Supplement Evaluation Task - Analyzing a Vitamin/Mineral Supplement

To complete this option, you will analyze a bottle of a vitamin/mineral supplement. You can use one you may have at home, or analyze one off the shelf at a drug store or health food store. Note: The product must contain at least 4 different vitamins and/or minerals. Please provide a complete (medicinal and non-medicinal) ingredients list and nutrient facts table for the product that you have decided to evaluate.

Before starting this assignment, please read General Instructions for Written Assignments (in the Assignments folder). It describes the requirements for preparing and submitting your assignments, and explains how they will be marked.

1) Using the following website for reference, complete the analysis described below (12 marks)
Dietary Reference Intakes
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/reference/index-eng.php

a. Provide a picture of the product, be sure to include the Supplements Facts Table and the non-medicinal ingredients list. Failure to provide this information will results in a mark of 0 for this assignment.
b. List the amounts of vitamins and minerals in your supplement and compare these with their Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) values for a person of your age and gender.
c. List any vitamins or minerals that are at levels equal to their DRI or greater than their DRI.
d. Consider this statement: “People should be just as cautious about using megadoses of vitamins/minerals as they are when taking medications”. Would you recommend caution when using the supplement you have chosen to study? Why or why not?

2) Locate the ingredients list for this supplement. (6 marks)

a. Name all the ingredients in the product. Define and/or find common names for any unusual ingredients.
b. Which of these ingredients do you believe are unnecessary nutrients or non- nutrients? Explain why.
c. Why do you think these have been included with the supplement?

3) Consider some of the claims on the supplement label. Look for terms such as "natural," "organic," "chelated," "no sugar," "stress" and so on.    (6 marks)
a. List any terms found and explain why you think the manufacturer used them on the label.
b. To whom would such terms appeal? Why?
c. Explain how you would verify the reliability of the claims on the supplement label.

4) Would you recommend the use of this supplement? To whom? Justify your answer. (3 marks)

5) Vitamin supplements and oranges are both plentiful sources of vitamin C. Give reasons to explain why an orange might be better for you than taking a vitamin C tablet. (3 marks)