The Effects of Dietary Supplements on Overall Health and Wellness

1. Introduction

The increasing demand for dietary supplements is associated with increasing health costs and global awareness towards maintaining health. Most dietary supplements are safe and marketable. However, researchers discovered that supplements can have negative long-term side effects, thus consumers must be educated concerning their usage. The lack of such education is not only harmful for the consumers but also has an economic impact, as public health institutions and private insurance companies might be held accountable for insuring and compensating individuals for improper use of nutritional supplements. The "nutritional transition theory" has been proposed and validated in the literature, where nutritional switch is based on income and taste. Dietary supplement consumption has increased in all genders and all income groups; however, the emphasis is more on health promotion rather than treating diseases. Consumers in developed countries tend towards the consumption of vitamin and mineral dietary supplements, whereas both in developing and developed countries dietary supplement consumption is increasing. Dietary supplements can be broadly categorized into various groups such as vitamins, minerals, fibers, fatty acids, proteins, amino acids, etc. In the European Union, dietary supplements are categorized as 1) food supplements/stand-alone supplements/products that combine nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and herbal ingredients or supplements containing amino or fatty acids with a proposed nutritional or physiological effect, 2) fortified food/regular food used as supplements, and 3) sports supplements/products marketed specifically for sports enthusiasts that contribute to a healthy diet. These supplements have no assurance regarding their quality, safety, and purported labeling as drugs have. This essay is aimed to investigate and classify the surveys examining the effects of dietary supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, amino acids, on overall health and wellness. Survey approaches enable the gathering of information on many people's experiences at relatively low cost. Moreover, surveys can collect information on specific kinds of exposures. The method results can be generalized to populations larger than the group surveyed. The major challenges of using survey data are the noise and errors in the responses and representativeness and generalizability of the data to the broader population. No single survey may be an accurate source, and even if one particular survey provides a representative, high-quality estimate, a single analysis may become outdated with time due to advances in technology, changes in consumer preference, or shifting trends in the consumption of dietary supplements. All of these challenges result in a large amount of literature, bordering the confusion in creating a comprehensive understanding and general insights on the usage of dietary supplements on overall health and wellness from the survey results.Want to make the essay stand out?
Find uniqueness through rewriting!Let's write

2. Understanding Dietary Supplements

In the United States, 50% of the adult population uses dietary supplements, representing an increase of 40% over the past two decades. The Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act defines dietary supplements as a product intended to supplement the diet but containing one or more of the following: a vitamin, mineral, herb or other botanical, an amino acid, a diet substance for use by a person to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake, and a concentrated, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of one or more of any of these ingredients. Sales data show that multivitamins and mineral supplements are the highest selling dietary supplements in the United States. These ready-made products contain essential vitamins and minerals, as well as other nutrients vital for the body to function properly. In addition, they also contain some of the important antioxidants for strengthening the body's defenses against any health threats. Multivitamins are intended for individuals who: - consume less than 1,600 kcal per day - consume a diet that has less than the recommended levels of vitamins and minerals - are vegetarian and/or vegan - are elderly, pregnant, or lactating women - are undergoing intense workout sessions - are frequently going on diets - have digestive problems leading to a deficiency in any nutrient - consume a diet that consists of a lot of processed and convenience foods - are continuing smoking while on birth control pills. Antioxidants are known to prevent or reduce damage done to the human body by facilitating the release of toxins present in the environment. Antioxidants render these toxins useless. This, in turn, avoids any risk of causing illnesses known to be associated with th