Dietary supplements are products containing nutrients found in regular food in a more concentrated form. They can be purchased over-the-counter and may even be advertised to treat specific medical conditions.
Informing your health care provider of any dietary supplements you take can help them determine whether they provide value to your wellbeing.
They’re popular
Supplement sales have skyrocketed: in 2022 alone, Americans spent $35.6 billion on them – which is a considerable sum spent on products with little evidence they actually help or may even do more harm than good.
Dietary supplements come in pill, powder and liquid forms and often include essential dietary ingredients like vitamins, minerals, herbs and amino acids to supplement a poor diet and protect health by increasing immunity against disease. People often take them in order to fill any nutritional gaps left by poor eating habits while improving overall wellbeing and even warding off future illness.
Supplements are subject to FDA regulation in much the same way as over-the-counter drugs; manufacturers must submit data proving safety prior to selling in the US market, with adverse events tracked after entry onto shelves; but since companies cannot be forced to withdraw unsafe products from circulation by law alone it is vitally important that before taking supplements to read labels carefully and consult your healthcare providers as some could cause interactions or interact adversely when taken with certain medications or before surgery.
They’re regulated as foods
Given that dietary supplements are considered food, manufacturers and retailers bear much of the responsibility for assuring their safety. In the US, this involves submitting ingredients to FDA for review as well as informing them about any potential issues or recalls.
However, if a product claims explicitly or implicitly to treat, prevent, or cure disease, it falls under drug regulation and must comply with FDA oversight measures. That’s why 13 attorneys general including New York’s Eric Schneiderman are pushing Congress for reform of DSHEA to give FDA more oversight capabilities.
Health care practitioners can educate patients about supplement safety by recommending products that adhere to stringent quality standards and explaining how supplements fit into overall nutrition plans. In addition, health care practitioners can encourage consumers to learn more about what nutrients and botanicals they’re taking by selecting brands with independent research or support from scientific evidence.
They’re not regulated as drugs
Dietary supplements generate billions of dollars every year, and consumers trust them for any number of purposes. Unfortunately, though, vitamin pills, minerals and herbs are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat diseases; moreover, most do not deliver on what their labels promise.
Supplements fall under the food rather than drug categories and are only subject to post-market regulation by the FDA, meaning once harmful supplements become apparent they could potentially be pulled from store shelves by them.
This helps explain why pill-makers make exaggerated claims about their products, and also why the FDA has never taken serious steps against supplements like it has with drugs. If you want to learn more, tune into the May edition of AMA Journal of Ethics “Ethics Talk”, where guests like Amy B. Cadwallader (PhD), director of regulatory and public policy development at US Pharmacopoeia; Joshua Klein from DePaul University College of Law and Scott Schweikart JD can all share insights and expertise from these experts (plus many others!).
They’re not always safe
Dietary supplements can cause allergies if they contain the wrong ingredients, or you take too many. They may also interact with certain health conditions like autoimmune diseases and heart medications; and may not be appropriate for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
FDA is keenly aware of supplement manufacturers making false or misleading claims; however, due to limited resources they cannot scrutinize every product before it hits shelves. Instead, the government relies on manufacturers following good manufacturing practices (GMPs) so as to ensure products contain accurate identities, strengths, and composition.
Be a smart shopper by reading labels carefully and seeking information from noncommercial sources such as government and academic websites. Furthermore, always consult healthcare professionals such as doctors, registered dietitians and pharmacists before starting new supplements – they know your medical profile best and can advise your choices while showing how best to integrate supplements into daily life.
