Characteristics of dietary supplements, the difference between dietary supplements and medications, cost and sale of dietary supplements. Myths about dietary supplements
Dietary supplements are used to eliminate the deficiency of any substances in the body that have already led or may lead to the occurrence of a disease, while the purpose of using medications is to treat a disease that has already occurred.
Medicines often do not combine well with each other, which is why most of them are prescribed by a doctor after a detailed examination and interview of the patient. Dietary supplements can perfectly complement the main treatment, accelerating recovery and supporting the body during the difficult period of recovery. Dietary supplements are sold in pharmacies without a doctor's prescription.
The harm caused to the body due to overdose and improper use of biological additives is incomparably less than due to improper use of medications.
A dietary supplement is a biologically active food additive. But why do you need to add something to it? Let's figure it out.
According to research by scientists, a person’s health largely depends on the lifestyle he leads, or more precisely, on how healthy his diet is. Many doctors, who do not always agree with each other on a number of issues, agree that the worse a person eats, the more sick they become.
According to experts, more than 600 different substances should be present in the daily diet of every person.
However, the lifestyle of modern man has changed significantly over the past decades. Physical labor is increasingly being replaced by mechanisms, a person moves less, spends less energy and, therefore, consumes less food. At the same time, this food is not always the healthiest: increasingly, natural and fresh products are being replaced by fast food.
Research by the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences has established that 60-80% of the Russian population, primarily teenagers and pregnant women, are deficient in vitamins D, C, E, and group B. In many regions of Russia, there is not enough iodine, selenium and magnesium in the water and food. The diet of most Russians is clearly deficient in dietary fiber.
Biologically active additives (BAA), which are concentrates of natural substances obtained from natural raw materials, or substances obtained through chemical synthesis that are identical to natural analogues, can help in eliminating the deficiency of vitamins and minerals.
Most often, dietary supplements are used in cases where it is necessary:
- neutralize the side effects of antibiotics;
- eliminate the consequences of poor ecology;
- in complex therapy;
- in the early stages of illness.
It is dietary supplements that are designed to compensate for the deficiency of essential vitamins and minerals. If there is a lack of them, a person becomes lethargic, irritable and becomes more at risk of getting sick.
Referring to Russian legislation, dietary supplements are concentrates of biologically active substances, the purpose of which is to improve the quality of life and reduce the risk of disease due to lack of nutrients, in contrast to drugs that are designed to cure an existing illness.
Also, based on the definition of dietary supplements, it follows that these are substances of natural origin, in contrast to drugs, which are largely obtained through chemical synthesis. A dietary supplement may contain many components; its composition cannot be expressed in one formula. Medicines have a strict chemical composition and one main active ingredient.
Dietary supplements have fewer contraindications and side effects than medications, so they can be used by more people.
In Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former USSR, there is a constant discussion about the benefits or harms of food supplements (dietary additives). That is, vitamins and minerals that should replace what we supposedly get from food.
Some say it is harmful, others say it is beneficial.
Those who say that it is harmful believe that if you need vitamin C, eat an orange; you need carotene, eat carrots and so on.
Those who say that it is useful claim that to get the daily requirement of vitamin C, you need to eat more than one kilogram of oranges. It’s the same with carotene, especially since it’s not clear how this carrot was grown.
There is such a range that I don’t know whether to take dietary supplements or not.
Supplements - reviews from doctors
Alexey's review Kovalkova nutritionist
Dietary supplements are not only vitamins and minerals, dietary supplements are substances that catalyze a certain action in the body and act very smoothly and gently.
Let's imagine. You are driving a car and your oil light comes on, what should you do?
There are two possible answers: the first is to go to the service center, and the second is to unscrew the light bulb. You drive on and nothing is on fire, nothing interferes. We understand that harm is being done.
So here are all the medications that drugs act exactly like this: you have a headache, they give you a headache pill; you have blood pressure, you are prescribed a pill for blood pressure, a fever - for fever, a stomach ache - for the stomach, that is, they are treated symptomatically.
Now tell me, if you take antibiotics and hormonal drugs from the doctor, what can they cure?
Most diseases are not cured, but are transferred to the chronic stage. A person lives and constantly uses medications. And now there is a huge war between manufacturers of dietary supplements and medicines. And, depending on how much money was paid, our medicines are either fake or dietary supplements are all poison and deception.
The way dietary supplements work is that they work very slowly, gradually. They work by aligning the body’s internal cycle and metabolic processes so that a person recovers.
That is, we can say that this is an element of preventive medicine that doctors forgot about a long time ago; we simply no longer have it in Russia. When we went to resorts, took vitamins and supplements, we forgot about it. Medicine now treats based on the fact: what hurts, we inject it there. If it doesn't help, then we amputate.
Many people say that dietary supplements are some kind of nonsense.
I always give a very interesting example: there are all two medical drugs for the discovery of which they were given a Nobel Prize.
One of them is statins for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and the development of atherosclerosis, which fights bad cholesterol, and the second is a dietary supplement called ubiquinone, an excellent substance that affects blood vessels, improving their elasticity four times.
And (fatty acids), recognized throughout the world, Americans now consume them every day because they restore the vascular endothelium damaged by carbohydrates. When ulcers form from carbohydrates (from sugar), omega-3 is the only remedy in the world that can restore the endothelium.
That is, there are unique substances that heal the body from the inside, normalizing its life cycle.
It is also very important that if you buy dietary supplements, it is very important that they bear the GMP production mark. This means that this drug is of the highest quality, that is, it is produced on luxurious equipment. The mark is awarded internationally, that is, they come from Europe, check everything, they must contain natural ingredients.
Question. Are there safe supplements for weight loss? You remember all these scandals with Thai pills and so on. Everyone was passionate about it and the results were terrible. I have many friends who have gained dozens of kilograms and still can’t cope with it.
Answer. When losing weight, we limit our diet. That is, we already do not receive enough vitamins and microelements. And when we limit food, there is generally a meager amount left. And all our internal biochemistry begins to go haywire - this is not enough, this...
Therefore, dietary supplements are needed as a replacement component, as a complementary component, but it doesn’t happen that you take a pill, and in the morning your fat has resolved, keloid scars and unwanted pregnancy have gone away.
Review by Marina Ushenina- microbiologist, nutritionist
When you are young, you have a margin of safety, you have an advance given to you by God, and how you use it, how many years you spend it, determines how long you will live.
In a metropolis, where people often eat almost artificial food, breathe not at all ecological air, where they constantly encounter emotional stress, because they are sometimes required to do more than they can do in a working day, of course, we can’t talk about healthy people.
To say that you can simply eat fruits and vegetables and thereby restore your natural balance is now, to say the least, naive.
Review by Lyubov Alimova— doctor of systemic medicine, head of the Valeological Center.
Now is such a social period that if you start to get sick, then you can’t keep up with this life, that is, life seems to push you to the sidelines.
You can imagine that our body is a factory that constantly needs raw materials. Proper, rational nutrition is when your factory has enough everything for a complete product.
What do we mean by youth, just the external state of the face? Or we understand that we have an organism that functions like clockwork in our youth, when we are able to work, when we are energetic. Therefore, if we are talking about the youth of the body, then, of course, we need to work with internal tasks.
There are different levels of technology and therefore those dietary supplements that are simply obtained by drying herbs are not expensive. But where high technology is involved, this increases the cost.
Review by Alexey Chizhov– Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation
This is primarily due to the fact that our body does not know how to adapt so quickly to the colossally changing environmental factors that develop at incredible speed.
Look, the concentration of toxic factors increases every year. You and I eat food that contains a huge amount of additives that are not necessary for the body. That is, the body cannot cope, so we age much faster.
In general, the body of the majority, especially Russians, is, as I say, in the third state. This is neither illness nor health. This is an intermediate state and the slightest negative push pushes him into illness.
And if a person begins, for example, to exercise, take protective complexes, and so on, then his body can return to a state of complete well-being or health.
If a sufficiently large number of people react negatively to synthetic vitamins, this does not happen when taking natural complexes. Everything is balanced there, and the body takes what it needs and what it lacks.
And when a person takes several pills of vitamins, microelements, non-pharmacological naturopathic class, along with food for breakfast, then, without a doubt, he provides himself with powerful support.
Review by Vladimir Startsev– Doctor of Medical Sciences, urologist of the highest category, oncologist, nutritionist
This is why there are dietary supplements, which contain many vitamins and microelements that we need every day.
They should not be confused with food additives, which are often taste enhancers and preservatives.
A dietary supplement is completely different, it is a small capsule that contains the daily ration of the necessary components that need to be consumed.
One or two capsules may contain the optimal amount of minerals and elements for life throughout the day. And this is the work of the brain. This is the work of the heart. Joints. It is difficult to say which body system biologically active supplements do not affect.
Review by Svetlana Smirnova– infectious disease doctor, psychophysiologist
Naturally, if a person has an active, stressful lifestyle, then the need for vitamins and microelements is... just air without which it is impossible to live!!!
About health with NSP products
The benefits of natural vitamins, dietary supplement
The prebiotic inulin is beneficial for the body due to the selective activation of vital functions and the growth of beneficial microflora of the large intestine, and takes an active part in the metabolic processes of the human body. Inulin is part of natural herbal preparations (dietary supplement) NSP in capsules and tablets
The dietary supplement market in Russia is practically unregulated and is flooded with fakes. Aggressive marketing has also created a bad reputation for dietary supplements, so that many, including medical professionals, refuse to use them in their lives and practices. And in vain, according to candidate of medical sciences, naturopathic doctor, osteopath Alexander Ivanov. In a new article, he will talk about the role and benefits of dietary supplements for the human body.
The market for the production and sale of dietary supplements in our country is poorly regulated, unlike, for example, the drug market Photo: BUSINESS Online
ALMOST AN EXACT WORD
In today's article we will talk about dietary supplements, the so-called dietary supplements. Today, for most Russians, dietary supplements are almost a dirty word. And this is due to the fact that the market for the production and sale of dietary supplements in our country is poorly regulated, unlike, for example, the drug market (although there are also many problems with falsification). Unscrupulous manufacturers and sellers take advantage of this, who sometimes pass off “chalk” as a panacea for all diseases. Moreover, aggressive advertising and marketing do their job, convincing gullible consumers of the vital need to take some dietary supplements instead of medications. In general, all this is pure fraud, for which they should be severely punished.
It must be said that the attitude towards dietary supplements in the professional medical environment is also ambiguous. There are doctors who categorically deny the use of dietary supplements in treatment regimens and even prevention. In my opinion, such a categorical approach is not justified and is rather caused by a lack of knowledge in this area. Needless to say, in our medical education system very little attention is paid to the issues of prevention and training of doctors in terms of nutrition and dietetics.
Let's try to unbiasedly understand this topic: are dietary supplements really that bad and do modern people need them to maintain health?
WHAT IS A BUD AND WHAT IS IT EATING WITH?
First, let’s find out what specialists—doctors and nutritionists—mean when they pronounce the word “dietary supplement.”
Dietary supplement is an abbreviation that stands for “dietary supplement”, in fact, these are concentrates of natural or natural-identical biologically active substances, which are intended for introduction into food products or directly into the diet in order to replenish vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other useful substances. It doesn't sound too bad. Such additives are usually obtained from plant, animal or mineral raw materials. Some dietary supplements are produced using biotechnology - enzyme and bacterial preparations.
Dietary supplements are used in dietary, sports and functional nutrition, as sorbents and antioxidants, to replenish the body of vitamins and minerals, polyunsaturated fatty acids, amino acids, fiber, bioflavonoids and other vitamin-like substances.
BAD AND LAW
The production of dietary supplements in our country is regulated by the Law of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation No. 117 of April 15, 1997 “On the procedure for examination and hygienic certification of biologically active food additives” and the Federal Law of January 2, 2000 No. 29-FZ “On the quality and safety of food products.”
According to these laws, any dietary supplement, before it reaches our retail pharmacy network, must receive state registration with the issuance of an appropriate certificate. Before introducing a particular dietary supplement, as a rule, clinical trials are carried out at research institutes, as a result of which they determine whether there is a positive effect from using the supplement or not. Unlike medicines, each batch of dietary supplements is not subject to mandatory certification and declaration (quality testing by an independent laboratory). This is exactly what unscrupulous manufacturers take advantage of, violating the recipe and production technology. In addition, clinical trials of dietary supplements are not a mandatory procedure or are carried out by the manufacturer itself, which greatly facilitates the registration of the drug.
Dietary supplements that have passed clinical trials in production receive a certificate of registration and are entered into the federal register of dietary supplements. The main document giving the right to circulate these additives in the Russian Federation is the registration certificate. The reliability of the latter is checked against the Register on the official website of Rospotrebnadzor. In accordance with SanPiN 2.3.2.1290-03 “Hygienic requirements for the organization of production and circulation of biologically active food additives,” retail trade in dietary supplements can only be carried out through pharmacies, as well as through specialized stores selling health products and grocery stores.
Dietary supplements and nutritional science
Strictly speaking, dietary supplements are not a medicine, but at the same time they are not a food product, occupying an intermediate position between them. But this does not detract from its role in maintaining human health in the modern world. In 1989, the American scientist Stephen de Felice introduced the concept of “nutraceuticals” to describe “pharmaceutical” food products, because with the help of modern pharmaceutical technologies it is possible to extract beneficial substances from food (for example, vitamins and minerals) and concentrate them in just one pill. For example, in order to get your daily dose of vitamin C, you don’t have to eat a kilogram of oranges; just drink one capsule of acerola berry extract. I believe that the future of preventive medicine lies in high-quality dietary supplements. Actually, the scientific approach to nutrition led to the emergence of a new branch of dietetics - nutritionology, which studies the influence of nutrients (food components) on the physiological functions of the body, not only in a sick, but also in a healthy body.
Photo: pexels.com
NUTRICEUTICS AND PARAFARMACEUTICS
Dietary supplements are conventionally divided into nutraceuticals and parapharmaceuticals.
Nutraceuticals include vital, or essential, substances, such as vitamins and their precursors (carotene), macroelements and microelements (for example, iron, magnesium, sulfur, selenium, zinc, chromium, iodine). The use of nutraceuticals can improve the quality of nutrition, replenish missing substances in the body, accelerate detoxification and healing of the body, and increase resistance to infection, stress and other adverse environmental influences.
Parapharmaceuticals include the so-called minor components of food - organic acids, flavonoids, biogenic amines, etc. These substances act as bioregulators. This group includes prebiotics, such as plant polysaccharides inulin, pectin and lactulose, which create favorable conditions for our microflora in the intestines, increasing immunity, detoxifying the body, removing heavy metals from it. Parapharmaceuticals are included in food products for indigestion, as well as in combination with probiotics (lactobacteria, bifidobacteria) for the treatment and prevention of intestinal dysbiosis. Probiotics, by the way, also belong to the group of parapharmaceuticals, that is, they are dietary supplements, not medications!
In fact, the division of dietary supplements into nutraceuticals and parapharmaceuticals is very arbitrary, since the same substance can belong to both classes, so another classification is more often used: dietary supplements are divided into pharmaceutical products and functional foods.
PHARMACEUTICAL AND FUNCTIONAL
Dietary supplements as pharmaceutical products are produced in dosage form (tablets, pills, capsules, powders, etc.) - these are the same vitamins, minerals, probiotics. To control their quality, the pharmaceutical production safety management system - GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) - is used.
The second group of dietary supplements are functional foods. Essentially, these are food products that are artificially enriched during the production process (the process is called nutrification) with useful components that were not previously present in the product. For example, iodized salt, porridge with a probiotic. To control the quality of such products, the HACCP food safety management and control system is used.
NATURAL AND CHEMICAL
It is obvious to everyone that natural, natural things are always healthier than artificial, synthetic ones. In this regard, dietary supplements are no exception. Preference should always be given to natural dietary supplements that contain fewer artificial ingredients, dyes, improvers, and preservatives. This is one of the main criteria for quality and safety.
Why natural dietary supplements are better than chemistry? There are several reasons. Firstly, natural dietary supplements may contain microimpurities of natural origin of other substances, in the presence of which the biological activity of the latter is higher. Artificial dietary supplements are well cleaned. Secondly, synthetic drugs may contain mirror-image isomers of the active substance that do not work in the body, so when choosing dietary supplements you should be guided by their origin and give preference to natural ingredients.
In the next publication, I will talk about common myths in the field of using dietary supplements, as well as how to choose the right dietary supplement at the pharmacy. Be healthy!
Alexander Ivanov
Every person in this world has used medications at least once in their life. This is not surprising, because each of us may periodically have a headache or experience temporary discomfort. In addition to medications, we also use supplements (vitamins and biological supplements) - these substances are designed to keep our body in good shape. They contain substances or food additives that are designed to eliminate the deficiency of biologically active substances in the body. Their main purpose is to increase resistance to diseases and strengthen the immune system.
Definition
Biologically active additives(BAA) are food additives that contain individual active compounds of biological substances or their complex. There are many biological additives that are approved by the Ministry of Health and are included in the state register, but there are also those that are prohibited for use.
Medicine is an active substance or mixture of substances of synthetic or natural origin. It is most often used for diagnosis, prevention and treatment of various diseases. Available in different dosage forms: tablets, injection solutions, capsules, ointments. All medications undergo mandatory clinical trials.
Comparison
The main difference between a dietary supplement and a medicine is that a medicine has a strict chemical formula, while a dietary supplement is a vague cocktail of active substances. Medicines must undergo clinical trials, as a result of which you can find out as accurately as possible how a particular drug affects the human body. Biological additives are not subject to mandatory clinical trials, and therefore it is almost impossible to predict their reaction to the human body. In addition, medications contain a clear dosage of the active substance, which is necessarily prescribed in the instructions, but a biological supplement contains an indefinite amount of the active substance, and one can only guess how it will affect the human body. The only consolation is that the doses of the active substance in dietary supplements are negligible, and therefore they are unlikely to seriously harm a person.
Conclusions website
- The medicine has a clearly regulated dosage of the active substance; the dietary supplement uses a free formulation.
- The medicine must undergo clinical trials, and therefore its effects on the human body are in most cases predictable. Many dietary supplements do not undergo clinical trials, and therefore it can be quite difficult to predict their effect on the human body.
We all suffer from one health problem or another from time to time, and there are almost no people left who have never taken medication. Pharmacies offer a large selection of products, but many of us would like to be treated with natural drugs. And here biological additives, which compare favorably with “chemicals,” come to the fore. Is this really true and what exactly is the difference between a dietary supplement and a medicine?
At first sight
Indeed, it is not so easy to detect differences: dietary supplements look the same as medications. Tablets or capsules containing dietary supplements, powders, solutions, extracts are produced in packaging familiar to medications. To them, as well as to medicines, detailed instructions for use are attached. However, there are still differences, and very significant ones.
First of all, the packaging of dietary supplements contains the inscriptions “Not a medicine” and “Dietary supplement.” On the box with the dietary supplement you will not find its Latin name, and most often the active ingredient is not indicated on it. By the way, this is not due to the dishonesty of the manufacturers - but more on that later.
So, what is a dietary supplement?
According to Russian laws, biologically active food additives are concentrates of natural (or identical to natural) biologically active substances obtained from plant, animal or mineral raw materials. They are intended to enrich our diet by saturating them with a complex of biologically active substances. Thus, the main goal of dietary supplement manufacturers is to improve the quality of life, prevent the development of diseases or support the body during treatment, but not treatment as such.
Natural product or chemistry?
The first two differences follow from this definition: dietary supplements are substances of natural origin, while drugs are mostly obtained by artificial chemical synthesis. At the same time, a dietary supplement may contain many components, so its composition cannot be listed in the form of chemical formulas. For example, such a dietary supplement component as “seaweed hydrolyzate” includes such a large number of different compounds that it is simply impossible to indicate all of them in the annotation. Medicines have a strictly defined chemical composition and may contain only one component.
Additives in law
Another important difference between dietary supplements and drugs is how they undergo quality control and state registration. The process of state registration of dietary supplements is carried out by the Federal Service of the Russian Federation for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare. At the same time, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation is responsible for regulating issues related to the registration of medicinal products.
Medicines are subjected to a complex multi-stage clinical trial procedure, and the process of registration and quality control of dietary supplements follows a much more simplified scheme. And this is primarily due to the fact that dietary supplements are multicomponent products, and therefore their standardization is difficult or even impossible. For the same reason, you will not find a description of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in the annotation for the dietary supplement, as well as the Latin name on the packaging.
Do no harm
A simplified registration procedure sometimes plays into the hands of unscrupulous manufacturers, and in such cases, taking some dietary supplements becomes risky. Unlike medicines, they may contain impurities not declared on the packaging, remaining in the raw materials due to insufficient purification. At the same time, most dietary supplements have a complex and mild effect on the body, activating its own defenses, while medications, as a rule, have a faster, more pronounced and targeted effect. Medicines have a list of contraindications, side effects often occur, and there is a danger of addiction and overdose. In most cases, this is not typical for dietary supplements.
Just what the doctor ordered
Can a doctor officially prescribe a dietary supplement? Not at the moment. Since dietary supplements are not medications, the doctor is not responsible for their use. The doctor can only recommend dietary supplements as an auxiliary and preventive measure, along with rest, diet or exercise. However, practice shows that dietary supplements are a valuable addition in the treatment of many diseases, since their use in combination with the main treatment helps to shorten the treatment period and reduce the dosage of medications. At the same time, various dietary supplements can be recommended for use by both sick and healthy people.
Where can I buy?
In accordance with current rules, retail trade in dietary supplements is carried out not only in pharmacies, but also in stores selling health products, as well as in specialized departments of grocery stores. As for medications, you can buy them exclusively in pharmacies.
Myths about dietary supplements
There are two most common myths about dietary supplements, and the funny thing is that they are diametrically opposed to each other. Supporters of the first believe that dietary supplements can cure many diseases, even such serious ones as cancer. The second, on the contrary, says that dietary supplements are a dangerous and absolutely useless waste of money.
Both points of view are not entirely correct. Although dietary supplements do not belong to drugs, there is still no sharply defined boundary between them. Both are used with varying success to maintain or restore health and have a pronounced effect on the body. In any case, it should be remembered that only a doctor should prescribe adequate treatment, taking into account all individual characteristics. Self-medication with both dietary supplements and medications is an unjustified risk that can lead to disaster.
Text: Ekaterina Kotova, biologist
Photo thinkstockphotos.com