Join us as we dive into the unregulated world of the vitamin and dietary supplement industry. With over 85,000 supplement products on the market and minimal FDA oversight, learn about the hidden dangers lurking in your daily pills and powders. We talk to Harvard researcher Dr. Pieter Cohen to uncover the shocking truth about supplement contamination, mislabeling, and overdosing risks that companies don’t want you to know. Discover if your supplements are a path to better health or simply overhyped, and what you can do to stay informed and safe.
Written and Produced by Isabella Ciocca, Rma Polce, Matthew Kiewski, and Angelina Rappa
Edited by Rma Polce
Art by Angelina Rappa
Citations:
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- U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. (n.d.). Realize Safety Issues Exist. Retrieved from https://www.usada.org/athletes/substances/supplement-connect/realize-safety-issues-exist/.
- Tomlinson, T. (2014). Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements. JAMA, 159(8), 850. PubMed.
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (n.d.). Dietary Supplements. Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamins/.
- Cohen, P. A., & Maller, G. (2013). Assessment of DMAA (1,3-dimethylamylamine) in supplements. JAMA Internal Medicine, 173(10), 919-922. PubMed.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Consumption of dietary supplements containing DMAA among servicemembers—Fort Bliss, Texas, 2010. National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr183.pdf.
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2015). Dietary Supplements. Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/dietary-supplements-unregulated-children-health/.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Facts About Dietary Supplements. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/news-events/rumor-control/facts-about-dietary-supplements.
- Kleerekoper, M. (2014). How Placebo Effects Work to Change Our Biology & Psychology. ScienceDirect. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123869609000022#sec0105.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Supplement Your Knowledge. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/food/information-consumers-using-dietary-supplements/supplement-your-knowledge.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Supplement Your Knowledge. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/media/158340/download?attachment.
- U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. (n.d.). Realize Safety Issues Exist. Retrieved from https://www.usada.org/athletes/substances/supplement-connect/realize-safety-issues-exist/.
- Tomlinson, T. (2014). Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements. JAMA, 159(8), 850. PubMed.
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (n.d.). Dietary Supplements. Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamins/.
- Cohen, P. A., & Maller, G. (2013). Assessment of DMAA (1,3-dimethylamylamine) in supplements. JAMA Internal Medicine, 173(10), 919-922. PubMed.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Consumption of dietary supplements containing DMAA among servicemembers—Fort Bliss, Texas, 2010. National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr183.pdf.
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2015). Dietary Supplements. Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/dietary-supplements-unregulated-children-health/.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Facts About Dietary Supplements. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/news-events/rumor-control/facts-about-dietary-supplements.
- Harvard Health Publishing. (n.d.). Dietary Supplement Safety. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/mens-health/dietary-supplement-safety.
- American Medical Association. (2019). Dietary Supplements: Underregulated, Unknown, and Maybe Unsafe. Retrieved from https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/dietary-supplements-underregulated-unknown-and-maybe-unsafe.
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- The Pew Charitable Trusts. (2023). Stronger Federal Oversight of Dietary Supplements Will Protect Consumers From Unsafe Products. Retrieved from https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2023/01/26/stronger-federal-oversight-of-dietary-supplements-will-protect-consumers-from-unsafe-products.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Food Defect Levels Handbook. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredients-additives-gras-packaging-guidance-documents-regulatory-information/food-defect-levels-handbook#commodities.
- The New York Times. (2013). Herbal Supplements Are Often Not What They Seem. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/science/herbal-supplements-are-often-not-what-they-seem.html#:~:text=Of%2044%20herbal%20supplements%20tested,which%20are%20used%20as%20fillers.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (n.d.). Kava. Retrieved from https://nccih.nih.gov/news/alerts/kava.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (n.d.). Kratom: A Legal Drug That’s Dangerously Addictive?. Retrieved from https://childmind.org/article/kratom-a-legal-drug-thats-dangerously-addictive/.
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