletes, only bee honey was proved capable of maintaining blood sugar in consistent levels, even two hours after a heavy exercise. Honey is also unique in sustaining restoration of muscle energy, after the exercise. So don’t be surprised to find bee honey products inside the sports nutrition depot.


Glutamine for performance recovery

If somehow you’ve heard about glutamine before, the reason is inside your body. Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in your body. Your skeletal muscle and plasma contains the most concentrated supply of glutamine. Glutamine is important in the transfer of nitrogen between the internal organs. It also plays an important role in detoxifying ammonia.


The discovery of the role of Glutamine is a recent one. But for more than a decade before this discovery or confirmation form medical research, sports scientists have known that this amino acid increases muscle recovery. Glutamine products are also available in sports nutrition depot.


But before you troop to the nearest sports nutrition depot in your place and buy everything that you need, be aware that dosages differ in everyone. The rule of thumb is that dosage is different with everyone. The dosage that works for you should be validated with inputs from your trainer or sports nutrition adviser.

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No Comments heriblog on Jul 26th 2010

Filed under Diet

7 Dieting Tips to Help You Lose Weight Naturally

I’m going to share with you in this article 7 dieting tips you can follow closely to help you in your weight loss journey. These 7 dieting tips, if followed closely, will definitely help you to boost your energy and vitality, improve your skin tone, make your hair much glossier, and at the same time help you to lose weight fast.

Tip #01 – Eat Organic Foods As Well As Increase Your Intake Of Fruits & Vegetables

The next time you do your grocery shopping, select foods that are organic as well as fill up your refrigerator with more fruits and vegetables.

Tip #02 – Your Choice Of Drinks

Cut down on your intake of alcoholic drinks, fizzy drinks, and drinks with caffeine – if possible, stop drinking such drinks altogether. Instead, opt for drinks such as green tea, which is loaded with antioxidant, and make sure you drink lots of fresh water – about 2 liters daily. The reason is because water will help flush out your system and is also known to help speed up the whole fat burning process in your body.

Tip #03 – STOP Eating Processed Foods

You should stop eating processed foods such as burgers and pizzas, and opt for foods such as oats, brown rice and jacket potatoes – all these foods will help your body maintain a good blood-sugar level and also provide you with energy you need for your daily activities.

Tip #04 – Eat “Good” Fats

Your body will need some “good” fats, which will help boost our body’s immune system, as well as making our skin, hair and nails look better.

You can get “good” fats from foods such as oily fish (such as mackerel, salmon, sardines, herrings, olive oil, etc.)

Fish oil capsules are also another good source of “good” fats.

Tip #05 – Eat Foods With Lean Protein

By eating foods that are rich in lean protein will help keep you full for longer periods. It also helps prevent insulin spikes that will lead to energy falls and sugar cravings.

On top of that, foods with lean proteins contain muscle mass, which helps in the whole fat burning process in your body.

You can get lean proteins from foods such as cottage cheese, low fat yogurt, skimmed milk, egg whiles, skinless chicken, beef, kidney beans, tofu and soy products.

Tip #06 – Eat Foods That Are Fiber Rich

Fiber rich foods will help make you full, so that will will not overeat, and gain weight.

An average person could lose around 10 pounds yearly simply by doubling their intake of fiber.

Fiber rich foods are also normally low in their calorie levels. Some fiber-rich foods are strawberries, apples, broccoli, brown rice, beans, and nuts.

Tip #07 – DO NOT skip breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal in the day – you must make sure you eat breakfast everyday so as to avoid hunger pangs later in the day.

To sum up, the above are 7 dieting tips for you and if you were to follow them closely and consistently (most people follow these plans for awhile and they give up just because they did not see significant results – don’t do that – follow through the whole plan consistently over a period of time), I can guarantee you that you’ll be able to shed some weight off your body in no time.

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No Comments heriblog on Jul 25th 2010

Filed under Health

Some Health Tips To Help You Lose Weight

With Americans becoming more and more conscience of what they look like there seems to be a growing trend. Everyone is looking for a strategy to lower their weight. This doesn’t need to be the most challenging thing you have ever done. What it will require though is persistence from you. The will is not nearly powerful enough to shed those pounds without some assistance from you.

There are correct ways and incorrect ways to go about losing weight and the strategies that I am going to provide you here are going to focus on healthy ways to lose weight. Aside from looking better in a bikini people are trying to lose weight for health reasons so it is wise to avoid trying to game the system.

The first thing you must to do is go out and buy a scale if you don’t have one. How are you going to precisely track your success and keep yourself accountable if you have no way of measuring your success or failure? This doesn’t need to be an pricey scale. A simple 20 dollar scale from Wal-mart will do the job.

The next thing you need to do is set up a chart and post it somewhere visible in your house that you will walk by everyday. After that establish a regular schedule of weighing yourself. This should be at a minimum weekly but I would suggest daily or every other day. This will help you stay accountable, and posting it somewhere you see it everyday will block you from being able to hide or not acknowledge that it’s there.

The second tip that will help you start the diet process. I am not even going to tell you to alter what you consume. Just do not finish everything on your plate every meal. Eat all the same things that you have been eating just don’t eat the same quantity. This will be surprisingly affective while still not changing your diet too drastically. Smaller changes will have a long term affect than if you were to try and drastically overhaul your lifestyle over night.

Lastly, you need to continue to add changes. Yes starting by reducing meals will have a little affect and will only get you so far if every meal still consists of fast food. The key is to continually add modifications until you are eating 100% healthy and it feels natural to you.

Some changes could be cutting carbs out of your last meal of the day, only eating take out once a month, or eating more white meat instead of red meat. I could list health recommendations to you all day here and that will not help me with my point. The point is start adding all these tips that you probably have already heard about one at a time to your life and you will find that they stay there permanently.

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No Comments heriblog on Jul 24th 2010

Filed under Nutrition

Finding Information On Sports Nutrition

If you have definitely no idea on what sports nutrition is all about, then this article on sports nutrition information might enlighten you.


It is good to know about sports nutrition, not only because you are an athlete or thinking of being one, but it can also help in your nutritional status. This kind of nutrition does not just apply to athletes, though you would first perceive that upon reading its name. Sports nutrition actually applies to everyone, only that it is concentrated on athletes.


Good sports nutrition is not only about what you eat, assuming you are an athlete or would want to become one. It is also about the degree of importance of the food that you eat.


Researchers have come up with sports nutrition information saying that what athletes consume before and after a session of training makes a very big difference on the recovery and performance.


Diets that contain ideal nutrient combinations enhance your performance and also your recovery, at the same time improves the integrity of your muscles. So diets that have an exaggerated amount or excessive amount of a certain vitamin or mineral, or lacking otherwise, do not help your body at all. In fact, it makes your health worse, if what you have left after following this kind of diet from quite some time can actually still be considered as “health”.


Carbohydrates and proteins can do wonders for your stance. However, you must not neglect pieces of sports nutrition information saying that for a better training and workout to occur, the carbohydrates and proteings must be combined at the right time. Why? It is because nutrient timing is one of the many strategies that can deem to be very beneficial for those who exercise daily.


Sports nutrition information will also tell you that if you want to fight the obesity epidemic face to face, then you must first increase your daily intake of calcium in your diets. Calcium can’t only help your bones and also help you avoid bone diseases or illnesses, but it can also do a big thing in fighting obesity.


When taking in carbohydrates, you have to know if these carbohydrates are needed by your system. If you take certain carbohydrates that are not essential for your health, then there is a big tendency that your health will be compromised.


So, as mentioned, you must take in adequate amounts only. You also have to be aware of which carbohydrates are good or which are bad. Bad carbohydrates are carbohydrates that will have an adverse effect on you. So who would want bad carbohydrates in their system? Most definitely not you.


Everyday, athletes are faced, and sometimes even ambushed, with an abundance of very delicious foods that are very accessible for them. Sometimes even too accessible, which becomes a reason why some, or rather most of the athletes, find it hard to say no to consuming them. But if good performance or success is the goal then health must come first, and say no to those foods that are very tempting.


Everyone knows that self-control is part of being an athlete, but this self-control does not just apply to the performance or temper but also to the food that is being consumed.


For the majority of the human population, eating is the only part of the day that can be considered pleasurable; it is like saying that life without strawberries can be grim.


The only explanation to this is that many people have learned to depend on food for comfort when you are feeling lonely, isolated or stressed. It is a horrible coping stress mechanism. Yeah, it could undermine your stress for a few minutes as you eat, but when you are done with that, you will feel a lot worse when you look at your fat self in the mirror.


There are numerous approaches to dieting and many empty claims for fake successes with fad diets. There are the calories restriction, high protein and fat or low carbohydrates, low fat or high fiber. There are pieces of evidence that strongly suggest that people may have different kinds of responses to specific diets depending on whether their weight is too much distributed towards their abdomen or not.


Sports nutrition information is not so hard to understand at all. There are no complications, only contraindications. So basically, sports nutrition information will tell you what to eat, what not to eat, why and why not and what are the effects of all of the options that have been mentioned.

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No Comments heriblog on Jul 23rd 2010

Filed under Diet

Diet Tips

To effectively lose weight you must eat a healthy and balanced diet. Fad diets, pills, and other gimmicks are not effective or healthy. While these products usually produce short term results, they have more side effects than benefits.

Here is a simple breakdown.

Carbohydrates should be 60% of your daily diet

Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy. You must consume enough carbohydrates daily to remain healthy. Restricting your calories with low-carbohydrate diets decreases your energy.

Types of Carbohydrates

Simple carbohydrates like (sugars, including glucose and fructose from fruit and vegetables, lactose from milk, and sucrose from cane or beet sugar)

Complex carbohydrates like (carrots, broccoli, corn, potatoes, bread, cereal, pasta, rice, and beans) which contain glucose, fiber, and other nutrients.

Fat should be 30% of your daily diet

Fat adds flavor to food, and is an important component of a healthy diet. Fat is necessary for energy production, transporting fat soluble vitamins, protection of internal organs, insulation, healthy skin, hair, and supplying the linoleic acid[1].

Types of fat

1. Triglycerides are the chemical form in which most fat exists in food as well as in the body. They’re also present in blood plasma and, in association with cholesterol, form the plasma lipids.

2. Saturated fats come primarily from animal sources:

EXAMPLES

Butter, whole milk, dairy products, and meats.

Coconut and palm oils are also high in saturated fat. Saturated fat raises cholesterol[2] levels more than any element in your diet. Less than 10% of your daily calories should come from saturated fat sources.

3. Unsaturated fats can be either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.

Monounsaturated fats. This type of fat can reduce LDL cholesterol without affecting beneficial HDL’s. This is the preferred form of fat in a diet.

Examples include olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, and avocado oil.

Polyunsaturated Fats are divided into omega-6 vegetable oils and omega-3 fish oils.

Examples include sunflower, corn, and sesame. The omega-3 oils come from fish like mackerel, halibut, salmon, albacore tuna, and whitefish.

Benefits of Omega-3 oils are decreased blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood clotting.

THE PROBLEM:

Most people eat almost twice as much fat as the human body is designed to handle. 36% to 41% of total daily calories often come from fat.

Protein should be 10% of your daily diet

Protein builds and repairs muscle, red blood cells, hair, and other tissues. Protein is also necessary for the synthesizing hormones.

Examples from plants include: Fruits, grains, and vegetables.

Examples from legumes include: Dried beans or tofu with rice or bread.

Meat is a good source of protein, but too much may lead to high cholesterol.

Here are some less fatty cuts of meat

Beef…………….Top round, eye of round, round steak, rump roast, sirloin tip, short lion, strip steak lean, lean and extra lean ground beef.

Pork……………Tenderloin, sirloin roast or chop, center cut loin chops

Lamb………… Foreshank, leg roast, leg chop, loin chop

HOW TO PLAN A DIET

STEP 1

DETERMINE YOU’RE EATING PATTERNS

Take a few days to record what you are eating and drinking, being specific as possible. Logging your diet will give you an idea of what and when you are eating. Tracking your diet is important in determining the changes needed.

Visit www.thebrim.com/fitness and use the calorie counter to determine the breakdown of calories for most foods. Enter the name of the food into the box and press enter.

Analyze your log sheet and determine how many calories you consume daily. Calorie intake needs will differ for each individual. Many people mistakenly eat too few calories. Consuming under 1200-calories for women and 1800-calories for men is severely low.

Typically it is best to eat about 500-1000-calories less a day than your total calories burned.

(See Chapter 1: Harris Benedict Equations)

After you determine an estimate of your calorie intake, use the chart below to determine the breakdown where your calories should come from.

STEP 2

PLAN AND MAKE CHANGES TO YOU’RE DIET.

If you are not eating enough, increase your calorie intake. Women and men should eat at least 1200 and 1800 calories a day respectively. Severely restricting calories will result in an eventual weight gain or lack of energy. If you are restricting your calories, start eating more immediately. If you are eating too much start by cutting your portion sizes.

Tips to control Portion size

Decrease your portions by half

You can lose weight and still enjoy your favorite foods. Just decrease your portion sizes by half. Take your typical dinner serving and decrease it by half. Try supplementing your meal with fresh fruit or vegetables on the side. After you eat, wait a few minutes to allow yourself to feel full. You will probably notice you don’t feel the urge to eat as much.

Don’t eat a three-course meal at restaurants

When dining out, watch how much you are eating. Most restaurants serve huge portions for the main course. Eating an appetizer, main course, and desert is too much food. Many restaurants offer lunch size portions of their dishes, which are smaller than their full-size dinner entrees. In most restaurants you can purchase the lunch size entree at dinnertime. Ordering from the lunch menu helps with portion control.

Don’t biggie-size anything

Fast food portions are normally too large. Upsizing meals give you extra food you don’t need. If you decide to eat fast food (which should be rare), order the regular size.

Start Reading Labels

Look carefully at the serving size for your food. Find out how many servings you are actually consuming. You will soon know how to measure a serving size simply by looking at the food.

· NO BUFFETS!!!

It is nearly impossible to practice portion control in an “all-you-can-eat” situation. Many individuals mistakenly eat as much as possible in a buffet. This is not good for someone on a diet.

Learn the standards:

3 oz. of meat is the size of a deck of cards or an audio tape; 1 oz. of meat is the size of a matchbook; 1 cup of potatoes, rice, or pasta looks like a tennis ball.

——————————————————————————–

[1] Linoleic acid is a member of the group of essential fatty acids called omega-6 fatty acids, so called because they are an essential dietary requirement for all mammals.

[2] Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a building block of cells, vitamins, and hormones in the body. The human body makes cholesterol in all cells of the body and also gets cholesterol from some foods in the diet. It is transported in the bloodstream to other cells or for elimination by the body.

Cholesterol is a solid fat carried in blood by lipoproteins and deposited in the walls of arteries which therefore narrow and when they block completely cause heart attacks and strokes.

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No Comments heriblog on Jul 22nd 2010

Filed under Health

Health Tips During Pregnancy

Health during pregnancy is of paramount importance. This is because you are not just concerned about your welfare but also about that of your unborn child or children. There are so many pitfalls for pregnant women in this regard. Many have contributed to poor health and defects in their children. Ill habits like smoking, alcoholism and abuse of drugs will gravely endanger the life of the unborn. As a pregnant woman, you need to play the guardian role if you do not want to regret in the future. Poor health in pregnancy is not just caused by the above; it will come if you fail to observe healthy practices outlined below. These tips will help you make pregnancy a blissful experience..

The first tip for health during pregnancy has to do with what you eat. You need to be more cautious because you want to nourish the unborn with helpful nutrients. Your health care provider will point out foods rich in vitamins, minerals and others to ensure that you follow this path. Also, it is important for you to take supplements so that you can make up for different nutritional requirements. However, women need to be cautious, before you go choosing supplements, consult your doctor.

During pregnancy, there are certain foods that you need to avoid. Apart from unhealthy starchy processed foods, keep away from raw fish, fish high in mercury and certain kinds of cheese. Alcohol should not be taken at all and this should not be ignored. During this time, high fibre diets will help in metabolism and help avert crisis such as constipation. During this time, you need to replenish your body with water and this will keep you refreshed and help your system in general.

During pregnancy, you need to honour the most important meal of the day which is breakfast. Some women will tend to follow their old path where they eat whenever they feel like. Experts advice all women to make sure they take in a healthy breakfast everyday. Folate, iron, calcium and a host of other nutrients must be present in a healthy meal.

When many become pregnant, they are tempted to take it easy and many become passive. Since pregnancy is not sickness, you need to follow up with daily activities. You need to work the body and make sure that your muscles have the energy. As you approach full term, it is only natural to take it easy. Walking will do you good during pregnancy and it will even enable you have an easier birth. Experts advise that 30 minutes of activity everyday will help you stay in good shape.

Regarding weight gain during pregnancy, it will help if you consult your doctor and see how much weight you are expected to gain during pregnancy. This is important because you do not want to become unhealthy due to unsolicited weight gain during this period. Investing in good health at this time will pay a lot. There is nothing that shows it more than a bouncing healthy baby at the end of the 9 months.

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No Comments heriblog on Jul 21st 2010

Filed under Nutrition

What Does Nutritional Supplements Consist Of?

Under the broad heading of nutritional supplements, you will find vitamins, amino acids, minerals, herbal supplements, some steroids and even hormones like melatonin. The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate dietary supplements and require the manufacturer ensure they are safe before they are marketed.


The FDA only takes action against any unsafe nutritional products after it reaches the market. Dietary supplements are classified as foods, not drugs as regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so they are treated differently than prescription drugs.


A nutritional supplement is a product that is intended to supplement the diet and contain any of the following dietary ingredients:


A vitamin

A mineral

An herb or other botanical (excluding tobacco)

An amino acid

A dietary substance for use by people to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake, or

A concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of any of the above


Furthermore, it must also conform to the following criteria:


It is intended for ingestion in pill, capsule, tablet, powder or liquid form.

It is not to be represented for use as a conventional food or as the sole item of a meal or diet.

It is labeled as a dietary supplement.

While hormones are not included in the above list, some hormones are labeled as “dietary supplements”.


Dietary supplements are permitted to make structure and/or functional nutritional value claims. These are broad claims that the product can support the structure or function of the body, as in “glucosamine helps support healthy joints”, “the hormone melatonin helps establish normal sleep patterns”. The FDA must be notified of these claims within 30 days of their first use, and there is a requirement that these claims be substantiated.


The possibility of interactions between nutritional supplements and prescription drugs is something you need to keep in mind before starting a new supplement regimen. A product may be from an “herbal” or “natural” source, but that alone does not ensure its safety.


Combined with other drugs, supplements can produce unwanted pharmacological side effects. Though a nutritional supplement may be available without a prescription, it is a good idea to seek medical counsel regarding possible adverse side effects.


The bottom line is, in order to protect yourself; it is highly recommended you investigate nutritional supplements before you start taking them. Make sure plenty of studies have been conducted that show its nutritional value, safety and effectiveness. A good rule of thumb is to evaluate whether you are already getting enough of the vitamin, mineral or herbal supplement through your dietary intake, without additional supplementation.


Eating a healthy, nutritious diet is preferable, if that is a feasible option. If you recognize you are falling short of recommended daily allowances, ask your physician or nutritionist what supplements and dosages he recommends.

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No Comments heriblog on Jul 20th 2010