Eating on the run and then filling nutritional
shortfalls with dietary supplements is common practice and a big
mistake, warns the American Dietetic Association (
www.eatright.org).
Supplements do not take the place of food, according to ADA
spokesperson Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, but multivitamins can be
useful as an adjunct to a well-balanced diet. Bonci says it helps
to see if the product bears the “USP” mark of quality from the
United States Pharmacopeia, a nongovernmental standards-setting
organization.
In general, however, supplements are not bound by the same
federal laws that conventional food manufacturers are subject to.
For updated bulletins and advisories, go to the U.S. Federal Drug
Administration website at
www.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html, and click into the
“dietary supplements” link.
Finally, Bonci suggests that anyone with a pre-existing medical
condition or who takes medication should talk to their primary care
physician before taking supplements.