Dangerous Supplements

Many of you have been asking me about the article titled "10 Surprising Dangers of Vitamins and Supplements" in the September 2012 issue of Consumer Reports. This article reminds me of the political advertisements that we have seen so much of recently. There is a kernel of truth in there somewhere, but by the time the ad airs it has been so magnified and distorted that it's almost unrecognizable.

So let's look at the warnings that the authors have made one by one, and put them in perspective.

The first warning is that supplements are not risk- free. That is true up to a point. There are some bad players in the industry but they produce a very small minority of the supplements in the marketplace - probably less than 2%. To understand just how small a problem this really is, we really need to put the warning into perspective. The authors said that there were 6,300 reports of serious adverse effects and 115 deaths associated with dietary supplements between 2007 and 2012. That corresponds to 1,260 serious adverse effects and 23 deaths per year.

In contrast, there are over 2.2 million adverse drug reactions and over 125,000 deaths per year from medications taken as properly prescribed. So which is more dangerous - food supplements or prescription drugs?

The second warning is that some supplements are really prescription drugs. Again that is a true statement, but it represents only a few bad apples in the industry - it's not the industry norm. The worst offenders are among supplements marketed for bodybuilding, weight loss, and sexual enhancement - especially those that promise instant or effortless results. These supplements often contain stimulants or synthetic steroids. I have warned you about some of these supplements in my past columns. As I have said in the past "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". So just avoid those supplements that advertise that they will make the pounds just melt away or enable you to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

The third warning is that you can overdose on vitamins and minerals. That's kind of a no-brainer. You can overdose on almost anything - even water. Now I do not want to minimize the possibility of overdosing on vitamins and minerals. It can happen. Most of those 1,260 serious adverse effects reported each year are probably due to overdosing - although some of them may represent drug - nutrient interactions.

If you are taking high levels of vitamins and minerals, I do recommend that you familiarize yourself with the safe upper limits set by the Institute of Medicine and the Office of Dietary Supplements. You can find that at www.ods.od.nih.gov.

The fourth warning is that you can't depend on warning labels. Again, that is true with a small minority of the supplements out there. In fact, it is a good way to distinguish between the fly-by-night companies and the reputable companies. My advice to you is to do your due diligence. Look for responsible, reputable companies that put warning labels on their supplements.

The fifth warning is that no supplements have been proven to cure major diseases. As the authors point out the FDA does not allow claims that supplements can diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent diseases. These claims are only allowed for FDA approved drugs. You won't find many companies making those claims, but this is yet another good way to separate the reputable companies from the not so reputable companies. If you see claims that a supplement can cure or treat a disease, run the other way. Reputable companies would not make such a claim.

The sixth warning is to buy with caution from botanicas. The authors are referring to stores that sell traditional medicinal plants for physical or spiritual healings - the California medicinal pot stores come to mind. The botanica type stores are completely unregulated, so you have no idea what you're actually getting. I agree strongly with this recommendation, but it has very little to do with the supplements that you and I are likely to be purchasing on a regular basis.

In short, there is some truth to each of the warnings that I have covered this week from the Consumer Reports article. But, it is important to keep those statements in perspective. Each of them is true only for a very small percentage of the supplements in the marketplace. So those warnings should not scare you away from supplementation. But they will help you choose high quality supplements from reputable manufacturers, and hopefully will make it less likely that you'll fall for the hype and deceptive advertising used by a very small segment of supplement manufacturers.

To Your Health!

Dr. Stephen G Chaney

Investigate Shaklee at www.fbi30.com