Dietary supplements: safety, marketing, and nutritional alternatives

Supplements

There are many reasons that supplements have become popular. One reason is that many people realize that their diets are not adequate and they feel like they can "supplement" for the fact that they are not eating right. Other reasons include the fact that certain supplements are promoted as helping with many different conditions. For example, Gingko Bibola is promoted as helping mental processes. There is a lot of hype about supplementation and this will likely led to the continued growth of the trend.

Most of the supplements that are available are fairly safe. For example, a multivitamin does not need to be regulated and be available only with a prescription. There are some supplements that can have more serious consequences however and it is reasonable to argue that consumers should be protected. A person's primary physician would represent the ideal person to guide a patient in this process.

UNIT 3 DISCUSSSION

All but one of the friends survey take some kind of multivitamin. One also takes Vitamin D & C. And another person takes calcium supplements. The results of this brief survey were not surprising as the respondents took popular supplements.

Tofu for diner

Topic 2: Using the USDA nutrient database at http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/, compare the sodium content of fresh and processed foods (e.g., fresh vs. canned green beans and pork vs. bacon).

Soup, beef noodle, canned, prepared with equal volume water 244 1 cup 793

06174 Soup, stock, fish, home-prepared 233 1 cup 363

The home prepared soup, although it is a little different, has about half the sodium content as a comparable canned soup.

Source: Nutrient Data Lab: National Agricultural Library. Retrieved from http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/

UNIT 6 DISCUSSION

Experts say 60% to 70% of processed foods on U.S. grocery shelves have genetically modified ingredients; the most common genetically modified foods are soybeans, maize, cotton, and rapeseed oil (WebMD, N.d.). Around 88% of corn has been genetically modified to be more herbicide resistant. Around 94% of soy has been genetically modified to resist herbicides (Dvauchelle, 2014). Having the crops resistant to pesticides and insects can significantly improve crop yields. However, there are many concerns about antibiotic resistance that can be inadvertently inserted into marker genes in the GMO process (FAO, 2003). I think the potential benefits of GMOs outweigh the risks especially when considering beneficial additions such as vitamin A However, at the same time, I think these foods should be labeled so that people are able to make the decision themselves about what they are putting in their bodies.