NOF encourages you to get as much of your nutrition as possible from the foods you eat. For concerns about whether you need to take a supplement, your doctor or other healthcare provider, especially a dietitian, should be able to help you.

Finding Information About Nutrition

NOF encourages you to get as much of your nutrition as possible from the foods you eat. For concerns about whether you need to take a supplement, your doctor or other healthcare provider, especially a dietitian, should be able to help you.

It is important to note that the FDA does not approve health claims for dietary supplements. Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and nutrients do not need approval by the FDA to sell their products. The FDA does not regulate or evaluate dietary supplements in the same rigorous way as prescription medicines.

NOF does not have information on specific brands of supplements. To find more information about nutrition and supplement products, the resources below may be helpful to you. Phone numbers are provided when available.

American Dietetic Association

Contact a community or university hospital in your area or the American Dietetic Association to find a registered dietician to help you with nutrition and diet.

Location: Chicago, IL
Web site: www.eatright.org
Phone: (800) 877-1600

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)

While the FDA doesn’t approve dietary supplements, CFSAN offers information about dietary supplements.

Location: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Rockville, MD
Web site: www.cfsan.fda.gov
Choose “Dietary Supplements”
Phone: (888) 463-6332

Dietary Supplements Labels Database

This database includes information about ingredients in more than 3,000 brands of dietary supplements.

Location: U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Web site: http://dietarysupplements.nlm.nih.gov/dietary

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)

NCCAM is the Federal Government's lead agency for scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine.

Location: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Web site: http://nccam.nih.gov
Phone: (888) 644-6226

Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)

ODS offers information about dietary supplements in its “Dietary Supplement Fact Sheets.”

Location: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Web site: www.ods.od.nih.gov  
Choose “Dietary Supplement Fact Sheets” under “Quick Links” on the side bar
Phone: (301) 435-2920 

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference

This database lists the calcium content for hundreds of different foods. 

Web site: www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=17477
Click on the buttons next to “Calcium” to see the calcium content listed for many foods.

Web Sites for Calcium-Rich Recipes

Web site: http://foodstamp.nal.usda.gov/recipes.php
Web site: www.girlshealth.gov/bones/stayingstrong/calcium_cool.html

NOTE: NOF assumes no responsibility for the content found on these Web sites. These links are offered as a convenience. Providing these links does not imply an endorsement or recommendation of these sites by NOF.