Supplements Especially Popular with Middle Aged and Seniors

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Supplements Especially Popular with Middle Aged and Seniors

Enterprise-Salt Lake City

06-05-06

People from all walks of life and most age groups have most likely, at one time or another and in one form or another, used a dietary health supplement. But dietary supplements, as they also are called, are especially popular among the middle aged and senior citizens.

In fact, the senior population makes up about 25 percent of the annual market, said Loren Israelsen, executive director of the United Natural Products Alliance, Salt Lake City.

According to the UNPA, dietary supplements include any substance used to supplement a person's diet, such as vitamins, minerals, essential oils, functional beverages, herbs and other botanicals, amino acids, extracts from animal glands, fibers and even enzymes. Supplements can be taken as pills, gelatin capsules, bars and in beverage form.

"As we age, the wheels tend to fall off a bit, in a manner of speaking, and the quality of life diminishes," Israelsen said. "For many people, the best answer to stay healthy for as long as possible is to use dietary health supplements. That is the role of supplements - to help maintain the quality of life for as long as possible."

Not all people agree that health supplements are a positive thing. But Steve Hatchett, president of Cornerstone Research & Development, Farmington, said he believes that most of the negativity is due to misinformation.

"We are an easy target by the media, who call supplements a bunch of snake oil," he said. "There is this theory that we are completely unregulated, that we're a bunch of crazy people out here doing our own thing. We are the outcasts, if you will. But if we're just a bunch of snake oil, then why the popularity?"

Any negativity toward dietary supplements has done little to slow the quick growth of the industry. The rising cost of medical insurance is one reason why people turn to supplements, said Roy Mahony, general manager of Nature's Way, based in Springville.

The medical system disenfranchises "a significant part of the population," he said. "Medical systems are not meeting people's needs," and supplements provide an alternative to prescription drugs.

Because supplements are most popular among those 55 years and older, industry leaders say they expect a bright future.

"The baby boomers are retiring, but have a lot of life yet to live and a lot of desire to have as active a lifestyle as possible," Hatchett said. And another generation of baby boomers is on the rise.

"Baby boomers continue to grow and the need for alternative therapies continues to grow, and that will continue for the next 20 to 30 years," he said.
 

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