Multicomponent Dietary Supplements for the Military

The U.S. military has had a long-standing interest in the potential for dietary supplements to enhance performance and optimize health among military service personnel. In particular, the military is interested both in exploring the potential of these supplements to help service members adapt to occupational and environmental stressors and in ensuring that manufacturers of dietary supplements for military use adhere to the highest possible standards. In 2009, RAND Health assembled a panel of experts on the design, manufacture, and testing of dietary supplements and conducted an informal, one-day workshop on the manufacture and testing of multicomponent dietary supplements for the military. These conference proceedings summarize workshop discussions on (1) issues pertaining to the assessment and regulation of supplement efficacy and safety and to the special needs of the military, (2) cases illustrating processes that might serve as examples to guide military policy on supplement development and testing, and (3) processes for prioritizing the desired health and performance outcomes.