WASHINGTON, Feb 24, 2009 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- What's in your kitchen cabinets? Aside from the usual staples of cereal, coffee filters, and bottles of salad dressing, it appears that the majority of American adults who take vitamins and other supplements every year are keeping them in their kitchen cabinet. According to the 2008 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements, 52 percent of supplement users indicated that they store their supplements in a kitchen cabinet.

These findings are consistent with results from the 2007 "Life...supplemented" Healthcare Professionals (HCP) Impact Study, which surveyed U.S. doctors and nurses on their usage and attitudes of dietary supplements and found that a similar number -- 59 percent of physicians and 66 percent of nurses -- are also keeping their vitamins and other supplements in the kitchen cabinet. This same survey also found that 72 percent of physicians and 89 percent of nurses personally use dietary supplements, and that 79 percent of physicians and 82 percent of nurses recommend dietary supplements to their patients.

Like healthcare professionals, supplement consumers are using their bathroom cabinet as the second most popular place to store their supplements. Twenty-three percent of consumers (as well as 25 percent of doctors and 27 percent of nurses) reported housing their supplements there. Supplement consumers also report storing their supplements in other locations, including: kitchen counter (15%), night table (11%), refrigerator (7%), desk at home (5%), bathroom counter (5%), closet (4%), purse or briefcase (4%), and desk in office (3%).

So which supplements might consumers be storing in these various locations? The following supplements ranked the highest when supplement users were asked in the 2008 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements what supplements they had taken in the past twelve months:

-- Multivitamin (taken by 82% of supplement consumers)

-- Vitamin C (taken by 32% of supplement consumers)

-- Calcium (taken by 32% of supplement consumers)

-- Omega 3/Fish Oil (taken by 28% of supplement consumers)

-- Vitamin B/B Complex (taken by 23% of supplement consumers)

-- Vitamin E (taken by 20% of supplement consumers)

-- Vitamin D (taken by 16% of supplement consumers)

-- Green Tea (taken by 16% of supplement consumers)

-- Glucosamine and/or Chondroitin (taken by 15% of supplement consumers)

-- Flax Seed (taken by 11% of supplement consumers)

Whether you are taking multivitamins, calcium, vitamin E or other types of supplements, remember to store them in a cool, dry place, out of the reach of children, and in a location that is convenient so that you will remember to take them everyday. And be sure to check the labels on a regular basis. If any are past the expiration date, discard the product and get new ones.

The 2008 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements was conducted August 20-25, 2008 by Ipsos Public Affairs and funded by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). The survey was conducted on-line and included a national sample of 2,013 adults aged 18 and older from Ipsos' U.S. on-line panel. The survey has been conducted annually since 2000, with a migration from telephone to the internet beginning in 2005. The survey was weighted to reflect the actual U.S. adult population with an estimated margin of error of +/-2.2 percentage points.

Note to Editor: Ipsos Public Affairs is part of Ipsos, a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals that helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens. Ipsos offers a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and on-line research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies.

Note to Editor: The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing dietary supplement manufacturers and ingredient suppliers. In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements, CRN members also agree to adhere to voluntary guidelines for manufacturing, marketing and CRN's Code of Ethics. Visit www.crnusa.org.

SOURCE Council for Responsible Nutrition

URL: http://www.crnusa.org www.prnewswire.com