*3.2. Food Supplements*

Food supplements are micronutrients consumed in the form of pills, powders, and solutions when diets alone cannot provide an adequate amount of nutrition. Supplementation can be used as a short-term method to improve nutritional health and may be unsustainable for large populations. For example, improvement of folate levels in diets was achieved by the use of folic acid supplements [85,87]. Further, this method had some success with vitamin A and zinc supplementation [88]. Folic acid, iron, and zinc supplements have been helpful for children and pregnan<sup>t</sup> women; however, this method is not cost-effective, especially for low-income consumers [3,89]. Supplementation is a relatively cost-effective method, but may not solve the root cause of micronutrient deficiencies. Supplements for folic acid, zinc, and iron could show different physiological responses and absorption than consuming them in food [3]. Supplementation requires access to medical centers, adequate educational programs, and managemen<sup>t</sup> of supplies vs. demand, with adequate storage facilities [3,90]. These are manageable in developed countries, but not in rural populations and/or those of developing countries who have little access to these facilities.
