Dietary Supplement Dangers

 Do you take dietary supplements? The answer is probably yes, since more than half of adult Americans take at least one type of supplement, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control report. The CDC survey also found that multivitamins were the most commonly used supplement, that use of Vitamin D is on the rise, especially among older adults, and that 61% of women over 60 take calcium supplements—a dramatic increase from the early 1990s, when only 28% did.

It's pretty likely that supplements can benefit your health, but it's crucial that you tell your doctor that you're taking them. A different survey, done by the AARP, discovered that although 53% of people over 50 reported using complementary or alternative medicine, including supplements, many of them hadn't discussed it with their doctors. When respondents had talked about alternative medicine and supplements with their doctors, it was more often the patient who raised the topic, not the doctor.

To understand why it's important to be careful about which supplements you take, and discuss them with your doctor, read this article in the New York Times on the dangers of some dietary supplements. It says that many contain potent drugs and harmful ingredients. For example, many weight-loss supplements contain an appetite suppressant that was once sold as the prescription drug Meridia, until a study revealed that it upped the risk of heart attack and stroke, and Meridia was pulled from the shelves. It also says that some sexual enhancement supplements aimed at men contain the main ingredient in Viagra, but at much bigger doses than Viagra contains, posing a health hazard.

Of course there's a big difference between multivitamins and shady pills promising weight loss and sexual vigor, and I'm confident that HGS readers aren't scrolling through their email Spam folders in search of the latter. But the article is an important reminder to think twice before you pop a pill you picked up in the vitamin aisle, to stick to brands and stores that you know are reputable and remember to talk to your doctor about it.

More about supplementing safely:

2 Supplements Linked to Alzheimer's

A Supplement that Could Cause Heart Disease?

How to Pick the Right Multivitamin