What Are Dietary Supplements and Nutraceuticals?

Abstract

In the US, dietary supplement annual sales are about $30 billion annually, which is in the same sales range of several of the large pharmaceutical, or so called Big Pharma, companies. As doctors, we know how often people take one or more supplements with the idea that they are having a medicinal effect. A dietary supplement is a product that contains nutrients derived from food products that are concentrated in liquid or capsule form. Strictly speaking, dietary supplements, or simply supplements, are a subcategory of foods, not drugs. In 1994 Congress defined the term “dietary supplement” as a product taken by mouth that contains a “dietary ingredient” intended to supplement the diet. By law a dietary ingredient must be one or a combination of compounds specified in the Dietary and Health Education Act, such as vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals and amino acids.