Dietary Supplement Popularity

Throughout history, people have used herbal medicines and supplements to prevent illness, relieve fever, heal wounds, and cure infection.

Dietary supplement manufacturers produce dietary supplements, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids and herbs. Supplements can produced be in the form of a capsule, tablet, or liquid. The purpose is to supplement, or ‘add to’, the diet. Many people do not get the vitamins and minerals that their bodies need eating their normal diet, so they turn to supplements to fill in the gaps.

Dietary supplements are available in health food stores, grocery stores, pharmacies, on the Internet, and by mail. People commonly take them for health-related reasons. Some of the most common dietary supplements include –

  • vitamins and minerals like vitamin C
  • multivitamins
  • herbs and plant products, like St. John’s Wort
  • other substances that come from a natural source, like Omega-3 fatty acids

Supplements contribute to health maintenance and well-being, and have become increasingly popular. People use dietary supplements to treat many conditions – from bone degeneration to heart health. There are some that treat constipation, ease pain, or act as stimulants or relaxants.

Although not FDA approved, many supplements have been studied and researched. Almost every supplement has proof of how well it works and how much it can help. For example, researchers have found that Omega-3 fatty acids lower triglyceride levels.

People have used the active ingredients in dietary supplements for thousands of years to help health and to treat illness. Sometimes, those supplements are even the basis for some of today’s common medicines. For example, people have used willow bark tea to relieve fever for centuries. Eventually, the active chemical in willow bark was identified by pharmaceutical companies, isolated and became what we know today as “aspirin”.

Many people prefer supplements to conventional medicine or want to supplement missing vitamins, meaning that trustworthy dietary supplement manufacturers are in high demand. People all around the world are looking for supplements to help them live a healthier, happy life!