Take the necessary steps to ensure the supplements you’re taking are safe, effective, and the right ones for you.
Whether it’s a multivitamin you’re swallowing each morning or a gummy you’re taking each night to help you sleep, many adults take some type of supplement. When used properly, supplements may provide certain health benefits, but there can also be risks and side effects caused by taking supplements.
Learn more about dietary supplements, the potential risks associated with taking them, and tips for how to use them safely.
What Is a Dietary Supplement?
Dietary supplements are products intended for ingestion that contain an ingredient intended to supplement the diet. This includes vitamins (like vitamin C or a multivitamin), minerals (like calcium or iron), herbs (like ginger or echinacea), amino acids, enzymes, and probiotics. Supplements come in many forms, such as pills, tablets, gummies, powders, liquids, and conventional foods and drinks like teas or bars.
About half of adults in the United States take one or more supplements daily for a wide variety of reasons, including:
- For nutritional assistance to reach the recommended amount of a certain nutrient.
- For the expectation of better health overall.
- For specific purposes, such as to improve strength, to lose weight, or to enhance sexual performance.
How Are Supplements Regulated?
We have a lot of information on certain supplements, and they’re often recommended by health care professionals for their health benefits. For example, if you’re at risk for bone loss, your health care provider may suggest taking calcium or vitamin D to strengthen your bones. If you’re pregnant, your provider will suggest folic acid to decrease the risk of certain birth defects. But there is very little information about other supplements, their safety, or their effectiveness.
Companies are responsible for ensuring that the dietary supplements they sell are safe and properly labeled, but unlike drugs, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t have the authority to approve dietary supplements or their labeling before they hit the market.
Why does this matter? First, this means they aren’t approved for effectiveness before they’re sold. For example, if you take a supplement that’s marketed to help suppress your appetite or improve your immune system, it may or may not work. Secondly, supplements aren’t approved for safety. There are no mandatory standards for ingredient combinations or doses. The FDA will watch for products that may be unsafe or make false claims, but that’s only after they’re on the market.
Learn more about the role of the FDA in the labeling, marketing, and safety of dietary supplements.
What Are the Risks Related to Taking Supplements?
Many products are made under careful conditions, are labeled correctly, and are safe for use, but it’s important to understand that there can be risks associated with taking supplements, including:
- Drug interactions – Supplements can interact poorly with other medicines you’re taking. For example, antioxidants like vitamin C might make some chemotherapy medicines less effective.
- Safety of the ingredients – Supplements may contain ingredients that have strong effects in the body or could contain chemicals that are harmful to your health.
- Incorrect dosages – A supplement could contain a larger dose of an ingredient than the label says, which may cause side effects like vomiting and fatigue or more serious reactions like chest pain or joint stiffness. If you take too much of a certain supplement, your body may not be able to break it down, which can lead to toxic levels of certain ingredients within your body.
- Other concerns – Without consulting a health care professional about a supplement, you may put yourself at risk unknowingly. For example, if you’re going to have surgery, certain dietary supplements may increase the risk of bleeding or affect your response to anesthesia.
What Steps Should I Take Before Trying a Supplement?
There are several steps you can take before trying a new supplement to help you stay safe:
- Talk to your health care provider. Unlike medicines, most people start dietary supplements without discussing them with a health care professional, but it’s important to keep your provider up to date about what you’re taking. Your provider can help you understand whether or not it may interact poorly with something you’re already taking, whether or not it has any benefit for you, and more.
- Do your research. Before you take a new supplement, research its safety and effectiveness. A reputable manufacturer should have published test results that you can see. You’ll find some companies use personal experience or opinion instead of studies or test results.
- Ask questions. What are the potential benefits of the supplement? Are there any safety concerns or risks? What is the proper dose to take? How long can or should I take it? How will this interact with other medications I’m taking? Are there studies backing up the manufacturer’s claims about the product? Many of these questions can be discussed with your health care provider.
- Be skeptical. Be aware of really bold claims like “drop weight quickly” or “achieve extreme muscle growth.” Often, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- Consider your own opinions. Some of us have preconceived ideas about supplements that aren’t necessarily true. For example, some of us believe that if a product is “all natural,” it must be safe, but some natural plant materials can contain ingredients that are harmful to your health. In addition, some people assume it can’t hurt to add a supplement to their current medications, but certain supplements can speed up or block your body’s ability to break down your other medications. Consider what you actually know about supplements versus what you assume to be true.
- Consult with the experts. You don’t have to be an expert on every supplement hitting the market. There are several organizations and websites you can use to help you understand a product’s safety and effectiveness before you use it. Check out the resources below to get started.
Resources
- The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has a set of fact sheets with information about several popular herbs and their potential side effects.
- The Department of Defense (DoD) Operation Supplement Safety includes a list of DoD prohibited dietary supplement ingredients, informative articles, and a tool for checking a supplement you’re thinking about taking.
- The National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements provides accurate and up-to-date information about dietary supplements.
Take the necessary steps to ensure the supplements you’re taking are safe, effective, and the right ones for you!