Consumption Of Food Supplements Research Articles

Demographic and lifestyle attributes with a fundamental role in food supplement consumption (exploratory research)

The worldwide proportion of food supplement consumers has been steadily increasing, more than 50% of the Hungarian population tends to buy at least one type of dietary supplement. In most cases, the purchase and consumption of food supplements are not based on medical indications but depends on consumers’ individual decisions. The study of consumer groups enables the investigation of typicalities which have an impact on attitudes related to the consumption of food additives. The present study explores the demographical factors determining the global consumption of dietary supplements by secondary research. It sought to explore the typical features of consumer lifestyles in line with the research findings, based on previously specified criteria, through qualitative focus group examinations. My study focused on subjects who bought and purchased at least one type of food supplement in the previous year and placed a high emphasis on healthy diet and lifestyle in their everyday lives. The consumption of dietary supplements indicates growth with age and it is more common among women. Consumers with higher qualifications and incomes tend to buy products with vitamins and minerals in a greater proportion. The identification of nutrition factors revealed that the proportion of those who do not need extra nutrient intake is high among food supplement consumers. It is primarily true of women having a healthy lifestyle (they typically consume high amounts of vegetables and fruits, they are physically active, non-smokers and do not use alcohol); moreover, their socio-economic status is typically high. The findings of my quantitative research suggest that the purchase and consumption of dietary supplements are most characteristic of the “Successful”, “Quality oriented- successful” and “Loyal to the brand - modest” groups in the lifestyle-based consumer segments. The investigated sample showed ambiguous attitudes towards product quality and willingness to pay in all the three batches. Nevertheless, it can be established, when consumers buy food supplements, brand sensitivity proves to be a dominant factor in addition to - typically Hungarian - price sensitivity. Based on lifestyle factors, the current research may bring us closer to the exploration of the motivational and attitude patterns of consumers’ food supplement purchases. 
 JEL Code: I12, M31

Study on Toxic Metal Levels in Food Supplements

The objective of this study was to evaluate the chronic-toxic risks posed by individual metals via food supplements consumption by computing the hazard quotient (HQ), considering the average daily metal intake ADD (mg/kg�day), daily intake reference dose RfD (mg/kg� day) suggested by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), heavy metal concentration C in food supplements (mg/kg), food supplements rate IR (kg/person�day), and the average body weight BW (kg). For this study we took into consideration that the food supplements analyzed are consumed daily at maximum dose. Samples were digested with concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acid and analysed for their inorganic elemental compositions by ICP/MS. The hazard index (HI) was used to estimate total chronic-toxic risks of multiple metals on the assumption of dose additivity. Cd hazard index is over one and it can be considered a great issue due to its chemical toxicology. The Cd hazard index is much greater in the case of animal and mineral food supplements than vegetal supplements. In the case of the other heavy metals analyzed (Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Hg and Pb) the hazard index is very low so their toxicological potential is negligible.

Risks for human health related to the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey, tea, herbal infusions and food supplements.

EFSA was asked by the European Commission to deliver a scientific opinion on the risks for human health related to the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in honey, tea, herbal infusions and food supplements and to identify the PAs of relevance in the aforementioned food commodities and in other feed and food. PAs are a large group of toxins produced by different plant species. In 2011, the EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) assessed the risks related to the presence of PAs in food and feed. Based on occurrence data limited to honey, the CONTAM Panel concluded that there was a possible health concern for those toddlers and children who are high consumers of honey. A new exposure assessment including new occurrence data was published by EFSA in 2016 and was used to update the risk characterisation. The CONTAM Panel established a new Reference Point of 237 μg/kg body weight per day to assess the carcinogenic risks of PAs, and concluded that there is a possible concern for human health related to the exposure to PAs, in particular for frequent and high consumers of tea and herbal infusions. The Panel noted that consumption of food supplements based on PA‐producing plants could result in exposure levels too close (i.e. less than 100 times lower) to the range of doses known to cause severe acute/short term toxicity. From the analysis of the available occurrence data, the CONTAM Panel identified a list of 17 PAs of relevance for monitoring in food and feed. The Panel recommended continuing the efforts to monitor the presence of PAs in food and feed, including the development of more sensitive and specific analytical methods. A recommendation was also issued on the generation of data to identify the toxic and carcinogenic potency of the PAs commonly found in food.

Influence of Food Supplements Linchzhi and Fohow Oral Liquid Complex on Athletes’ Body

At certain stages of sporting activity where great training loads prevail, athletes’ food must be supplemented by the products bearing higher biologic value. However, widely used food supplements do not always provide the desired effect, as it occurs rather often that biologically active substances, found in the supplements, cause the side effect and thus are not able to fulfill the desirable body bioregulation. Natural and rich in biologically active food substances products are to be found. The greater attention is paid to the food supplements products using cordyceps (Cordyceps sinensis) and linchzhi (Gonoderma lucidum), shiitake (Lentinus edodes) mushrooms. The growing attention of the scientists and clinics practitioners towards the curing mushrooms based remedies worldwide is related to the detected unique immunomodulation and cytoprotective effect of these extracts. Review of literature sources provide clear evidence on the benefits of Cordyceps sinensis and Gonoderma lucidum consumption, as well as on their basis produced Fohow Oral Liquid, used for treatment of various diseases. However, the number of scientific researches dealing with the influence of these food supplements on healthy subjects’ body is not sufficient yet. The aim of this work was to carry out the study on natural food supplements Fohow Linchzhi capsules, produced by ‘Fohow Health Products Co’ company, and Fohow Oral Liquid complex’s influence on athletes’ body. The research, aimed at establishing the influence of Linchzhi capsules and Fohow Oral Liquid complex (produced by Chinese company ‘Fohow’) on athletes’ body and functional capacity, as well as on blood morphological and biochemical changes, embraced the students of Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, engaged into the program of Physical Education. These students combine both their training and studying processes. 28 investigated students participated in the research, their age varied from 20 to 23 years. The investigated were split into experimental and control groups. Members of the experimental group, made from 15 investigated subjects, used to consume the complex of food supplements for 20 days. The complex consisted of one Linchzhi capsule (620 mg) and 30 ml of Fohow Oral Liquid. The members of the control group, compiled from 13 investigated subjects, did not consume any food supplements. The first testing was carried out before the intake of food supplements, and the second testing was performed in 4–5 days after having finished food supplements complex consumption for 20 days period. During the research there were measured body development, muscle power in various energy production zones, psychomotor functions, functional capacity, blood morphological and biochemical indices. The research data were processed using the methods of mathematical statistics. According to the research results, consumption of natural biologically active food supplements Linchzhi and Fohow Oral Liquid complex for 20 days had positive influence on single muscle contraction power, anaerobic alactic glycolytic power of the investigated; statistically significant increase of the latter was established during the experimental period. The food supplements complex had a positive impact on the functional condition of blood respiratory system of the investigated. Ruffier index of the experimental group members during the period of food supplements consumption used to increase from 6.4 ± 0.6 to 4.4 ± 0.7, while resting heart rate decreased from 65.6 ± 1.7 to 58.9 ± 2.0 b/min. After the carried standard physical work, pulse rate decreased from 128.5 ± 2.4 till 118.4 ± 2.5 b/min (p < 0.01). Aerobic capacity of the athletes has increased due to the food supplements consumption: VO2max shifted from 42.0 ± 8.2 to 49.7 ± 7.8 ml/min/kg (p < 0.05). During the period of the experiment, there were no significant changes established in blood morphological and biochemical indices, and all the indices of the control group members were of less change. Keywords: food supplements, Linchzhi, Fohow Oral Liquid, physical working capacity, functional capacity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15823/sm.2016.9

Liquid chromatographic determination of caffeine and adrenergic stimulants in food supplements sold in Brazilian e-commerce for weight loss and physical fitness

Methyl-xanthines and adrenergic stimulants, such as caffeine and synephrine, are commonly added to food supplements due to their stimulating and thermogenic effects. In addition, the abusive consumption of food supplements with ergogenic and aesthetic purposes has been observed worldwide. This work describes the study of caffeine, p-synephrine, hordenine, octopamine, tyramine, ephedrine and salicin as stimulants in dietary supplements marketed in Brazil for weight loss and physical fitness claims. A total of 94 different products were acquired from 30 Brazilian websites. Thus, the sampling of marketed supplements was performed in virtual commerce (e-commerce) with claims of weight loss, appetite reduction, fat burning and metabolism acceleration. The developed analytical method involved the separation of the stimulants by HPLC with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) by using a gradient elution of flow rate (0.7–2.5 ml min−1) and mobile phase composition (0.1% H3PO4/methanol). The validated method was applied to the study of 46 dietary supplements. Caffeine, p-synephrine and ephedrine were found to be present as stimulants in 52% of the studied samples marketed as encapsulated or bulk forms. Caffeine was found to be present in concentrations that represent doses from 25.0 to 1476.7 mg day–1. Synephrine was found in concentrations that represent doses from 59.1 to 127.0 mg day–1. Ephedrine was found to be associated with caffeine in one formulation at a concentration representing a 26.1 mg day–1 dosage.

Consumption estimation of non alcoholic beverages, sodium, food supplements and oil.

The interest in the type and quantity of non alcoholic beverage, sodium, food supplements and oil consumption is not new, and numerous approaches have been used to assess beverage intake, but the validity of these approaches has not been well established. The need to intake liquids varies depending on the diet, the physical activity carried out, the environmental temperature, the humidity, etc. The variety of beverages in the diet can contribute to increasing the micro nutrient intake: vitamins, antioxidants, minerals. Risks associated to high sodium consumption are: an increase in high blood pressure, vascular endothelial deterioration, bone demineralisation, kidney disease, stomach cancer. Progress in health, investigation, education, etc. are leading to an increase in food supplement consumption. Olive oil represents one of the basic pillars of the Mediterranean diet and its normal presence in nutrition guarantees an adequate content of some important nutrients; not only oleic acid and linoleic acid but also tocopherols, phytoesterols and phenolic compounds. Biomarkers of intake are able to objectively assess dietary intake/status without the bias of self-reported dietary intake errors and also overcome the problem of intra-individual diet variability. Furthermore, some methods of of measuring dietary intake used biomarkers to validate the data it collects. Biological markers may offer advantages and be able to improve the estimates of dietary intake assessment, which impact into the statistical power of the study. There is a surprising paucity of studies that systematically examine the correlation of beverages intake and hydration biomarker in different populations. There is no standardized questionnaire developed as a research tool for the evaluation of non alcoholic beverages, sodium, food supplements and oil intake in the general population. Sometimes, the information comes from different sources or from different methodological characteristics which raises problems of the comparability. In the European Union, current epidemiological studies are scarce.

Oral Intake of Specific Bioactive Collagen Peptides Reduces Skin Wrinkles and Increases Dermal Matrix Synthesis

Dietary consumption of food supplements has been found to modulate skin functions and can therefore be useful in the treatment of skin aging. However, there is only a limited number of clinical studies supporting these claims. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the effectiveness of the specific bioactive collagen peptide (BCP) VERISOL® on eye wrinkle formation and stimulation of procollagen I, elastin and fibrillin biosynthesis in the skin was assessed. A hundred and fourteen women aged 45-65 years were randomized to receive 2.5 g of BCP or placebo, once daily for 8 weeks, with 57 subjects being allocated to each treatment group. Skin wrinkles were objectively measured in all subjects, before starting the treatment, after 4 and 8 weeks as well as 4 weeks after the last intake (4-week regression phase). A subgroup was established for suction blister biopsies analyzing procollagen I, elastin and fibrillin at the beginning of the treatment and after 8 weeks of intake. The ingestion of the specific BCP used in this study promoted a statistically significant reduction of eye wrinkle volume (p < 0.05) in comparison to the placebo group after 4 and 8 weeks (20%) of intake. Moreover a positive long-lasting effect was observed 4 weeks after the last BCP administration (p < 0.05). Additionally, after 8 weeks of intake a statistically significantly higher content of procollagen type I (65%) and elastin (18%) in the BCP-treated volunteers compared to the placebo-treated patients was detected. For fibrillin, a 6% increase could be determined after BCP treatment compared to the placebo, but this effect failed to reach the level of statistical significance. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that the oral intake of specific bioactive collagen peptides (Verisol®) reduced skin wrinkles and had positive effects on dermal matrix synthesis.

Heavy metals occurrence in Italian food supplements

In recent years a significant increase in food supplements consumption has been observed, maybe in the belief that they couldn't be dangerous for consumers health, even if they don't achieved medical effects. However, environmental pollution can cause heavy metals contamination that could exceed maximum levels established by European legislation. Aim of this work was to evaluate arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury content in 12 food supplements seized in a Piedmont shop by the Italian authority against food adulteration. All metals were analysed after mineralization and dilution steps by ICP-MS, with the exception of mercury, detected by the direct analyser TDA-AAS. Only one sample exceed the European maximum limits for lead (3,00 mg/kg) but warning levels of chromium (over 3,00 mg/Kg) has been detected in three of them.

KONSUMSI SUPLEMEN MAKANAN DAN FAKTORFAKTOR YANG BERHUBUNGAN PADA REMAJA SMA ISLAM AL – AZHAR 3 JAKARTA SELATAN TAHUN 2005

Quality of human resource (SDM) is the one of primary factor that need to performed a national development. Nutrient aspects takes a vital role to get the best quality of human resources. Adolescent need to getting some specific attention because of they have been growth experience and develop physically (Growth Spurt) and mentally. With the rapid development and improvement in food product, nutrition, pharmacy and communication, has influenced the behavior and life style, including eating habit in adolescent. One of it is the consumption of supplements to improve the quality of adolescent’s dietarry. This research aim to see proportion of sex, nutrient knowledge, nutrient status, physical activity, body image, parents’s education, parents’s occupation, parents’s food supplements consumption, and related with adolescent’s food supplements consumption in SMA Islam Al-Azhar 3 Jakarta Selatan.This research use the cross sectional method. Research population are, all adolescent of I class and II class which fulfill of criteria and amount to 173 person. The result showed 62,4% of adolescent consumes food supplements. As a result from bivariat analysis known that nutrient knowledge and parents’s food supplements consumption have a meaning correlation with adolescent’s food supplements consumption. While of sex, nutrient status, physical activity, body image, parents’s education and parents’s occupation showing meaningless correlation with adolescent’s food supplements consumption. Base on result of these researches so it is suggested to parents and school side to give nutrition knowledge for adolescent. We also suggested adolescent consumes health menu better than food supplements to fulfill daily food intake.

KONSUMSI SUPLEMEN MAKANAN DAN FAKTORFAKTOR YANG BERHUBUNGAN PADA REMAJA SMA ISLAM AL – AZHAR 3 JAKARTA SELATAN TAHUN 2005

Quality of human resource (SDM) is the one of primary factor that need to performed a national development. Nutrient aspects takes a vital role to get the best quality of human resources. Adolescent need to getting some specific attention because of they have been growth experience and develop physically (Growth Spurt) and mentally. With the rapid development and improvement in food product, nutrition, pharmacy and communication, has influenced the behavior and life style, including eating habit in adolescent. One of it is the consumption of supplements to improve the quality of adolescent’s dietarry. This research aim to see proportion of sex, nutrient knowledge, nutrient status, physical activity, body image, parents’s education, parents’s occupation, parents’s food supplements consumption, and related with adolescent’s food supplements consumption in SMA Islam Al-Azhar 3 Jakarta Selatan.This research use the cross sectional method. Research population are, all adolescent of I class and II class which fulfill of criteria and amount to 173 person. The result showed 62,4% of adolescent consumes food supplements. As a result from bivariat analysis known that nutrient knowledge and parents’s food supplements consumption have a meaning correlation with adolescent’s food supplements consumption. While of sex, nutrient status, physical activity, body image, parents’s education and parents’s occupation showing meaningless correlation with adolescent’s food supplements consumption. Base on result of these researches so it is suggested to parents and school side to give nutrition knowledge for adolescent. We also suggested adolescent consumes health menu better than food supplements to fulfill daily food intake.

PENCAPAIAN PERTUMBUHAN PADA BALITA GIZI BURUK SELAMA MENGIKUTI PEMULIHAN DI KLINIK GIZI BOGOR

Growth Attainment of Severe Wasted Children Under Five Years Old Attending Out Patient Nutrition Clinic In Bogor. Background: Growth failure among children under five years old is widely known to cause high prevalence of severe malnutrition in Indonesia (3%). Treatment of those suffering from severe wasted children is done in out patient clinic in Bogor for six mounth period. Objective: To study growth attainment of severe wasting children and its related factors. Methods: A total of 536 children attending the clinic from 2001-2005 was selected according to inclusion criteria, some variables related to growth was also collected. They were divided into two groups who attained or not based on growth trajectory and analyzed by using Cox regessing model. Result: 20% children suffering from severe wasting attained growth after 6 months of treatment, while the rest failed. Growth attainment varied among children. Children aged less than 6 months, suffering less frequent influenza and having sign and symptom of severe malnutrition is was likely to attain growth based on growth trajectory. Recommendltlon: A more intensive care of severe wasted children is needed, which includes increasing compliance of food supplement consumption and improving awarenees of sign and symptoms of severe malnutrition. Keywords: growth trajectory, severe wasting

Profile of drug use in urban and rural India.

Information on pharmacoepidemiology is particularly important in developing countries where a rational drug policy has not been adopted. In the present study, a profile of 1769 doctors' prescriptions and 763 self-orders were monitored at pharmacy outlets in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and 4 rural areas of Andhra Pradesh with the aim of identifying urban and rural differences, if any, in the self-medication rate, prescription costs, types of drugs purchased and factors influencing self-medication. Self-medication, expressed as the percentage of the total population that self-medicates, was found to be high in urban areas (37%) compared with rural areas (17%), and the majority of the over-the-counter sales were for prescription-only drugs. The majority of physicians' prescriptions were incomplete with respect to diagnosis and dosage regimen. The mean cost of the drugs purchased on doctors' prescriptions was 2-fold higher than the cost of drugs sold over the counter. A higher proportion of patients from rural areas (80%) purchased all the prescribed drugs compared with those from urban areas (54%). Financial constraints in urban areas were a major determinant in the partial purchase of prescribed drugs. In addition, the urban elite (i.e. professional people with high incomes, who comprise 18% of the total population) considered that all of the prescribed drugs were not necessary for their present disease. Nutritional products, potent compounds with analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects, and broad spectrum antibiotics constituted a high proportion of prescriptions in both urban and rural areas. The consumption of food supplements was higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Based on WHO criteria, most of the drugs (60%) prescribed in rural areas were nonessential, compared with 47% in urban areas. The results of this study emphasise the need for comprehensive measures, including information, training, legislation and education at all levels of the drug delivery system, to rationalise drug therapy by improving prescribing patterns and influencing self-medication.

Food supplement usage by the elderly

A variety of food supplements were taken by 66 percent of the elderly persons in this study. Ascorbic acid and vitamin E were the most popular choices. Some supplements may have improved nutritional status, while others were probably inappropriate or unnecessary. The findings indicate that the elderly have a number of erroneous beliefs about the efficacy of food supplements. Reasons for supplementation were often inappropriate, and unreliable sources of information were used. In addition, substantial amounts of money were spent on food supplements by those already existing on a limited budget. Nutrition education is needed to demonstrate the relationship between adequate diet, good health, and appropriate versus inappropriate food supplement consumption.