TITLE:
Intake of Minerals from Food Supplements in a German Population—A Nationwide Survey
AUTHORS:
Janina Willers, Michaela Heinemann, Norman Bitterlich, Andreas Hahn
KEYWORDS:
Food Supplements, Minerals, Survey, Tolerable Upper Intake Level, Multiple Uses
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.6 No.2,
February
4,
2015
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Studies indicate that 17.9% - 60% of adults in Germany and Europe regularly use food supplements. Some reports suggest that their use might be responsible for excessive nutrient intake. The purpose of this survey was to examine the quantitative mineral intakes from food supplements: whether the tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) with supplements alone, or in combination with food was exceeded was checked. Methods: The survey was carried out by the Association for Consumer Research, Nürnberg, Germany. Anonymous data of 1070 supplement users (40.8% men, 59.2% women) aged 18 - 93 years were available. Three groups were examined based on dietary and supplemental mineral intakes: average, middle-high and high intake. Results: The mean number of supplements reported was 1.6 ± 1.1 products in men and 1.5 ± 0.9 products in women. The minerals most frequently consumed were magnesium, followed by calcium, zinc and selenium. The percentage of the supplement users with total intakes greater than the UL was minimal for all minerals. Supplement use in 143 cases increased the likelihood of intakes above the UL only for magnesium. Subjects particularly in the high intake group—as a worst case scenario—had intakes above the UL in the case of calcium (n = 23) and zinc (n = 34). The percentage of subjects taking several products was greater in subjects exceeding the UL than in those below (P