New York Times Article: “Potential for Harm in Dietary Supplements”
The popular press regularly publishes investigative reports on the dietary supplement industry. Often they are of a critical slant. It’s not difficult to see why. The regulatory status of the dietary supplement industry is practically flimsy with a post-market regulatory structure but little funding to support oversight by the FDA. As a result, unscrupulous or honestly unaware manufacturers and marketers at times launch adulterated, unsafe and mislabeled supplement products into the market. Consumers play a role too. They believe what they want to believe - extrapolating curative effects from structure-function claims and anecdotal successes stories.
Today, the New York Times published an article exploring this three pronged problem that the dietary supplement industry struggles with. You may read the article titled, Potential for Harm in Dietary Supplements here.
I encourage your comments below.
-Patrick
Related Topics: Consumer Health News, Supplements
April 8th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I am sure I take at least 18 supplements, but my physicians ask me what drugs AND supplements I take. If a doctor doesn’t ask this or if the question is asked and the patient doesn’t give the proper information, is that the natural products fault?
In my case supplements:
a. have decreased my macular degeneration “spot” that was first diagnosed 14 years ago, something my ophthalmologist said he has never seen before.
b. gave me such rapid recovery from open heart surgery (aortic valve replacement) two years ago that at the final exam a month after the surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital they joked with me about being the “poster boy” for recovery.
c. given me complete relief for the severe osteoarthritis in my right foot for 4 years.
And as for the NY Times claim that new dietary ingredients do not have to have premarket safety proof, all new dietary ingredients marketed after 1994 must submit a New Dietary Ingredient application to the FDA proving safety and toxicology. In the year I am familiar with, 2004, there were 47 such submissions and the FDA only accepted 7, i.e., 40 submission for safety were rejected by the FDA.
And if someone who has excessive bleeding is the worst case the NY Times can come up with for supplements versus the over 100,000 people who die from improper “safe and effective” drug usage a year, I think the supplement industry is doing quite well.
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