Dietary supplements are products intended to increase the usual dietary intake, supplementing the incorporation of nutrients in the diet of healthy people who, not being in pathological conditions, have unsatisfied basic dietary needs or greater than usual. Like all foods, they are freely sold.

They may contain in their composition, in simple or combined form, the following ingredients: peptides, proteins, lipids, lipids of marine origin, amino acids, carbohydrates or carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibers and herbs.

It should be clear that, under normal conditions, the diet must provide all the necessary for the maintenance of the functions of the organism. Therefore, a dietary supplement should only be consumed when, due to a particular physiological state, the individual needs an extra supply of a certain nutrient, after consulting a doctor.

It should not be consumed "for fashion" or with the hope of mitigating any ailment, and in this sense advertising has an important importance because, through it, the consumer receives information about the product and the benefits that accompany its consumption. .

The advertising of dietary supplements must comply with the ethical guidelines established by the ANMAT in Provision No. 4980/2005. This rule establishes, among other limitations, that advertisements must NOT include phrases and/or messages that:

They attribute therapeutic actions and/or properties to the dietary supplement, suggest that it is a medicinal product or mention that it diagnoses, cures, calms, mitigates, relieves, prevents or protects from a certain disease. It will only be allowed to include "helps to prevent" or "helps to protect", provided that said statements are beneficial in the face of a classic disease due to nutrient deficiency.
Cause fear or distress, suggesting that a person's health will be affected if the product is not used.
Induce the indiscriminate use of the product.
State that a dietary supplement can be used in replacement of a conventional meal or as the only food in a diet.
Refer to dietary supplements as “natural” when in fact they are semi-synthetic or co-formulated with synthetic components.
They are capable, from the bromatological point of view, of causing error, deception or confusion in the consumer.
Include the expression “free sale”.
The ANMAT performs advertising control tasks in order to reduce the risks for the consumer. When advertisements do not meet the aforementioned ethical guidelines, the corresponding summaries are initiated and sanctions are imposed on the responsible companies.

Presentation Forms. Labeled
Dietary supplements are presented on the market in different forms: tablets, capsules, tablets, liquids or powders.

The label must clearly indicate that it is a "dietary supplement", which is food that provides certain nutrients and NOT a medicine. In addition, the following data will appear:

Brand and/or trade name of the product.
Name that indicates that the product is a dietary supplement that provides certain nutrients.
List of ingredients (including additives/excipients) indicating all those that are present in the composition.
Nutritional information: you must indicate the amount of the nutrients provided from its source, per serving (for example: calcium provided by calcium gluconate).
Name and address of the manufacturer/importer.
Product registration number granted by the health authority (RNPA or RPPA).
Registration number of the manufacturing or importing establishment, granted by the health authority.
Expiration date or “best before…”.
Batch or lot number.
Recommended daily intake, which indicates the amount that should be consumed per day. In no case should this amount be exceeded.
Mode or form of consumption, indicating how it should be consumed (eg: at breakfast, with lunch, with plenty of water, etc.).
Warnings: among them are those that are consigned in a mandatory way: "consult your doctor", "do not use in case of pregnancy, lactation or in children" (unless it is directed towards them), "keep away from children” and others that, depending on their ingredients, instruct the consumer to ingest them after consulting their doctor. Some of the latter are:
In products with a high content of sugars (carbohydrates), the following must be indicated: “this product contains carbohydrates, and should be used with caution by diabetics”.
If the product contains aspartame (sweetener) or phenylalanine (amino acid), the phrase "contains phenylanine: contraindicated for phenylketonurics" must be included.
In the event that it contains iron, it must be stated: “this product contains iron and should only be consumed by healthy individuals; before consuming it consult your doctor”.
If it contains fat-soluble vitamins (A, E, D, K) there is a risk that excessive consumption will cause them to be deposited in the body's fat and generate hypervitaminosis. Therefore, it should be noted that “this product can cause toxic accumulation of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and/or K). Do not consume it again without consulting your doctor”
In addition, in no case should the expression “free sale” appear, since said legend is exclusive for medicines and can lead to a misinterpretation by the consumer about the product they are purchasing.

Energy drinks: dietary supplements that are in fashion
Energy Drinks are dietary supplements that contain ingredients such as taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine and inositol, accompanied by carbohydrates, vitamins and/or minerals and other authorized ingredients. They provide energy in an approximate amount of 45 kcal/100 ml.

Although they are food and, as such, can be marketed in establishments authorized to sell them, their label must be clearly read before being consumed, in order to verify if the person can eat it, and in what quantity (recommended daily intake). ). The warnings that these products must contain are the following:

“Consult your doctor” or “consult your doctor before consuming”.
"Do not use in case of pregnancy, lactation or in children."
"Keep out of the reach of children".
"This product should not be used by diabetics."
"Elderly or sick people should consult their doctor before consuming this product."
“Alcohol consumption is harmful to health.”
The mandatory inclusion of this last warning arises from ANMAT Provision No. 3634/2005, which was sanctioned as a result of numerous records that demonstrated the inappropriate use of these energy drinks, which were consumed together with alcoholic beverages, generating risks for health. This behavior distorted the true function of these products, which is none other than providing nutrients.

The aforementioned rule also establishes that the advertising of energy drinks should not associate these products, "directly or indirectly, with consumption with alcoholic beverages." Nor should they be presented in advertisements "as producers of well-being or health" In addition, "their consumption should not be linked to concepts of greater success in the affective and/or sexual life of people, or in sports activities, or exalt social prestige , virility or femininity”.

Likewise, the norm, in order to protect the health of consumers, prescribes that the maximum amount of caffeine allowed in these products became 20 mg. per 100 ml., when previously it was 35 mg./100 ml. With respect to the remaining components, maximum values ​​are as follows:

Taurine: 400mg/100ml;
Glucuronolactone: 250 mg./100ml;
Inositol: 20mg/100ml.
Regarding the amount of these beverages that should be consumed daily, it is necessary to respect the daily intake that appears on the product label, since it was established based on the amount of vitamins that the product has and the maximum amount of caffeine allowed.

In summary
From all of the above, we can conclude that dietary supplements are food and that, like all of them, they provide nutrients for healthy people. Therefore, before consuming them, those who suffer from any ailment should consult their doctor. Likewise, everyone, before ingesting it, must carefully read the label, paying close attention to the warnings it contains and respecting the mode of use and daily intake, in order to avoid unwanted effects.

In any case, it should always be clear that, before acquiring them, it is necessary to consult with your doctor and/or nutritionist, so that it is the professional who determines if the diet carried out by the consumer may suffer from deficiencies in any nutrient. .

Reference daily intake table for adults (according to article 1381 of the Argentine Food Code). This table reports the amounts of vitamins and minerals that a normal individual needs to incorporate daily through food so that their body maintains a healthy state.