The Safety of Supplements- An investigative project
FON241: Principles of Human Nutrition
PLEASE READ ENTIRE ASSIGNMENT BEFORE WATCHING THE FILM.
Background:
Many Americans turn to dietary supplements for health or to cure a condition. As a society, we desire a quick fix or a magic pill.
If you visited your doctor for an antibiotic to cure strep throat, you would trust that the medication received from the pharmacy was just as prescribed. Why? Pharmaceutical drugs (antibiotics, prescription medications, over the counter painkillers such as Tylenol and Advil, etc.) are closely regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
If you purchase a supplement at a local store, you would trust that the product in the bottle was just as advertised- think again! The safety of dietary supplements largely depends on the honor system- the honesty of the company selling them.
In this project you will watch a film on dietary supplements and respond to a series of questions about the topic. Your instructor is looking for in-depth responses with direct examples from the film. Short and imprecise responses will earn zero credit. Don’t leave your instructor guessing whether or not you watched the film. Copy and paste the questions below into a Word document, 12-point font, 1 inch margins. You will upload the document to Canvas… include questions and answers please. In fact, include the questions in a different color or bold font or highlighted yellow so they can be differentiated from your responses.
- Pre-film essay: Answer this essay prior to watching the film.
After reading the introduction to the assignment and the film title, what do you think this film is about? Share any preconceived ideas you have about the topic within this essay. The essay should be ½ page in length, minimum.URL for Film: PBS Frontline: Supplements and Safety
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/supplements-and-safety/ (Links to an external site.)
Information obtained from the film. Answer questions in detail.
- Before a supplement company can bring a product to the consumer market, what forms of evidence the manufacturer must provide to regulatory agencies.
- How large is the division of FDA that is responsible for supplement investigation and regulation? Explain.
- How does the size of this division effect the efficiency and response to local health agencies? Explain.
- How do pharmaceutical grade medications differ from dietary supplements? Provide detail.
- What is the liver injury network, and how is it related to the topic of the show? Explain and provide examples.
- What is your reaction to the supplement and food quantity comparisons (cantaloupe and almonds)? Explain.
- Find one recent (last year or current year) article highlighting negative health effects from dietary supplement ingestion. Provide the URL for the article and summarize the article. Include your opinion after your summary.
- Post-Video Essay: Include 8 interesting facts from the film that you learned or were surprised to hear. Then, in a ½ page essay, share your opinion on the topic of the film and the facts you learned.
- Having watched the film and completed this assignment, explain your impression of the following statements. You have heard these terms used in the course materials.
- Food First
- Food is Medicine.
11. Opinion based on knowledge from the film: How can you utilize nutrition to promote your health? How can you be healthy or stay healthy? Explain.
