Along with the growing interest in dietary supplements, there’s also growing interest in understanding just how good are the products people are buying. Clearly, the dietary supplement industry is here to stay. While the dietary supplement industry in the US is regulated by the FDA, the FDA does not regulate product formulations for quality, only manufacturing processes. This leaves consumers vulnerable to unscupulous companies that misrepresent the research underlying their product formulations or include poor quality nutrients in their products that our bodies can’t absorb and use. Fortunately, with a little education, you can learn what questions to ask. This article provides helpful guidelines to help you start asking better questions of comapnies so you can spend your hard-earned money wisely, protect your family from potential toxic chemicals,get all the incredible health benefits that high-quality products provide, and be a smart, savvy shopper.
The dietary supplements industry is one of the largest direct-to-consumer health products industry in the country. A 2017 survey
commissioned by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CNR) reported that 76% of US adults take dietary supplements. Dietary supplement manufacturers and ingredient suppliers operate in all
50 states. The dietary supplement industry provides jobs for more than 750,000 Americans and generates $5.75 billion in state and local taxes and $9.2 billion in federal taxes. In the US alone,
the dietary supplement industry generated $122 billion in revenue and continues to grow year after year. As the general public has become more aware of the health benefits of nutrition and
dietary supplements, consumers have looked for more health and wellness products.