HEALTH

WASHINGTON — Dietary supplement usage is up among Americans, according to a National Center for Health Statistics report released earlier this year — half of all U.S. adults supplement their diets, most likely with a multivitamin. And pharmacists are the No. 2 go-to source (behind doctors) for information around those supplements — according to a Council for Responsible Nutrition Survey on Dietary Supplements.

As a pharmacist, are you prepared to answer their questions?

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Colonial Life and Accident Insurance last week released its top five trends and predictions for health care in 2012 — three of which may have some direct impact on retail pharmacy.

NEW YORK — Ideas are just as important to a winning company’s overall success as the products and services it sells. So, what’s your company doing to create a culture where the ideas that create your products and services are as important as the products themselves? That’s the question Dan Mack — EVP strategic business development for The Swanson Group and founder of the Mack Elevation Forum — puts to DrugStoreNews.com users in a hot, new content feature that debuted this week on DrugStoreNews.com.

BOULDER, Colo. — Celestial Seasonings has introduced an energy shot that combines B vitamins, botanicals and kombucha, a fermented black tea.

Kombucha Energy Shots are packaged in single-serve, 2-fl.-oz. bottles and are available in citrus, berry and Pomegranate Xtreme varieties.

NEW YORK — Joulebody on Thursday announced the launch of its Jouledetox Bar, a vegan whole food bar, to complement the company's meal delivery offering with a retail component, beginning Dec. 1.

WASHINGTON — There is "fair evidence" to support the use of xylitol, a natural sweetener used in gums and mints, to prevent inner ear infections in healthy children, according to a new evidence review.

NEW YORK — A new app for the iPhone allows users to keep track of their blood-sugar levels on a daily basis, according to published reports.

Glooko has launched the logbook app and MeterSync cable, which allow patients to automatically download data from their blood-glucose meters to their iPhones, add notes and send results to their healthcare providers.

The cable costs $40 and works with popular glucose meters made by Bayer, FreeStyle and OneTouch.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A drug commonly prescribed to Type 2 diabetics to improve blood-sugar control also may have a rapid anti-inflammatory effect, according to results from a small study conducted by researchers at the University of Buffalo.