A UK firm looking to market the naturally occurring mineral
clinoptilolite as a food supplement for smokers or people in
contact with high levels of heavy metals has been told it does not
have enough safety data.
Bed sores, which afflict up to one-tenth of hospital patients, heal
more quickly when key supplements are added to a standard hospital
diet, reports new research from Australia.
Vegetarians should take supplements of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA
(docosahexaenoic acid) to reduce their risk of heart disease, says
German firm Nutrinova, manufacturer of vegetarian DHA.
A Utah-based company's reintroduction of ephedra-containing dietary
supplements when the legal position is still unclear could prove
damaging for the industry at large.
An herbal extract developed by New Chapter suppresses the growth of
prostate cancer cells and induces prostate cancer cells to
self-destruct, according to new research.
A new law that bans Californian high school athletes from using
ephedra, DHEA or bitter orange was signed by governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger on Friday, raising industry fears that it could harm
the reputation of all supplements.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), including herbal
supplements, could make a cost-effective contribution to health
care in the UK, according to a report commissioned by the Prince of
Wales.
Calcium supplements may not increase the bone mineral density in
young women after a certain threshold level of intake has been
achieved, according to a new study from Creighton University.
The European dietary supplements market has yet to achieve
saturation and the next six years will present the industry with a
unique set of challenges and opportunities, according to Frost
& Sullivan.
Iron supplements could be improved by new research in the UK that
has identified for the first time a molecule responsible for
absorption of the mineral in the gut.
Opportunities in the mature enzyme market lie in developments,
driven by biotechnology, that provide food and beverage makers with
the right tools to meet consumer trends, claims a new report.
Taking supplements of L-Carnipure tartrate during pregnancy can
significantly reduce the increased level of plasma free fatty acids
that is considered the main cause of insulin resistance in pregnant
women, shows a new study.
The shellfish fibre chitosan has been shown in some trials to help
weight loss but inconsistent product quality has led to conflicting
results, believes one supplier.
Consumption of vitamins and minerals in China is growing, thanks to
immense economic growth and the emergence of a new consumer
culture. There may be opportunities for foreign companies to export
to the country to make up for a shortfall...
Swiss research institute VitaPlant is embarking on a research
project to develop six new plant extracts, in partnership with US
natural products supplier EuroPharma. Jess Halliday speaks
to Dr Bernd Bueter about plans to market the...
Supplement makers will need more innovative products and more
effective marketing to capitalize on a surge in demand for bone
health care in coming years, writes Dominique Patton.
UK trade officers and a charity are calling on industry to include
labelling about the risks of vitamin A to pregnant women on all
multivitamin supplements, writes Dominique Patton.
The court ruling on the European food supplements directive has
resulted in a win-win situation for industry, says one of the
groups that took the Commission to court over the laws, reports
Dominique Patton.
An extract of resveratrol-rich walnuts could offer supplement
makers a new ingredient for tackling the onset of age-related
macular degeneration, writes Dominique Patton.
Iron supplements could prevent irreversible brain damage in
thousands of children in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe,
believe UK researchers, who have started investigating the link
between iron deficiency and lead pollution,...
Regularly taking copper supplements could lead to excess levels of
the mineral that may impact health, said a US researcher last week,
calling for the current upper safe limit for the mineral to be
lowered, reports Dominique Patton.
The UK-based lobby group the Alliance for Natural Health said today
that it has commissioned independent experts to develop a new
approach to regulating food supplements to replace that proposed by
the 2002 European directive, already...
Taking a Chinese herbal supplement containing ginseng and other
plants everyday for three months has been found to improve memory
in people with mild cognitive impairment, writes Dominique
Patton.
The UK's food authority said this week that it will provide up to
£20,000 (€30,000) to pay for external scientists to produce more
dossiers for supplement ingredients not currently on the European
directive's positive list,...
Fresh from its acquisition of Solgar, the US' biggest supplement
maker NBTY said today that it has also bought the Canadian
supplement maker and distributor SISU, writes Dominique
Patton.
Irradiated herbal supplements, not permitted in the EU, are still
being sold in Ireland, says the country's food safety authority,
despite attempts to increase compliance last year.
A superoxide dismutase supplement, one of the first marketed
commercially, could reduce the susceptibility to sunburn, report
Dominique Patton and Jess Halliday.
The government has again demonstrated its commitment to
investigating the medicinal properties of botanicals, with the
National Cancer Institute (NCI) providing $1 million in funding to
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center...
D-alpha-tocopheryl acid succinate (TAS) can be safely used as a
source of tocopherol in foods for particular nutritional purposes
(PARNUTS), foods intended for the general population and food
supplements, a panel of European experts...
More than a quarter of China's health supplements are on sale
illegally and contain false claims on their packaging, found a
survey released last week.
Supplements, and not increased exposure to either natural or
artificial ultraviolet (UV) light, should be the preferred way of
topping up vitamin D levels, stress medical experts in a journal
this month.
Blue California is changing the ingredient purification process at
its China manufacturing facility from gamma-rays to ozone, in order
to meet regulatory standards in international markets.
Danish food and health authorities have launched a campaign to
promote the use of vitamin D supplements by the elderly and
dark-skinned immigrants, both groups prone to deficiency, writes
Dominique Patton.
Israeli microencapsulation firm Biodar has developed a new
technology that resolves the taste issue for companies making
mineral supplements and fortified foods, writes Dominique
Patton.
NSF International and the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) have
formed a strategic partnership to boost public confidence in
botanicals and encourage more companies to use them in their
products, reports Jess Halliday.
Manufacturers of sports nutrition products will have to clean up or
face the consequences of increased scrutiny from Europe, which this
week called for further action against doping.
The market for tryptophan supplements is set to expand in the UK if
proposed changes to current laws on the amino acid go ahead,
writes Dominique Patton.
Giving high dose vitamin D supplements to elderly housebound people
should be seriously considered as a means of preventing falls and
fractures, writes a consultant in this week's BMJ.
Fourteen mineral sources not included on the EU food supplement
directive's original list of permitted ingredients will be allowed
to stay on the market until they are reviewed by European
officials, reducing some of the uncertainty...
Increasing consumption of meat in the developing world could be a
more effective means of reducing nutrient deficiencies than giving
children supplements, say US researchers, who called for more
attention to be paid to animal source...
A daily supplement containing plant oestrogens and antioxidants
like selenium and carotenoids may slow the rise in PSA levels, a
marker for prostate cancer progression in some men, report Dutch
researchers.