by Arden Davidson

Created on: September 16, 2009   Last Updated: September 18, 2009

Dietary supplements are natural herbs and vitamins that are designed to treat various maladies from depression to memory loss to lack of energy. However the truth about dietary supplements is that, unlike medications approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), they have often not been proven to either be helpful or safe.

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act passed in 1994 provides for very light regulation. According to the

FDA, the following criteria qualify a product as a dietary supplement:

is a product (other than tobacco) that is intended to supplement the diet that bears or contains one or more of the following dietary ingredients: a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical, an amino acid, a dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the total daily intake, or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combinations of these ingredients. is intended for ingestion in pill, capsule, tablet, or liquid form. is not represented for use as a conventional food or as the sole item of a meal or diet. is labeled as a "dietary supplement." includes products such as an approved new drug, certified antibiotic, or licensed biologic that was marketed as a dietary supplement or food before approval, certification, or license (unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services waives this provision).

While there are some positive aspects to the law - primarily the lack of government control over what we do with our own bodies - there have been numerous cases of illness and death related to these so-called natural health remedies that might have been prevented if the FDA had been involved.

The 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act was enacted essentially as a means of reaching a compromise between supplement manufacturers and the FDA. The act basically states that the companies can describe on the product label how the product is supposed to benefit the consumer, for example, that it will improve your memory or increase your energy. However, they must also include a statement on the label that declares "This statement has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease". This compromise is extremely similar to the one reached between the FDA and tobacco companies who are forced to put disclaimers on their packaging.

While the FDA is allowed to ban a certain dietary supplement if it has been proven to be dangerous or invalid, there is a long, complex process involved that could keep the unhealthy product on the shelves for months after its status is determined.

Caution, therefore, is the key word that needs to be associated with dietary supplements. Many of the dietary supplements today are not only lacking FDA approval, but also have failed to endure the clinical research that 'official' drug manufactures demand of themselves. Consumers need to take the warning labels on their dietary supplements seriously, or they may end up being the unwilling guinea pig in an experiment gone terribly wrong.

Learn more about this author, Arden Davidson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.