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2009's Top Dietary Supplements

Question:

What supplement was ranked most popular by consumers in 2009??

Answer:

Multivitamins are still #1, but among people who use dietary supplements, in 2009 fish oil supplements were nearly as popular as multivitamins. 

Who rated consumer responses to give this supplement top ranking in 2009?

Consumerlab.com  conducted  their annual 2009 survey to help direct lab testing toward products of greatest interest to their subscribers. Here's more on the survey’s key findings:

·        Multivitamins were used by 73.8% of all respondents, followed in popularity by fish oil (71.6%), calcium (55.3%) and CoQ10 (50.9%) supplements. Among people using ten or more supplements each day, use of fish oil (84.8%) exceeded that of multivitamins (75.5%), and use of CoQ10 (78.9%) exceeded that of calcium (67.6%).

·        Use of most supplements increased with age, while use of multivitamins declined slightly. Dramatic increases with age were seen with vitamin D (use increased from 21.0% among those under age 35 to 47.4% among those 65 years and older) and CoQ10 (use increased from 28.8% to 60.1% for the two age groups, respectively).

Ratings were given for 1,087 brands and 380 merchants. Fifty-five brands and 28 merchants received at least one hundred consumer ratings and, among these, the following received the highest overall satisfaction ratings within their market segments.

Additional Finding from some 2009 Consumerlab Reviews:

	Moderately high levels of folic acid supplementation (1,000 mg per day) may increase the risk of cancer.
	DHEA supplements were found to increase bone mineral density in the spines of older women when taken with vitamin D and calcium.  There are potential side-effects, however, with DHEA.
	People using red yeast rice to lower cholesterol levels appear to have less risk of developing muscle pain than those using conventional statin drugs.
	Higher vitamin C intake, from supplements or diet, was associated with a lower risk of gout. However, high-dose vitamin C supplementation was also shown, in a study of women, to be associated with a 25% increase in cataract removals.
	Higher dietary intake of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA may reduce the risk of ulcerative colitis while higher intake of linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid, may increase it.
	As reported this week (12/30/09), ginkgo biloba failed to improve memory and prevent cognitive decline and dementia in a large clinical trial conducted by the NIH.

SourceConsumerlab.com