Dietary Supplement Classification

Dietary supplements fall into several categories in relation to ingredients. These are:

1 Vitamins and minerals

· Multivitamins and minerals. These normally contain around 100% of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamins, with varying amounts of minerals and trace elements.

· Single vitamins and minerals. These may contain very large amounts, and when levels exceed ten times the RDA, they are often termed ‘megadoses’.

· Combinations of vitamins and minerals. These may be marketed for specific population groups, e.g. athletes, children, pregnant women, slimmers, teenagers, vegetarians, etc.

· Combinations of vitamins and minerals with other substances, such as evening primrose oil and ginseng.

2 ‘Unofficial’ vitamins and minerals, for which a requirement and a deficiency disorder in humans has not, so far, been recognised, e.g. boron, choline, inositol, silicon.

3 Natural oils containing fatty acids for which there is some evidence of beneficial effects, e.g. evening primrose oil and fish oils.

4 Natural substances containing ‘herbal’ ingredients with recognised pharmacological actions but whose composition and effects have not been fully defined, e.g. echinacea, garlic, ginkgo biloba and ginseng.

5 Natural substances whose composition and effects are not well defined but which are marketed for their ‘health giving properties’, e.g. chlorella, royal jelly and spirulina.

6 Enzymes with known physiological effects, but of doubtful efficacy when taken by mouth, e.g. superoxide dismutase.

7 Amino acids or amino acid derivatives, e.g. N-acetyl cysteine, S-adenosyl methionine.