News You Can Use
Updated Dietary Supplement Fact Sheets Now Available
ODS has developed fact sheets on a variety of nutrients and other dietary supplement ingredients. Directed at this point primarily to healthcare providers and researchers, the fact sheets provide detailed overviews of these ingredients, information on their associations with various health outcomes, and extensive lists of references. All ODS fact sheets are available for viewing and downloading at http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets.
The Vitamin E fact sheet (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminE.asp) is the most recent to be substantially revised and updated. Fact sheets are modified when substantial or important new information about a supplement ingredient is published.
New Funding Opportunities for Research
ODS collaborates on funding initiatives across NIH and with other agencies through mechanisms such as Requests for Applications (RFAs) and Program Announcements (PAs) which can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide. In the last two months, ODS has signed onto the following RFA and PAs:
Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database Now Available
Because a majority of adults in the United States take dietary supplements, it is important to account for the nutrients they provide (in addition to those from food) to calculate a population's total nutrient intakes. The Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID) is a new, public-access tool to assist such calculations.
The DSID provides statistical estimates, based on chemical analyses, of the nutrient content of selected ingredients in dietary supplements, in contrast to simply reporting quantities listed on product labels. When used together with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) national nutrient database for foods and beverages (http://www.ars.usda.gov/services/docs.htm?docid=8964 ), total nutrient intakes from all sources can be calculated. At this time, the DSID is intended primarily for research applications.
The DSID, which was planned and developed by the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory in Beltsville, MD, and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, is a work in progress. This first release of the DSID provides estimated levels of 18 vitamins and minerals for 115 representative, though unspecified, adult multivitamin/multimineral dietary supplements. This first release of the DSID (known as DSID-1), is available at http://dietarysupplementdatabase.usda.nih.gov. The site also provides a detailed description of the database and supporting materials.
ODS Staff News
Recent ODS Staff Publications
Guangwen Tang, Jian Qin, Gregory G. Dolnikowski, Robert M. Russell, and Michael A. Grusak. Golden Rice is an effective source of vitamin A. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 89(6):1776-1783, June 2009.
Marcella E. Rumawas, Johanna T. Dwyer, Nicola M. Mckeown, James B. Meigs, Gail Rogers, and Paul F. Jacques. The development of the Mediterranean-style dietary pattern score and its application to the American diet in the Framingham Offspring Cohort. Journal of Nutrition 139(6):1150-1156, June 2009.
Christopher T. Sempos and Mary Frances Picciano. Letter to editor: The intention to treat principle, and the potential impact of excluding data from the analysis of clinical trial data. Journal of Nutrition 139(6):1204, June 2009.
Upcoming Events (April - June 2009)
International Conference on Diet and Activity Methods
June 5-7: Washington, DC
Web site: http://www.icdam.org
ODS is a co-sponsor of this conference, a gathering of experts to present, learn about, and develop research ideas to improve the measurement of people's usual dietary intakes and physical activity.
Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine
June 16: Woods Hole, MA
Robert Russell will give a talk titled DRIs: A Trigger Framework for Revisions.
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners 24th National Conference
June 17-20: Nashville, TN
Web site: http://www.aanp.org/AANPCMS2/Conferences
ODS will have an exhibit.
50th Anniversary Meeting of the American Society of Pharmacognosy
June 27-July 1: Honolulu, HI
Web site: http://www.phcog.org/
Joseph Betz will present a podium session titled The NIH/ODS Analytical Methods and Reference Materials Program for Botanical Dietary Supplements: Five-Year Accomplishments and Future Directions. ODS will have an exhibit.
Symposium on Caffeine
July 7-8: Rockville, MD
ODS will co-sponsor a symposium with the National Institute on Drug Abuse titled Caffeine: Is the Next Problem Already Brewing? at the Neuroscience Center in Rockville, MD. The symposium consists of scientific presentations centered around the following topics: a pharmacological primer on caffeine's rewarding and behavioral effects, caffeine's effects on cognitive performance, caffeine and human disease, and human studies on when caffeine use may become problematic. There will also be discussion of a future research agenda for this substance. Registration for the symposium is now closed as all seats are filled, but one can sign up to be placed on a waitlist. The symposium Web site (http://www.sei2003.com/nida/1014049/index1.asp) provides further details and directions.
12th Biological and Environmental Reference Materials Symposium
July 7-10: Keble College, Oxford, UK
Paul Coates will present a keynote lecture titled Emerging Needs for Dietary Supplement Standard Reference Materials on July 10.
Workshop: Soy Protein and Isoflavones Research
July 28-29: Bethesda, MD
ODS, together with several institutes and centers at the NIH, is co-sponsoring a workshop titled Soy Protein and Isoflavones Research: Challenges in Designing and Evaluating Intervention Studies at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Bethesda, MD. This workshop is intended to provide guidance for the next generation of research on these ingredients. It will identify methodological issues relative to exposures and interventions that may confound study results and their interpretation. In addition, the workshop will identify scientifically sound and useful options to deal with issues in the design, conduct, and reporting of studies on these soy components and interpretation of ongoing and future studies. Seating at this workshop is very limited and advanced registration is required. Visit the ODS Web site (http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/News/Soy_ProteinIsoflavone_Research_Scientific_Workshop_July_2009.aspx) for registration information as well as workshop details and an agenda.
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ODS Update provides information on news, activities, and resources from the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). ODS is a program office within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The mission of ODS is to strengthen knowledge and understanding of dietary supplements by evaluating scientific information, stimulating and supporting research, disseminating research results, and educating the public to foster an enhanced quality of life and health for the U.S. population.
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ODS Update is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. If you copy or distribute its content, please credit the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements and include the publication title and date. Do not use our information in any way that suggests we endorse any commercial product or service.
To contact the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), go to the "Contact Us" page of the ODS Web site: http://ods.od.nih.gov/Contact_Us.aspx.
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