Determining the strength of the relationship between a food, food component, or dietary supplement ingredient and reduced-risk of a disease or health-related condition

Abstract

Evaluation of the strength of the science between a food/substance and a disease is not unique to the FDA and their review of petitions for health claims, although this is the focus of the symposium. Determining the strength of the science linking a food/substance to a reduced risk of disease is also an important part of the process used to set the Dietary Reference Intake values (DRIs) and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It involves using an evidence-based system. An appreciation of how evidence-based systems work and how research studies attempting to show the relationship between a food/substance and a disease are evaluated should lead to the design of better studies. Better studies, in turn, will result in multiple benefits.