NCCIH Biologically-Based Practices and Food Supplements

Dietary Supplements

• Defined by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994 as products taken by mouth to supplement the diet.
• Includes vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other nutritional supplement products.
• Different forms of dietary supplements: extracts, concentrates, tablets, capsules, gel caps, liquids, and powders.

Biological Based Treatments (BBT)

• Includes chelation therapy and diet therapy.
• Chelation therapy aims to remove metals, mainly used for heavy metal poisoning.
• Diet therapy uses specialized dietary regimens to treat or prevent specific diseases, promote general health, and detoxify the body.

Types of Diets

• Macrobiotic diet: consists largely of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and cereals.
• Paleo diet: consists of more protein and fibers, and less carbohydrates.
• Mediterranean diet: mainly consists of plant-based foods and healthy fats.
• Low-carbohydrates diet: consists more of proteins, fats, and vegetables.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• Responsible for regulating dietary supplements.
• Manufacturers and distributors are responsible for ensuring product safety before market release.

Warning from FDA

• FDA warns against purchasing and consuming unregistered food supplements and food products, including:
  • Garden's Secret 16 in 1 Turmeric
  • Turmeric Miracle Herb
  • Gerry's Mangosteen Tea
  • Paradise Vitamin D3 5000 IU Dietary Supplement
  • 21st Century Standardized Saw Palmetto Extract Dietary Supplement
  • Laci le Beau Super Dieter's Tea Lemon Mint Herbal Dietary Supplement
  • Laci le Beau Super Dieter's Tea Acai Berry Herbal Dietary Supplement
  • California Gold Nutrition Collagen Up 5000 Marine Sourced Collagen Peptides + Hyaluronic Acid + Vitamin C Dietary Supplement

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

• Biological Based Therapies (BBT) is one of the five domains of CAM.
• BBT is the most used CAM, with vitamins and minerals being the most used type.

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

• Defines biological-based practices as the use of substances found in nature, such as herbs, foods, and vitamins to strengthen, heal, and balance the body.
• These substances are broadly classified as dietary supplements.

Definition of Biologically-Based Practices

• Includes herbs and botanicals, probiotics, diets, vitamins and minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids.
• Natural products include herbs and botanicals, vitamins and minerals, probiotics, and dietary supplements.

Food or Dietary Supplements

• Defined by Administrative Order No. 2014-0029 as processed food products that help supplement the diet.
• May contain dietary ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, and other dietary substances made from plant, animal, natural, or artificial matter.
• May take various forms, including liquids, capsules, pills, tablets, powders, and gels.
• Not marketed as a conventional food or as a replacement for drugs and medicines.

Biologically-Based Therapy

• Most used of all the CAM domains in recent years.
• Used for treating domestic illnesses, heart diseases, antineoplastic, and selected chronic diseases.
• 38% of adults and 12% of children employed biologically-based CAM in the US.

Herbs and Botanicals

• A botanical is a plant or plant part valued for its medicinal or therapeutic properties, flavor, and/or scent.
• Herbs are a subset of botanicals.

Probiotics

• Live microorganisms that may help prevent and treat some illnesses by promoting a healthy digestive tract and a healthy immune system.
• Greek "pro" means promoting.
• Avoid taking on an empty stomach to prevent upsetting the stomach.
• Don't take more than the recommended dose.

Regulation of Dietary Supplements

• Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 (FD&C Act) formed the basis for regulation of dietary supplements in the US.
• Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) amended the FD&C Act, including specific provisions for dietary supplements.
• In the Philippines, Republic Act 3720 (Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1963) and Republic Act 9711 (Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009) provide the legal framework for regulating dietary supplements.