Dietary Supplements and Health

Dietary supplements can contain a wide variety of ingredients, either singly or in combination, including nutrients, botanicals and 'bioactive components' commonly found in foods. They are marketed and used by consumers for a range of reasons: to enhance «well-being», as traditional medicines, for health promotion or disease risk reduction, and as alternatives or complements to conventional drug therapies. On a global basis, the dietary supplement industry has enjoyed rapid growth, becoming a multi-billion dollar enterprise over the last 10 years. This growth has been associated with significant changes in both the types of products available and the reasons for using the…