By Lesley Mitchell
The Salt Lake Tribune
Nutritional supplements could play an important role in health care reform, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Saturday at an industry conference.
Hatch, speaking to a crowd of nearly 7,000 people attending the XanGo nutritional supplement conference at the Salt Palace Convention Center, expounded on the safety and quality of dietary aids. He said greater use of nutritional supplements could drive down health care costs.
"Some people run down the [nutritional supplement] industry without looking at how truly outstanding it really is," he said.
Hatch said he would like to see people living in poor, inner-city neighborhoods have greater access to vitamin and mineral supplements.
"People would be much better off if they took nutritional supplements," he said. "Some of the biggest health problems come from a lack of vitamins and minerals."
Hatch's comments come less than a week after the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance, a trade group, said the use of omega-3 fatty acid and lutein and zeaxanthin supplements could dramtically reduce health care costs for seniors by preventing coronary heart disease and other illnesses.
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