ABSTRACT

This chapter deals with dietary and nutritional supplements containing nutraceuticals, vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional products used to enhance and maintain health and wellness or prevent disease. In the past several decades, the number of supplements available to the consumers through specialty stores, supermarkets, and especially through multilevel marketing has seen a tremendous growth worldwide. The lines between pharmaceuticals, products that heal, and nutraceuticals, products that help maintain the well-being of a person, are merging. The Food and Drug Administration is taking a closer look at several dietary products for their health claims. The purpose of this chapter is not to determine the effectiveness of these products but to reflect on their compositions and determine whether any of the components presents a problem for the Muslim consumer.