Title: Hypernutrition in the supplement industry

Biography:

Sara D. Garduno-Diaz has a background in nutrition with a PhD in Nutrition and Food Science from the University of Leeds, UK; She has worked for several EU-funded research projects and was awarded research grants from CONACYT (Mexico) and the BBSRC (UK). She currently works as Nutrition Consultant for companies in Germany, Kuwait, England, Canada and the USA. Dr Diaz sits on the editorial board of various international journals, is the author of several peer-reviewed publications and books. Her research interests include the dietary patterns of migrant populations and their impact on health, as well as investigating the environmental factors that influence food selection.

Abstract

Overall micronutrient status at the different stages of life should be viewed as a continuum; too often only specific nutrients are targeted and discussed separately from both a scientific and a public health perspective. Given the significant impact of deficiencies of key micronutrients, supplementation with multiple micronutrients may be a feasible public health strategy; however, developers of these supplements tend to aim for elevated dosages attractive from a marketing perspective but lacking evidence-based science to support them. A nutrient supplement company should undertake regular self-inspections in order to check the implementation and compliance with best practices and to propose and implement any remedial actions when necessary. As of the date of submission of this work no best practice laws for the development of nutrient supplements are enforced and the implementation of procedures to ensure the quality of a product remain at the discretion of the producer. Such practices are discussed here with an emphasis on the dangers of hyper nutrition from overdosing on dietary supplements.