[Use of vitamin and mineral supplements in Germany]

Recent regulations on supplement use in Europe address the necessity to include information on dietary intake to derive maximum amounts for vitamins and minerals in food supplements. Therefore, information about supplement use in Germany, as well as data on micronutrient intake (from supplements and traditional foods), in particular of persons who use several supplements, is examined in detail. As part of the representative German National Health Interview and Examination Study 1998, in the Nutrition Survey 4030 persons, aged 18-79 years, were asked about their dietary habits, including vitamin and mineral supplement use, in a personal computer-aided interview. About 43% of the population reported using supplements at least once in the observation period of 12 months. Women use supplements more frequently than men. A relatively small group uses several supplements, most often vitamin plus multivitamin supplements. Considering single nutrients, vitamin C is most commonly consumed from more than one supplement. However, a micronutrient intake above the tolerable upper intake level is rare. Use of supplements is common in Germany. Nevertheless, only a small proportion of the population uses more than one supplement containing the same micronutrient daily. Even among these persons an intake above the tolerable upper intake level is seldom.