Millions of people in the United States consume dietary supplements hoping to maintain or improve their health; however, almost no one knows of the significant concerns about the safety of routine supplements. This is a show that some of the folks who sell the supplements do not want you to see. But, if you or someone you loves takes a dietary supplement, it’s a show you won’t want to miss on today’s edition of Ask Dr. Walt.

From 2021-2022, I was honored to host a TV show on LiftableTV, “Ask Dr. Walt.”

Millions of people in the United States consume dietary supplements hoping to maintain or improve their health; however, almost no one knows of the significant concerns about the safety of routine supplements. This is a show that some of the folks who sell the supplements do not want you to see. But, if you or someone you loves takes a dietary supplement, it’s a show you won’t want to miss on this edition of Ask Dr. Walt.

You can click below to watch a video of the show, or I’ve put the show transcript at the end of the blog if you’d prefer.

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Disclaimer: The Ask Dr. Walt show is designed for entertainment purposes to give information on various medical conditions, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to help you be a more informed consumer of medical and health services.

SHOW TRANSCRIPT

SHOW 23

The Ugly Truth about Dietary Supplements in America

GUEST INTERVIEW

Tod Cooperman, MD

TEASE:

Millions of people in the United States consume dietary supplements hoping to maintain or improve their health; however, almost no one knows of the significant concerns about the safety of routine supplements. This is a show that some of the folks who sell the supplements do not want you to see. But, if you or someone you loves takes a dietary supplement, it’s a show you won’t want to miss on today’s edition of Ask Dr. Walt.

OPEN:

Hi, everyone. I’m family physician Dr. Walt Larimore. Thanks for joining me for what I hope will be a rather shocking episode for most of you. If you’ve followed me for any time at all, you know that I’m an advocate for many natural medicines – a category that includes herbs, vitamins, and dietary supplements.

The number of natural medicines sold in the U.S. has dramatically increased since the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, called “DSHEA,” from about 4000 when law went into effect in 1994 to more than 185,000 as of last year. Approximately 150 million persons in the United States use natural medicines, with 79 percent reporting daily use and 10 percent of folks taking 5 or more per day. People in the U.S. report using natural medicine to maintain or improve overall health and the health of specific organs, prevent disease, increase energy, improve mental health, achieve weight loss, and resolve miscellaneous health issues such as erectile dysfunction, menopause, and hot flashes. Almost 23 million people in the U.S. report using dietary supplements instead of drugs, and 30 million use them instead of over-the-counter medications. Almost none of these folks are aware of the potential dangers of doing so.

One study has estimated that at least 1 in 12 U.S. adults takes botanical dietary supplements known to cause kidney damage; other dietary supplements are known to cause cancer, damage the liver, or alter healthful hormones. Natural medicines may be adulterated with dangerous compounds, be contaminated, completely fail to contain the purported active ingredient, or contain unknown doses of the ingredients stated on the label. Furthermore, in America they can be sold at toxic dosages; or produce harmful effects as a result of their interaction with other drugs.

Americans assume their natural medicines are as safe as their over-the-counter or prescription medications – after all, they’re sold in the same pharmacies – but nothing could be further from the truth.

To help us understand these shocking facts is our guest today, my friend, Tod Cooperman, MD. Dr. Cooperman is an internationally recognized and respected researcher, writer, and speaker on consumer healthcare issues. Dr. Cooperman earned his MD from the Boston University School of Medicine. Early in his career, he recognized a lack of quality standards and oversight in the U.S. dietary supplement industry, which led him to found ConsumerLab.com in 1999. Under his vision and leadership, ConsumerLab.com has become the leading independent evaluator of dietary supplements and nutritional products. Dr. Cooperman has been called as an expert witness by committees of U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate to give testimony regarding the quality and regulation of dietary supplements and has been regularly invited to speak about dietary supplement quality at the National Institutes of Health.

• Dr. Cooperman, welcome to “Ask Dr. Walt.”
• Let’s start with DSHEA. What is it and why does it matter?
• I find most of my patients are surprised to learn that most supplements on the market in the U.S. are not tested for either efficacy or safety.
• In testimony before the U.S. Congress in 2010, you said that based ConsumerLab.com tests of over 2,000 dietary supplements representing over 300 different brands showed that one out of four had a quality problem and that problems had been found in products from every size of manufacturer and were most common in herbal supplements, multivitamins, and products with ingredients that were newer to the market. Has anything changed in the last 10 or 11 years?
• Let’s go through some of those problems you told Congress about. You said you all found tablets that wouldn’t break apart properly to release all their ingredients and therefore are much less likely to be absorbed.
• You mentioned that a lack of proper labeling was common when manufacturers had too few or too many nutrients. What are some common examples?
• This one bothered me a lot. You told Congress that deceptive labeling was occurring, particularly when the indicated components that were not even in the product at all.
• I think that most people would be terribly concerned to learn that some products containing potentially dangerous, even cancer-causing or heavy metal contaminants.
• You also told Congress that there was a lack of voluntary warnings which could help consumers avoid potential problems, such as ingredients in amounts above known tolerable levels, and you mentioned a lack of public access to adverse event reports filed by manufacturers with the FDA.
• You told Congress that faulty products left on the market due to inaction by manufacturers or “quiet” recalls announced to retailers but not to the public were a potential danger to the public. Has that changed?
• You say that the illegal addition of prescription or investigational drugs, particularly in those supplements sold for “erectile dysfunction,” “bodybuilding,” “brain health,” and “weight loss” was commonplace. Is it still?
• Tod, based upon your findings, I think my viewers could now understand that having an independent quality testing program such as ConsumerLab.com is critical if they are going to purchase any herb, vitamin, or supplement. So how can ouf viewers reach ConsumerLab.com, what services do you offer, and what’s the cost?

SAY GOOD-BYE TO DR. COOPERMAN:

Before we close the show, I want to tell you about a couple of books I’ve written on natural medicines and alternative medicine: The Natural Medicines Handbook: The Truth about the Most Effective Herbs, Vitamins, and Supplements for Common Conditions, a book in which Dr. Cooperman served as a consultant and editor, and Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook, both of which have been endorsed by the Christian Medical and Dental Associations as “medically-reliable and Biblically sound.” You can find them at DrWalt.com. Just click on the tab that says books. Also, at DrWalt.com you can sign up for my daily “Medical News You Can Use” blog and my twice daily Biblical devotion, “Morning Glory, Evening Grace.” Finally, if you have comments or questions drop me a line at DrWalt@Liftable.TV. That’s DrWalt@Liftable.TV.

So, until our next visit, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” I’m Dr. Walt Larimore and I look forward to seeing you for my next episode of “Ask Dr. Walt.”

Disclaimer: The “Ask Dr. Walt” show is designed for entertainment purposes to give information on various medical conditions, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to help you be a more informed consumer of medical and health services.

© Copyright WLL, INC. 2023. This blog provides healthcare tips and advice that you can trust about a wide variety of general health information only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from your regular physician. If you are concerned about your health, take what you learn from this blog and meet with your personal doctor to discuss your concerns.