(Bethesda, MD) Carol Haggans, M.S., R.D., scientific and health communications consultant in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), gives an overview of the weight-loss supplement market and the types of products available. She summarizes the scientific evidence for selected ingredients in these products (including hoodia, chitosan, garcinia cambogia, raspberry ketone, chromium, and green tea) and the quality of that evidence. Ms. Haggans uses ephedra as a case study and discusses potential safety issues for weight-loss supplement ingredients, including possible interactions with drugs and other supplements.

This presentation is part of the 2017 Mary Frances Picciano Dietary Supplement Research Practicum sponsored by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). This 2.5-day annual event for faculty, students, and health practitioners provides a thorough overview of issues, concepts, unknowns, and controversies about dietary supplements and supplement ingredients. It also emphasizes the importance of scientific investigations to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and value of these products for health promotion and disease prevention as well as how to carry out this type of research. For more information: https://ods.od.nih.gov/Research/dsrp.aspx
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Wonder whether you should take vitamins, minerals, or other dietary supplements? With more than 50,000 of these products on the market, do you know which ones might or might not be good for you, and which are safe to take? In this short animated video, the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health introduces the ODS website–the place for reliable, science-based answers to your questions about dietary supplements. Information on the website (http://ods.od.nih.gov/) is primarily in English, with many fact sheets for consumers available in Spanish. This video is also available in Spanish: ¿Debería tomar suplementos dietéticos? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waP9PcaO4Vk)
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