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Summary

Dietary supplements are vitamins, minerals, herbs, and many other products. They can come as pills, capsules, powders, drinks, and energy bars. Supplements do not have to go through the testing that drugs do.

Some supplements can play an important role in health. For example, calcium and vitamin D are important for keeping bones strong. Pregnant women can take the vitamin folic acid to prevent certain birth defects in their babies.

To take a supplement as safely as possible

• Tell your health care provider about any dietary supplements you use
• Do not take a bigger dose than the label recommends
• Check with your health care provider about the supplements you take if you are going to have any type of surgery
• Read trustworthy information about the supplement

NIH: National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements

Start Here

• 5 Tips: What Consumers Need To Know about Dietary Supplements (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD) (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
• Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
• FDA 101: Dietary Supplements (Food and Drug Administration)
• MedlinePlus: Herbs and Supplements (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) Also in Spanish
• Using Dietary Supplements Wisely (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) Also in Spanish
• What You Need to Know about Dietary Supplements (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Alerts and Advisories (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) - PDF
• Dietary Supplements: What Is Safe? (American Cancer Society)
• Examples of Dietary Supplement Interactions (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Percent Daily Value: What Does It Mean? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Weight Loss, Male Enhancement, and Other Products Sold Online or in Stores May Be Dangerous (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• 5 Things to Know about Probiotics (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• 6 Things to Know about Type 2 Diabetes and Dietary Supplements (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Botanical Dietary Supplements: Background Information (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
• Colloidal Silver (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Dietary Supplement Fact Sheets (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
• Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
• Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) Also in Spanish
• Omega-3 Supplements: In Depth (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Pomegranate (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Probiotics: What You Need to Know (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine (SAMe): In Depth (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Trace Elements: What They Do and Where to Get Them (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
• Vitamin, Mineral, and Multivitamin Supplements for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force) - PDF

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Dietary Supplements (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Trace Elements (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Glucocorticoid supplementation improves reproductive outcomes in infertile women with antithyroid autoimmunity...
• Article: The effect of oral nutritional supplement therapy on nutritional status and...
• Article: A Microbiota-Directed Food Intervention for Undernourished Children.
• Dietary Supplements -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Definitions of Health Terms: Minerals (National Library of Medicine)
• Definitions of Health Terms: Vitamins (National Library of Medicine)

Find an Expert

• Find a Nutrition Expert (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
• Food and Drug Administration
• Food and Nutrition Information Center
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
• National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements

Children

• 10 Things To Know About Dietary Supplements for Children and Teens (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Dietary Supplements for Toddlers (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Sports Supplements (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Men

• Supplements and Men's Health (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)

Women

• Dietary Supplements (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Older Adults

• Dietary Supplements for Older Adults (National Institute on Aging) Also in Spanish
• Tips for Older Dietary Supplement Users (Food and Drug Administration)

Patient Handouts

• Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF