What is a food supplement? A food or dietary supplement is a product intended for ingestion that contains a "dietary ingredient" intended to add further nutritional value to (supplement) the diet. What can you claim for a food or dietary supplement ? Some dietary supplements may help to ensure that you get an adequate dietary intake of essential nutrients; others may help you reduce your risk of disease.

1. What can you claim about OptiFer®
heme iron tablets

2. What can you claim for a pharmaceutical drug?
By definition a drug is used to diagnose, treat or prevent disease.
Wikipedia
What is a pharmaceutical drug?
In pharmacology, a drug is "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure,
prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or
mental well-being." Pharmaceutical drugs may be used for a limited duration,
or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.
Wikipedia

3. What can you claim for a food or dietary supplement ?
Some dietary supplements may help to ensure that you get an adequate
dietary intake of essential nutrients; others may help you reduce your risk of
disease.
FDA
What is a food supplement?
A food or dietary supplement is a product intended for ingestion that contains
a "dietary ingredient" intended to add further nutritional value to (supplement)
the diet.
FDA

4. This means you cannot claim for a food supplement to
diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease, such as anemia.
You can, however, treat iron deficiency, which affects many millions of
people. In fact, in many countries, it is a huge problem.
Iron deficiency (sideropenia or hypoferremia) is the most common
nutritional
deficiency in the world.
wikipedia
Untreated iron deficiency can lead to iron deficiency anemia— a
common type
of anemia.
wikipedia

5. There is, however, a lot to say about iron deficiency and
what it can mean.
The European Food Safety Authority, EFSA has accepted the
following statements regarding iron and
treatments of deficiency

6. • Iron contributes to normal cognitive function
• Iron contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism
• Iron contributes to normal formation of red blood cells and hemoglobin
• Iron contributes to normal oxygen transport in the body
• Iron contributes to the normal function of the immune system
• Iron contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue

7. • Iron has a role in the process of cell division
• Iron contributes to normal cognitive development of children
• Vitamin A contributes to normal iron metabolism
• Vitamin C increases iron absorption
• Meat contributes to the improvement of iron absorption when eaten
with other foods containing iron
• Vitamin B2 contributes to the normal metabolism of iron

8. Iron contributes to normal formation of red blood cells and hemoglobin which
means that Iron is essential to normal oxygen transport in the body.
Iron contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism which in due term
leads to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue for people taking Iron.

9. Iron also contributes to the normal function of the immune system and has a
role in the process of cell division which means that it improves the general
health and cell renewal.

10. Iron is highly important for the mental capacity as iron contributes to normal
cognitive function and especially Iron contributes to normal cognitive
development of children.

11. Meat and blood in itself contributes to the improvement of iron absorption
and so does Vitamin C, that contributes to the normal metabolism of Iron.

12. Heme iron has a very high absorption capacity in the body due to the fact it
is a natural food compound with an uptake of between 20 - 40 % in
comparison to non-heme (synthetic) iron that has an uptake of only 1 – 4
%.

13. Side effects of therapy with oral (non-heme) iron are most often diarrhea or
constipation and epigastric abdominal discomfort. (Up to 30 %).
Taken after a meal, side effects decrease, but there is an increased risk of
interaction with other substances. Side effects are dose-dependent, and the
dose may be adjusted.

14. People sensitive to synthetic Iron that suffer from anemia will further
suffer from bleeding in the intestines, constipation and/or diarrhea which may
lead to further consequences.

15. With the use of Heme Iron supplementation the negative consequences of
side effects from synthetic forms of iron are avoided and the anemia is
successfully treated.

16. OptiFer® tablets are based on natural bovine
heme iron and will safely and efficiently keep
iron counts at an optimal level
www.optifer.international www.hemeiron.com