What are the primary challenges associated with conducting research on dietary supplements?

Question

What are the primary challenges associated with conducting research on dietary supplements?

Answer 1

Skepticism is one of the biggest hurdles. Some people just don't believe that something natural that's been used for thousands of years could help as much or more than man-made drugs.

Aside from that, if you're doing trials on humans or animals, there's also the fact that different body chemistries respond differently to different nutrients. Simply put, supplements give your body nutrition it's lacking from the general diet... if it doesn't need the added nutrition it's getting, it may not help as much.

As a very simplistic example, if someone gets enough Zinc from their diet, taking a supplemental Zinc pill won't help them as much as someone who is deficient in Zinc.