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DSID Mission & Goals

Over half of adults in the United States report taking dietary supplements (DS). The amounts of nutrients or other bioactive dietary ingredients in these products vary from labeled amounts in unpredictable ways, even between and within products from the same company Because the information on actual ingredient content is often not publicly available, it is difficult for consumers and researchers to know how much of the dietary ingredients are present in marketed DS.

Mission

Provide researchers and consumers with estimates of the amounts of select ingredients in commonly consumed DS categories that are based on analytical measurements and statistical modeling and assessment of ingredient bioavailability.

Goals

The DSID’s goals are to:
  1. Assess Label Accuracy: Evaluate the relationships between the manufacturer’s label claims and analytically verified amounts of select bioactive ingredients in commonly consumed DS.
  2. Analyze Dosage Form Performance: Determine how effectively different DS dosage forms, including tablets, capsules, and soft gels break apart and release ingredients under controlled laboratory conditions to estimate their availability for absorption by the body.
  3. Improve Validity of DS Nutrient Contributions in Public Health and Research: DSID estimates can replace calculations based solely on label claims for specific dietary supplement categories (e.g., multivitamins). These estimates can improve the accuracy of ingredient intake from DS, and the validity of studies evaluating associations between dietary intake and public health outcomes.