Content about Dietary supplements

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Take 10 Beverages on Monday launched Take 10 to Relax and Take 10 to Sleep, two relaxation shots joining a number of recent introductions that are the yin to an energy shot’s yang.

NEW YORK — The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus on Wednesday announced that Pharmavite is able to support advertising claims for the company’s NatureMade GreatMind dietary supplement, pursuant to NAD’s ongoing monitoring of advertising for dietary supplements.

NAD, the advertising industry’s self-regulatory forum, reviewed claims that appeared in print and Internet advertising and on product packaging, pursuant to NAD’s ongoing monitoring of advertising for dietary supplements.

NEW YORK — One of the world's largest drug makers has entered a definitive agreement to purchase a Copenhagen-based consumer healthcare business.

Pfizer said Monday that it agreed to acquire from Altor 2003 Fund GP Limited Ferrosan’s consumer healthcare business, which includes a portfolio of such dietary supplements and lifestyle products as Multi-Tabs and Bifiform. Ferrosan caters to such markets as Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Turkey and many countries throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Optivia Biotechnology on Tuesday announced that the company and the Food and Drug Administration have signed a collaboration agreement to assess the effect of dietary supplements on key drug transporters.

Drug transporters are proteins on the surface of cells that either facilitate or hinder the transport of nutrients or pharmaceuticals. Drug transporters can increase or decrease the absorption of drugs into the body, as well as limit or facilitate the exposure of certain organs.

SAN ANTONIO — Parlaying off of the success of energy shots, iChill Beverages hopes to offer a relaxation alternative with the iChill relaxation shot, introduced last week here at the ECRM Vitamin, Diet and Sports Nutrition conference.

The shot contains such ingredients as melatonin and valerian root to help people with high stress or those who have trouble sleeping to relax. The shot currently is available in several convenience store retailers, including 7-Eleven stores, and retails for a suggested price of $2.99.

NEW YORK — The first of the baby boomers will be celebrating their 65th birthdays this year, and that means more pills. That may help explain why sales of liquid vitamins are up. Joint Juice recently answered that call with the launch of its Joint Juice Easy Shot supplement, which affords a full day’s supply of glucosamine plus chondroitin, vitamin D3 and vitamin C for those consumers looking for a pill alternative.

WASHINGTON — The Council for Responsible Nutrition on Monday announced plans for a joint education effort with the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Foundation to help raise the level of awareness within the supplement industry and with consumers about the valuable role of nurse practitioners in the quest for good health.

WASHINGTON — As part of its ongoing efforts to stop “bogus” health claims, the Federal Trade Commission on Monday reached a settlement requiring NBTY to stop making false and unproven claims that their supplements promote healthy brain and eye development in children, the agency announced.

NBTY has agreed to pay $2.1 million to provide refunds to consumers who purchased certain multivitamins in its Disney and Marvel Heroes line.

NEW YORK — Registered dietitians are the most likely to practice what they preach in eating a balanced diet, taking vitamins or other dietary supplements, exercising regularly and engaging in other wellness behaviors as compared with seven other healthcare professional populations, according to the “Life…supplemented” "Healthcare Professionals Impact Studies" released earlier this week by the Council for Responsible Nutrition.

MADISON, N.J. — On the same day that the Institute of Medicine increased the daily recommended intake of vitamin D to maintain bone health, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Tuesday announced the launch of Caltrate Soft Chews, which incorporate the higher daily recommended vitamin D goals.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday reported that Vigor-25, a product inappropriately marketed as a natural dietary supplement to enhance male sexual performance, should not be purchased or used because it contains sildenafil, the active ingredient in the prescription drug Viagra.

WASHINGTON This year’s elections may prove to be a boon to the business of dietary supplements and other natural alternatives, according to John Gay, Natural Products Association executive director and CEO. “This was the most remarkable election in my 25 years in Washington,” he said, “and the effects will be felt almost immediately.”

For example, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who must now step down as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is seen as a potential positive for the industry, Gay said.