(ABSTACT) Dietary Supplements: An Exercise in Experiential Learning

Purpose and Rationale: Americans spend approximately $12.8 billion dollars annually on dietary supplements (DS). Recent surveys have shown that 68% of Americans regularly use dietary supplements for a variety of reasons including increasing levels of vitamins or minerals, managing weight loss or gain, or helping with certain chronic diseases and illnesses. As nutrition educators, we apply scientific knowledge and principles to dietary trends in order to educate different populations (e.g. children and parents, athletes, the elderly). However, students often struggle with communication issues when discussing the topic of nutrition, sometimes providing too much information and sometimes not enough. The objective of this study was thus to provide an experiential learning experience to help medical nutrition therapy students better understand how to communicate nutrition and metabolic processes by ascertaining and comparing the actual health benefits of DS to the health claims. In addition, we introduced students to the regulatory policies related to dietary supplements as well as the various government agencies that oversee this area. Methodology: The project included the following steps: 1. Identification of the top DS sold in the United States (U.S.) based on the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (2003-2006) data set, 2. Distribution of DS fact sheets for consumer and health professionals from the National Institute of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), 3. Compilation of health claims for the corresponding DS, 4. Instruction on federal regulation of DS, health claims and labels, and 5. Comparison of the Dietary Recommended Intakes (DRI), food sources, digestion, metabolism and function of the health claims for each supplement. Finally, students synthesized the information into a brief paper and presentation. Findings: Over 49% of U.S. adults take at least one dietary supplement, with the majority reporting a daily intake (Bailey et al, 2011). The top seven dietary supplements sold and used in the U.S. are Vitamins A, E, B6, B12, C, K and the mineral magnesium (Bailey et al., 2011). The health-related claims on DS were related to the function or role of the vitamins and mineral in the body. However, some claims were marginally accurate, e.g. a Vitamin K supplement included the claim “regulates blood sugar”. The research to support the health-related claim is equivocal. Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of DS is not the same as that of over-the-counter or prescription drugs, which makes label claims for DS the responsibility of the product manufacturers. Conclusion and Implications for research: This experiential project engaged students in a multidisciplinary mode of learning and scholarly engagement. Students reported having more confidence to communicate the science to educate individuals about the use of DS, the role of vitamins and minerals in metabolic processes as well as a better understanding of DS regulation and health-claims in the U.S. The process provided a unique and innovative approach to help students better understand how to synthesize newly acquired knowledge and effectively communicate current dietary trends. References: Baily, R.L., Gahche, J.J., Lentino, C.V., Dwyer, J.T., Engel, J.S., Thomas, P.R.,…Picciano, M.F. (2011). Dietary supplement use in the United States, 2003-2006. J Nutr, 141, 261-66. *Corresponding author: Heather L Colleran, Ph.D. RDN, [email protected]