Next to weight, feeling good is a prime target. We spend billions on things that we believe we lead to better health, grow thicker hair, improve our sex lives, or somehow enhance other parts of our lives and bodies.
It all sounds good, and there’s always a demand for things like vitamins, herbs, minerals, plant-based supplements, or extracts and essences. Whether taken in pill form, via eye dropper, syringe or just gulped down in food or drink, these supplements promise a better, more vigorous and enhanced quality of life.
There’s just one problem: Some of them can actually make life and health extremely worse, causing problems you didn’t have before taking the supplements. In some cases, they can even kill you.
Supplements are available in just about every grocery store, pharmacy and health food store. They include powders, pills, oils, energy bars and liquid drinks, some made from plants and others culled from algae, animal parts, yeasts, mushrooms or other fungus. Some are true home remedies; others are carefully created in laboratories and ideally bottled under sanitary conditions.
The efficacy of any supplement should always be questioned, and studies have shown that some, despite what they say on the labels, contain little to none of the promised substances and certainly don’t produce the results the marketers claim. It’s a Wild West part of the food and drug chain, and it’s largely unregulated and under-monitored by the Food and Drug Administration.
The real danger lies when the supplements contain items that are not listed on the labels – different types of herbs, fillers or drugs that can truly harm the body. That’s why self-medication and listening to friends or salespeople about the wonders produced by any supplement are dangerous – they haven’t spent years of research and have no real professional stake in the outcomes. They’re often touting products that aren’t backed by any research or human studies, and certainly no medical history of anyone is taken before items are recommended.
The Dangers Are Real
While some may dismiss cautions about using supplements as a product of the nanny state that’s always warning about something or other, there are measurable reports of how supplements can have adverse effects.
The FDA does keep track of reactions, injury or illness caused by supplements, and it requires supplement makers to report any harm that their products may have caused.
FDA reports indicate that supplement problems are on the rise. In 2009, there more than 1,000 reports of dietary supplement adverse effects, defined as moderate to severe reactions to ingesting supplements, including illness and unexpected side effects. By 2012, that number had risen to more than 2,800 reports of adverse dietary supplement reactions.
It was also reported ingesting supplements that included herbs, vitamins, protein powders and botanicals resulted in more than 100,000 phone calls to poison control centers across the nation, with about 1 percent of those incidences having moderate to severe outcomes. Because only a tiny number of people who have a problem are likely to pick up the phone and call a government agency, it is believed that those numbers are but a fraction of the actual cases.
WATCH OUT FOR DRUG INTERACTIONS
If you’re getting cancer treatment, taking supplements can interfere with your treatment or cause adverse reactions. Certain supplements can increase skin sensitivity, and chemotherapy patients may ingest antioxidants that can interfere with cancer-killing treatments. Most cancer medical professionals recommend abstaining from dietary supplements while undergoing treatment.
Because many people self-medicate with supplements, they may tend to overdose, using the old “if one is good, two is better” approach. There are also quack scientists who recommend megadosing, which was popular in the early 1990s with antioxidants such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E and beta carotene. There is no research indicating that megadoses of these supplements can prevent colds or have any other disease-fighting value and can actually cause problems by interfering with the body’s ability to absorb such vital minerals as calcium. You can reach toxic levels of Vitamins K, D, and A if you try megadosing, with adverse reactions for your heart, liver and other vital organs.
THE DIRTY DOZEN
Consumer Reports magazine came up with a list of what it termed “the Dirty Dozen” supplements or ingredients that can cause harm to those taking them in any quantity. These include:
1) Aconite: Known as aconite tuber, aconitum and radix aconite, this is used to fight inflammation, joint pain and gout. But it can also induce nausea, vomiting and heart arrrhythmia.
2) Bitter Orange – Touted as a weight-loss wonder and known as aurantii fructus, zhi shi and aurantium, this supplement contains synephrine, which is a compound that mimics the effects of ephedrine, banned by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004.
3) Chaparral – This is used for colds, weight loss and infection but can cause liver and kidney problems. The FDA recommends it not be taken.
4) Colloidal Silver: Some use it to battle Lyme disease, psoriasis and chronic fatigue, but you can turn blue from using it and develop neurological problems.
5) Coltsfoot – Known as coughwort and foalswort, it can cause liver damage and has been linked to cancer.
6) Comfrey – Called blackwort or slipper root and used by patients with cancer and chest pain. But this, too, can cause liver and kidney damage, and the FDA has asked for its removal from products since 2001.
7) Country Mallow – Sometimes called heartleaf, it’s allegedly used for asthma, bronchitis and weight loss. But it’s a heart rhythm disturber and sometimes can cause strokes.
8) Germanium – Also known as GE-132 and germanium 132, it can be used for pain and infections but has been known to cause kidney damage and some deaths. The FDA warned of its use in the early 1990s.
9) Greater Celandine – Sometimes called celandine or Chelidonium majus, it is used as a detoxer but can cause liver damage.
10) Kava – Used to treat anxiety, the FDA noted in 1993 that it can cause liver damage. Canada, Germany and Switzerland are among the countries that have banned it.
11) Lobelia – Used for smoking cessation, it can accelerate your heartbeat, lower your blood pressure and cause coma or death. This substance is sometimes called Pokeweed or asthma weed.
12) Yohimbe – Touted as an aphrodisiac for its ability to aid erectile dysfunction and diabetes complications, it can cause death when taken in high doses.
As with any product you buy, keep in mind that claims of miracles are often just marketing gimmicks used by those who have a financial stake in selling supplements. They do not have to get FDA approval to market their products because the agency only looks at things already being sold. Be aware, be cautious and stay skeptical about any product that is not recommended by a medical professional.