Health supplements are products which are intended to supplement your normal diet for a specific purpose, such as gaining or losing weight, adding muscle, or improving energy.

As their name suggests, these items are intended to supplement, not replace, a healthy, balanced diet. They are also not intended to treat or cure disease.

Unlike drugs: 

• Supplements can be marketed without any proof that they are safe. 
  • Dietary supplements do not need approval from the FDA before they are marketed (except in the case of a new dietary ingredient.) 
  • Some ingredients in supplements can cause serious side effects. Consumer Reports suggests skipping the following 12 supplement ingredients: Aconite, Bitter organce, Chaparral, Colloidal Silver, Coltsfoot, Comfrey, Country mallow, Germanium, Greater celandine, Kava, Lobelia and Yohimbe.
• Supplements can be marketed without any proof that they will do what people think they will ("efficacy"). 
• Manufacturers do not have to make consumers aware of potential side effects or drug interactions.
• Quality of dietary supplements and herbal products is not regulated. Because of this, the label may not accurately reflect the active ingredients in the supplement or the actual content or content may vary from container to container.

Under FDA rules about the manufacture and labeling of vitamins and other supplements:.

• Manufacturers must follow Current Good Manufacturing Practices that ensure the identity, purity, quality, strength and composition of dietary supplements.
• Labels must state what is in each pill or capsule, including purity and strength. 

The FDA must prove that a product is dangerous before it can require that it be withdrawn from the market. 

Before starting to take a supplement:

• Check with your doctor to find out his or her opinion about:
  • The usefulness of the supplement 
  • Whether it negatively impacts your physical condition or the drugs you are taking.
• Check to see if the information that comes with the supplement has been tested in a scientific, double-blind placebo control trial. (A placebo looks like the acutal pill, but has no active ingredients in it). A double-blind placebo control trial means:
  • That part of the test group took a placebo (generally a sugar pill) instead of the actual supplement, while the other group took the supplement. 
  • Neither the participating patients nor the doctors know who is receiving the supplement and who is receiving the placebo. 
  • The results of the two different groups are tested over time in a controlled situation.
• Look at evidence based information about supplements you are considering. For instance, see:
  •  "About Herbs, Botanicals and Other Products" at http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11570.cfm.
  • The Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health's information sheets and publications: http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov , Tel.: 301.435.2920
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Information Center provides information at www.nal.usda.gov/fnic , Tel.: 301.504.5719. Click on "Dietary Supplements".
  •  Also see The Internet: Respected Comprehensive Sites. 
• Look for products which are  "USP Verified". Supplements with the USP Verified mark meet standards of quality, purity and potency set by the not-for-profit U.S. Pharmacopeia. To learn more about the mark and the organizatino, see: www.uspverified.org

NOTE:

• If you notice any new symptoms or side effects from taking a supplement, stop taking the product immediately. Contact your doctor (or at least your doctor's office) and report what happened.
• When you are asked what medications you take, be sure to include supplements, as well as vitamins and herbs. Survivorship A to Z provides a List of Medications to help you keep track. See "To Learn More."

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