CH 2: Supplement For All Mankind

Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DESHEA)

A dietary supplement is a product intended to enhance a person’s health by introducing one of the following ingredients to the body: a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical, an amino acid, a dietary substance to increase total caloric intake, or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of any of those ingredients. A supplement must be ingested and is not represented as a conventional food or as a sole item of a meal or the diet. Ingredients in dietary supplements are not food additives, and therefore do not have to undergo a pre-market safety assessment approval process like those required by the FDA for food additives and prescription drugs.

Way back in the early 1990’s the FDA tried to take a bite out of the supplement industry by regulating all supplements. It was part of the plan by the administration to create a Universal Healthcare System. Red flags went flying, supplement companies realized not only would their products double or triple in costs, but a blanket of federal scrutiny would demand proving the claim listed on the package. Dietary supplement companies countered that their products are derived from natural ingredients and therefore should not be patented.

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DESHEA) of 1994 was ostensibly passed so that the average American could still afford their daily multivitamin and not have to get a prescription for their Gatorade. Imagine having to go to a pharmacist for your Hammer Gel or most likely having to pay $3 a pouch. Politicians said at the time, “Science has shown that optimum nutrition is essential for good health and performance, to prevent disease, and to restore health.” Talk about a political slap in the face to the FDA!

Private business wins because the DSHEA Act limit’s obstruction to marketing and promoting. The government wins because of all the taxes generated from a $40 billion a year industry. The public wins because they have free choice of products, wide availability and ultimately they can control their own health and disease prevention.

Next Chapter: How can supplement companies legally lie to the public?