NIH Launches Dietary Supplement Label Database

Do you research dietary supplements before you use them? Do you encourage clients to look before they leap into buying these products? A new database may save you a trip to the store by providing the essential facts you seek online.

The National Institutes of Health website has launched the Dietary Supplement Label Database, a searchable index of ingredients and other information from the labels of more than 17,000 dietary supplements. Produced under a partnership between NIH’s Office of Dietary Supplements and the National Library of Medicine, the database is intended to serve as a resource for researchers and the general public alike.

Included is all the information found in a supplement facts panel, which any product labeled as a dietary supplement must contain, as well as directions for use, health-related claims and any label warnings. The index is designed to show new products hitting the market; reformulations; and products leaving the market.

The database can be found here: www.dsld.nlm.nih.gov/dsld/index.jsp.