Message from the ODS Director
The Science Behind Dietary Supplement Databases
In this month’s Director’s Message, Dr. Stefan Pasiakos describes how the Dietary Supplement Label Database and Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database—led by Dr. Johanna Dwyer and Mr. Richard Bailen—inform scientific and public understanding of the role dietary supplements may serve in supporting healthy dietary intake and enhancing quality of life.
Read more on the ODS Director's Page.
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New/Revised ODS Dietary Supplement Fact Sheets
- Ashwagandha: Is it helpful for stress, anxiety, or sleep? for health professionals (new)
- Dietary Supplements for Immune Function and Infectious Diseases for consumers (new)—this follows the fact sheet for health professionals published Summer 2023
- Probiotics for health professionals and consumers (update) to include new research on the use of probiotics for preterm infants in hospitalized settings, including a recent FDA warning on this topic
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Upcoming ODS Seminars
The ODS Seminar Series features webinars on research that is relevant to dietary supplements and related topics. The seminars are virtual meetings. Contact ODS to receive viewing information.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 11:00 a.m. (ET)
Circadian Rhythms and Time Restricted Eating in Health and Disease
Satchidananda Panda, Ph.D.—Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
Wednesday, January 10, 2024, 11:00 a.m. (ET)
Using Dietary Supplements and On-line Databases to Enable Precision Nutrition
David S. Wishart, Ph.D., FSRC—University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Interested in past seminars?
Find recordings of past ODS seminars on the ODS Seminar Series YouTube playlist, including the presentation, Updates from the FDA Office of Dietary Supplement Programs by Cara Welch, Ph.D., Office of Dietary Supplement Programs, FDA.
ODS Co-Funding Opportunities
ODS provides funding support to the NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs) through its co-funding program. Co-funding allows ODS to share the costs of NIH extramural dietary supplement-related research project grants, training and career development grants, and scientific conferences, with primary ICOs. See the list of active ODS co-funding opportunities.
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ODS Publications
ODS staff members regularly publish scientific papers that address key issues in dietary supplement and related research. These are recent examples:
- Arensberg MB, Gahche J, Clapes R, Kerr KW, Merkel J, Dwyer JT. Research is still limited on nutrition and quality of life among older adults. Front. Med. 10:1225689. September 2023.
- Patel, D, Sorkin BC, Mitchell, CA, Embry, MR, Rina-Kong, S, et al. Improving the rigor and utility of botanical toxicity studies: Recommended resources. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2023 Aug 19;144:105471. Epub ahead of print.
Additional contributions from ODS staff include:
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Carol Haggans, Rebecca Costello, and Abby Ershow, along with Leila Saldanha and William Cefalu wrote a chapter titled, Dietary Supplement and Weight Management, in the 5th edition of “Handbook of Obesity – Volume 2, Clinical Applications.”
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Joseph Betz (retired), Johanna Dwyer, and Rebecca Costello contributed to the “Health Professionals Guide to Dietary Supplements,” published by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
ODS in the Media
Stefan Pasiakos, Ph.D., ODS Director, was quoted in a National Geographic article, Are Vitamin C Supplements Overrated? (subscription needed), written by Brian Handwerk. He was also quoted in The Messenger article, Do You Need Vitamin D Supplements This Winter? What Experts Want You to Know, by Hannah Yasharoff.
Carol Haggans, M.S., R.D., was quoted in articles about dietary supplements in the Washington Post, New York Times Wirecutter, and Good Housekeeping.
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