THE USE OF VITAMINS, MINERALS AND OTHER DIETARY-SUPPLEMENTS IN THE NETHERLANDS

By means of a two-day dietary record, information on the use of dietar y supplements has been collected in 1987 and 1988 in a representative sample of the Dutch population aged 1- 75 years. More than 17 percent of the population had been using at least one dietary supplement on at least one day of the survey. Age, sex, season, social class, alternat ive food habits, smoking and diet were related to the use of supplemen ts. In young persons mainly fluoride and vitamin AD preparations were used, while a shift towards other supplements, like garlic and brewer' s yeast preparations, was observed as age progresses. The use of singl e vitamin C supplements was not related to the level of mean daily vit amin C intake by food consumption.