If you are concerned about your mother's eating habits, check out the Dietary Guidelines for Americans at www.mypyramid.gov. This Web site provides individualized suggestions, based on a person's age, height, weight, and activity level, for the number of servings he or she should eat from each food group. The five food groups are grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat and beans. If you find that your mother is unable to consume the amounts suggested, you may want to explore supplements.
To learn more about supplements, consult the fact sheet on dietary supplements from the University of Wisconsin-Extension at: learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/B3320.pdf. As you consider different supplements, review the nutrition information to find out what the supplement contains.
The publication "Fact or Fiction, Evaluating Nutrition Information" from the University of Wisconsin-Extension provides suggestions on how to spot nutrition fraud on food products, including food supplements.
