In another article, we noted that Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) products can be grouped into a few categories based mainly on their known or hypothesized effects on the person’s body and mind. Please see the following article on this website:
What is included under complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)?
What do you think the term “dietary supplement” should mean?
We hear and read about the term “dietary supplements” all the time. Did you know that “dietary supplements” include much more than just vitamins and minerals? The term “dietary supplements” does NOT mean what you would think it means. Based on common sense, I thought that it should mean products containing substances that are found in normal food, but some consumers may want to “supplement” their diet by taking the product because they think they are not getting enough, for example, omega-3 fatty acids. Isn’t that what you would think “dietary supplements” means?
But, instead, the term “dietary supplement” was given a specific meaning in a 1994 law that completely changed how these products can be labeled and marketed, drastically limiting the FDA’s ability to regulate these products.
Register