The Scary Facts About ‘Natural’ Supplements

In today’s terrifying news, Consumer Reports released the findings of a new investigation on dietary supplements. The publication found that 15 common supplement ingredients, including ones like green tea extract powder, caffeine powder, and kava, can come with pretty scary consequences. “With the help of an expert group of independent physicians and dietary supplement researchers, Consumer Reports identified 15 supplement ingredients currently on the market that are potentially harmful, with risks including organ damage, cancer, and cardiac arrest,” says a press release about the findings. “Moreover, Consumer Reports’ experts said that none of the 15 supplement ingredients provide sufficient health benefits to justify the risk.” The 15 ingredients the report names are aconite, caffeine powder, chaparral, coltsfoot, comfrey, germander, greater celandine, green tea extract powder, kava, lobelia, methylsynephrine, pennyroyal oil, red yeast rice, usnic acid, and yohimbe. “Many supplements contain active ingredients that have strong biological effects in the body,” FDA spokesperson Lyndsay Meyer tells SELF. “This could make them unsafe in some situations and hurt or complicate your health.” It’s no surprise, then, that the aforementioned ingredients are linked to a host of negative health consequences, including seizures, liver and kidney problems, cancer, and even death.

© Brian Hagiwara / Getty ImagesBrian Hagiwara / Getty Images

Whether you’d experience a reaction (and which one you’d be dealing with) depends on your current medical conditions, how long you’ve been taking the supplements, how much you’ve been taking, and what other medications you’re on (some supplements have dangerous interactions with drugs). And while the expert panel can’t say for sure that supplements cause these issues, they have said that they don’t consider the potential upside of ingesting any of these ingredients worth the risk they pose. That’s not to say you should immediately panic if you’re taking supplements, but that you should definitely talk to a doctor about whether they’re dangerous to your health. We know what you’re probably thinking: But aren’t supplements regulated by the FDA? They are, but not to the same degree that OTC and prescription drugs are. (You’re not alone in thinking that, by the way: In the new findings, Consumer Reports mentions a 2015 study they conducted that showed almost half of U.S. adults mistakenly think supplement producers test their products to make sure they work—and more than half believe manufacturers test supplements for safety before they start selling them.) “The FDA regulates dietary supplements under a law passed by Congress in 1994,” says Meyer. “The FDA’s authority has not changed significantly in more than 20 years. Even though Congress has expanded FDA’s oversight for other products in that time, it has not done so for dietary supplements.” Drugmakers must prove their products are safe and effective, but supplement manufactures don’t have to. They’re required to test a product’s identity, strength, purity, and composition, but they don’t have to submit those results to the FDA. And while they’re supposed to tell the FDA about new ingredients they add to their formulas, they sometimes fail to do this. The result is that many supplements are ineffective and some even contain harmful microbes, heavy metals, or illegal or prescription drugs. “The FDA does not have the power to review the safety of most dietary supplements before they are marketed, so we can only take action after a problem has occurred,” Meyer says. “The FDA’s ability to detect and assess problems with dietary supplements is also limited by the fact that manufacturers are only required to report serious adverse reactions to FDA. Therefore, we depend on consumers and healthcare providers to provide us with information we can act on.” If you’re still interested in using supplements, the best way to stay safe is by doing your research. Instead of commercial websites, the FDA recommends reading up on supplement facts via sites like the National Institutes of Health, the USDA, or the FDA’s own resources. If you do look at commercial websites or reviews, “watch out for statements and promises like ‘works better than [a prescription drug],’ ‘totally safe,’ or has ‘no side effects,’ which are usually false,” Meyer says. Also remember that the term “natural” doesn’t automatically make something safe. No matter what, it’s always a smart idea to consult your doctor, even if what you’ve found on your own seems tame. “Consumers can help protect themselves by discussing with their healthcare provider any supplements they are taking or considering taking,” Meyer says. “If you’ve experienced a side effect that you believe is associated with a dietary supplement, work with your healthcare provider to report it to the FDA.”

source : Self (http://www.self.com/?mbid=synd_msn)

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