Dietary supplement

As a pill

A dietary supplement (or food supplement or nutritional supplement) is anything taken by mouth which helps enhance food that a person or animal eats. It can be in pill, powder, or a liquid form.

The supplement provides nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids. People may want to take supplements because they may not have enough nutrients in their body or may want to get more healthier. Some countries define supplements as food. Others define them as drugs or natural health products.

Bodybuilding supplements are dietary supplements for those involved in bodybuilding and athletics. These supplements can help with weight gain or weight loss, or to improve their performance.

Sources of advice

• Natural Standard Research Collaboration
• Dietary Supplements Labels Database, from the United States National Library of Medicine
• International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements database from the U.S. National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements and USDA National Agricultural Library
• Dietary Supplement Information Archived 2000-10-17 at the Wayback Machine from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• What's in the Bottle? An Introduction to Dietary Supplements Archived 2011-05-06 at the Wayback Machine, from the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) by the American Public Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine: A report of the Institute of Medicine
• EPC Evidence Reports on Dietary Supplements
• Dietary Supplements: General Resources for Consumers (PDF|131 KB) Archived 2008-12-16 at the Wayback Machine, Food and Nutrition Information Center, National Agricultural Library. List of resources that provides an overview of herbal and dietary supplements, including use, regulation, research, and cautionary information.
• Questions to Ask Before Taking Vitamin and Mineral Supplements Archived 2012-01-21 at the Wayback Machine, Nutrition.gov Archived 2012-06-12 at the Wayback Machine.
• Jym supplementscience supps Archived 2024-08-11 at the Wayback Machine: A report of the JYM supplement science

Dietary Supplement Media

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  As a capsule (spirulina)

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  As a tablet (B vitamins)

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  As a softgel capsule (cod liver oil)

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  Production of cod liver oil, one of the first dietary supplement products manufactured in the 18th century

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  Pharmacies and supermarkets in the U.S. sell a large variety of vitamin dietary supplements.

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  St. John's wort petals used in natural product supplements