NIH survey finds Americans' use of fish oil, melatonin, probiotics rising
Fish oil use among adults and children grew between 2007 and 2012, and it has become the most-used natural product among both groups, according to the NIH. During that time, a slew of studies tied consumption of omega-3s to lower risk of diabetes, heart disease and inflammation. In 2012, an estimated 7.8 percent of adults and 1.1 percent of children used fish oil supplements.
According to NIH’s data, about 18 percent of adults and about 5 percent of children used natural products in 2012. These numbers saw little change from the agency’s
Use of melatonin, a natural hormone thought to improve sleep in people with certain disorders, increased substantially from 2007 to 2012. In the most recent survey, it was the second-most used natural product by children, and use among adults more than doubled from five years prior.
Every five years, the National Institutes of Health administers a complementary health questionnaire to tens of thousands of Americans as part of its National Health Interview Survey. The results inform the agency’s research priorities in the areas of natural products and mind and body practices. Its 2012 survey found the use of natural products—defined as nonvitamin, nonmineral dietary supplements—shifting for both adults and children. [Image credit: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health]
Prebiotics and probiotics were another growing category for adults, with four times as many adults using them in 2012 than in 2007, although consumer confusion still remains around both.
The data suggest that the number of adults using ginkgo biloba fell by about 46 percent between 2007 and 2012. One potential factor? A highly publicized study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in 2010 found that it did not slow the decline of mental function in seniors.
Another obvious trend in the data was decreasing use of Echinacea, a supplement used for common cold, among both children and adults. In 2007, it was the top natural product used by children in the U.S.; in 2012, it fell to the fourth-most popular product. And nearly 2.6 million fewer adults used it in 2012 than in 2007. Though the NIH doesn’t study why shifts occur, in its release of the data it notes that some trends line up with research published about the effectiveness of these products. Case in point:
Another obvious trend in the data was decreasing use of Echinacea, a supplement used for common cold, among both children and adults. In 2007, it was the top natural product used by children in the U.S.; in 2012, it fell to the fourth-most popular product. And nearly 2.6 million fewer adults used it in 2012 than in 2007. Though the NIH doesn’t study why shifts occur, in its release of the data it notes that some trends line up with research published about the effectiveness of these products. Case in point:
The NIH’s 2012 National Health Interview Survey gathered and analyzed data from nearly 89,000 American adults (and interviews with more than 17,000 adults concerning their children) about their use of complementary health approaches, including dietary supplements, osteopathic manipulation and meditation.
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