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HerbalEGram: Volume 6, Number 6, June 2009
ARS and ODS Launch Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database
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Based on the 1999–2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 57% of women and 47% of men had used a dietary supplement within the 30 days previous to the survey.1 Dietary supplements are arguably a way to improve overall nutrient intake for those who may not get enough nutrients from conventional foods and beverages alone. However, how can one estimate his/her overall nutrient-intake? The Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID) is a new project that will help researchers estimate the US population’s intake of nutrients from dietary supplements.2,3
The DSID was planned and developed by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Nutrient Data Laboratory based in Beltsville, MD, and the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) of Bethesda, MD. Other government collaborators include the National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA in Fairfax, VA; the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention US Department of Health and Human Services in Hyattsville, MD; and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD.
According to Johanna Dwyer, DSc, RD, senior nutrition scientist at ODS, the purpose of the database is to provide analytically-valid estimates of the content of adult multivitamin mineral supplements to researchers for assessing total nutrient intakes from foods and dietary supplements (e-mail, May 26, 2009). The DSID will also enhance researchers’ ability to investigate relationships between dietary supplement intakes and health indicators.
Adult multivitamin mineral supplements are included because they are the most commonly used dietary supplement. New product categories, such as child multivitamin mineral supplements, may also be added in coming years. The database also contains a calculator that can be used to estimate the chemically analyzed contents from the labels of various adult multivitamin mineral supplements. This database stands out because, at this point, all other dietary supplement databases contain label information only. However, this database does not yet contain herbs and botanicals because of limited funds.
“We hope to include commonly consumed herbs of health significance at some time in the future,” said Dwyer, “But this awaits the development of robust analytical methods, and at present, time and resources are limited to do this.”
More information and database access is available here.
—Kelly Saxton Lindner
References
1. Radimer, K, Bindewald B, Hughes J, Bethene Ervin B, SwansonC, Picciano MF. Dietary supplement use by US adults: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2000. Am J Epidemiol. 2004:160(4): 339–349.
2. Bliss RM. ARS Dietary Supplement Data Supports Nutrient Intake Assessments. April 20, 2009. USDA Web site. Available at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090420.htm. Accessed May 151009.
3. Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID) home page. DSID Web site. Available at http://dietarysupplementdatabase.usda.nih.gov/. Accessed May 1, 2009.
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