Dietary Supplements - More Shortcuts?

I am interested in health.  I find, however, that most health-related material in books and magazines, on the news and on the internet offer nothing new, merely repeating the familiar advice:  eat fruit and vegetables; get plenty of exercise and enough sleep, don’t smoke, drink alcohol only in moderation, etc.  We’ve heard it thousands of times, and it makes perfect sense.  If you want to live long and feel good, those are the basic requirements.  There really aren't any reliable shortcuts.

Most dietary supplements fall into this category of shortcuts, preying on our desire to avoid the discipline needed to follow such a plan.  It’s a $5 billion industry, obviously attractive to many people looking for easy answers.  Their subtle message is that by taking a pill or drinking this tea you will make up for your inability to stick with the diet or exercise program and will become more healthy and energetic.

Not only does this undermine our discipline but it calls on our critical thinking to ensure personal safety and avoid doing more harm than good.  Remember from my blog of August 8, 2011 that dietary supplements are not held to the same testing standards as pharmaceuticals in terms of both efficacy and side effects.  It’s left to consumers to ensure they are getting what they pay for.

Here are some examples.  In the first, a company was fined in California for engaging in “false and misleading advertising in connection with the marketing and sale of certain dietary supplement products.”  In the second a company reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission prohibiting (among other things):  making deceptive statements that celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey endorse their products; stating that consumer testimonials reflect typical consumer experiences; making any claim that a product can diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent any disease, including cancer, unless the claim is approved by the Food and Drug Administration; making any claim that a product can cause weight loss, unless the claim is supported by two well-controlled human clinical studies.  Finally, the FTC shut down several phony news advertisements for acai berry pills and fined six marketers saying, “The pills were a scam, and so were the 'news' sites.”

Beyond false advertising, though, there are many examples of these products containing unknown or dangerous substances or containing no beneficial ingredients at all.  Some people are adamant about using these supplements and will not be talked out of it, but they should consider how these costly shortcuts can put them at even higher risk.  A modicum of discipline is clearly the better course of action.