October 24, 2005 Hello! Most people do not take dietary supplements in order to impair the body's ability to function at its best. "Clearly, people choosing
to supplement their diets with herbals, vitamins, minerals, or other
substances want to know more about the products they choose so that
they can make informed decisions about them. The choice to use a
dietary supplement can be a wise decision that provides health benefits.
However, under certain circumstances, these products may be unnecessary
for good health or they may even create unexpected risks." Even some well-known and extremely common supplements may be worth reconsidering for certain members of the population. "One research study
funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine, a part of the National Institutes of Health, found that
echinacea is not affective at all in treating children aged 2 to 11. There may be health benefits for some people when taking supplements. There may be health risks for others. For those who see no health benefits, supplements can range from something that is physically damaging, to something that is simply a waste of money. "You may find yourself
reading articles and watching adverts that claim vitamin supplements
are the best things since sliced bread -- a cure for everything
and a suitable alternative for a diet that is rich in nutritional
value. However, there are both pros and cons for vitamin supplements,
and they are certainly not an alternative for good health and good
diet." "[T]hey are certainly not an alternative for good health and good diet." Supplements can affect your health (either positively or negatively). Either way, to help avoid possible drug interactions, your doctor and your pharmacist need to know what supplements you are taking. Some supplements make prescription medications less effective. Others can have dangerous interactions with medications. "[B]e sure to consult
your doctor or pharmacist before purchasing or taking any supplement.
... Many supplements contain active ingredients that have strong
biological effects and their safety is not always assured in all
users. If you have certain health conditions and take these products,
you may be placing yourself at risk." "[Y]ou may be placing yourself at risk." "Under the law, manufacturers
of dietary supplements are responsible for making sure their products
are safe before they go to market. They are also responsible for
determining that the claims on their labels are accurate and truthful.
Dietary supplement products are not reviewed by the government before
they are marketed, but FDA has the responsibility to take action
against any unsafe dietary supplement product that reaches the market.
If FDA can prove that claims on marketed dietary supplement products
are false and misleading, the agency may take action also against
products with such claims." Those trying to sell the products are those responsible for making sure the products are regulated. What does that mean? "Dietary supplements
are not required to be standardized in the United States. In fact,
no legal or regulatory definition exists in the United States for
standardization as it applies to dietary supplements ..." So how do you know about the safety and efficacy of a given supplement? "How safe are they?
In many cases, no one really knows. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), which normally checks out the safety of foods and medicines
before they come on the market, does not check on the safety of
dietary supplements before they're sold. The FDA has to wait until
it receives reports of problems caused by supplements before it
can investigate and ban a dietary supplement. This is what happened
with the herb ephedra (also called ma huang or herbal fen-phen)
in 2003 when the FDA pulled the supplement from the U.S. market
after it was linked to the death of a well-known baseball player.
This means that if you take an untested supplement, you are serving
as the manufacturer's unpaid guinea pig and risking your own health." "[I]t was linked to the death of a well-known baseball player." Countless others died before someone with a name made headlines. Even more died before the drug was pulled from the shelves. "[Y]ou are serving as the manufacturer's unpaid guinea pig and risking your own health...." How safe are some supplements? We won't know until thousands more pay the manufacturers to try them and see what effects (bad? good? any?) they notice. Even then, we will only know if these results are somehow documented... "Adverse effects from
the use of dietary supplements should be reported to the FDA. You,
your health-care provider, or anyone may report a serious adverse
event or illness directly to the FDA if you believe it is related
to the use of any dietary supplement product. Report these concerns
to MedWatch, the FDA's safety information and adverse event reporting
system, by calling 1-800-FDA-1088, by fax at 1-800-FDA-0178 or online
at www.fda.gov/medwatch/how.php. The FDA would like to know whenever
you think a product caused you a serious problem, even if you are
not sure that the product was the cause, and even if you do not
visit a doctor or clinic." Questions of the Week: Please email me with any ideas or suggestions. I look forward to reading what you have to say. Cindy |
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