Bad In recent years, interest in food supplements has increasedespecially after the pandemic, who have been used as allies to maintain stable health and a balanced diet, although they may have different interests.
This is how he made it known Coral Moctezuma Alcántara, director of the National Dietary Supplement Industry Association, at the symposium on food supplements organized by the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, Salvador Subirán.
Several experts on this topic were present at the symposium, who gave definitions of dietary supplements, the increase they had because of their interest as omega and pointed out that in Mexico, in order to be marketed, it is known as a dietary supplement and cannot show other names.
What are dietary supplements?
These are products that are designed to be added, supplemented, introduced into the regular diet, and which are consumed orally in different forms such as pills, powders or supplements.
These compounds are made from herbs, plant extracts, traditional foods that can be dehydrated or concentrated, and added minerals, vitamins, nutrients, additives, omegas, probiotics, among others that are approved.
COFEPRIS controls the sale of these products and recommends them to healthy people, i.e. they must not replace the medicine that someone consumes according to the doctor’s order, but only as a supplement to their balanced diet.
Regulation of the use of food supplement ingredients
Teacher Moctezuma Alcántara emphasizes that all manufacturers who want to market nutritional supplements must review rule 051 of the Regulation on health control of products and services.
Within the Regulation, in Appendix 17, Ingredients that are allowed to be included in food supplements and above all, in what quantities to control nutrition and health.
Phytonutrients, dietary supplements with interest
During the symposium, Gustavo Rubén Valderrain Rodriguez, expert in food science and technology, highlights the interest that industry and consumers have had in phytonutrients, due to the benefits that have been observed in certain diseases such as obesity.
These are known as phytonutrients. substances of plant origin, they are not necessarily necessary for consumption; However, its intake has been shown to have multiple health benefits.
Considering the plant-based diet which They are committed to increasing the consumption of plant-based productsphytonutrients have grown in interest, because they function as allies for maintaining health in optimal conditions.
Color is important with phytonutrients.
A food technology expert explains that phytonutrients can vary in color of fruits and vegetablesthat’s why nutritionists insist so much that a healthy meal must be colorful.
For example, purple fruits or tubers, such as purple, They are rich in antioxidantsthat’s why they are added to food supplements that want to help skin health or prevent premature aging.
Omegas are the most sought after supplements
Bad Omega 3, 6 and 9 They are some of the ingredients that have attracted the most interest of consumers because of the benefits they provide, in addition, those who are interested in a plant-based diet reduce the consumption of animal fatty acids, which they can ingest.
The challenge for the industry is to acquire omega-3 in a sustainable waysince we are talking about a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which especially help with brain function, weight control and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
Finally, we talked about another one of the most interested ingredients, namely Bioticswhich are present in many supplements because of their benefits not only for the intestinal flora.
