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Industry Study Boosts Case for Supplements

Posted on: Thursday, 3 November 2005, 12:00 CST

By Robert Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune

Nov. 3--WASHINGTON -- Use of two types of dietary supplements could save the country $5.6 billion in health-care costs for seniors alone, according to a study released Wednesday funded by an industry-backed group.

The Dietary Supplement Education Alliance, an industry-funded advocacy group said the use of omega-3 fatty acids by seniors could save $3.1 billion by preventing coronary heart disease costs, while lutein and zeaxanthin could save $2.5 million in curbing macular degeneration.

"Our mission . . . is to improve public health by communicating the benefits of dietary supplements," said Elliott Balbert, president of the alliance and president and CEO of the supplement company Natrol Inc. "How do you put a dollar-and-cent value on someone remaining vibrant, on someone remaining vital?"

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, used the opportunity to announce the formation of a Congressional Dietary Supplement Caucus, which he will co-chair with Republican Reps. Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Dan Burton of Indiana.

"I don't think there's anything more important than what supplements do, at least on the margins," Cannon said. "We now have a huge amount of research on many, many individual supplements that indicate how these improve your health."

Cannon has introduced legislation that would allow the costs of dietary supplements to be covered by flexible spending accounts or health savings accounts, tax-free accounts workers can use to offset out-of-pocket health costs.

The alliance's report is being drafted by the Lewin Group, but the report will not be complete for several weeks, so its methodology was unclear.

The Food and Drug Administration has allowed supplement makers to claim that "supportive, but not conclusive research" indicates that the omega-3 fatty acids might help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

A similar petition for permission to make a similar qualified claim on benefits of lutein and zeaxanthin is pending.

Paul Bernstein, a professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine and researcher at the Moran Eye Center, said research is ongoing, but consumption of lutein and zeaxanthin, either through dark green, leafy vegetables or orange fruits and vegetables or through dietary supplements, appears to reduce the onset of age-related macular degeneration, which affects millions of people to varying degrees.

A recent alliance report said that there are an estimated 187 million Americans, more than two-thirds of the entire population, that uses some form of dietary supplement. One-third said they want health insurance to cover the costs of supplements, even if they have to pay more for insurance.

Two-thirds of those in the survey said that the government should preapprove all supplements before sale. Under the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act, spearheaded by Sen. Orrin Hatch in 1994, the Food and Drug Administration has no authority to test supplements before they go to market.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Salt Lake Tribune

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NTOL,

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

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