Are There Any Risks in Taking Dietary Supplements?
Yes!! Many supplements contain active ingredients that have strong biological effects in the body. This could make them unsafe in some situations, and hurt or complicate your health. For example, the following actions could lead to harmful, even life-threatening, consequences.

• Combining supplements
• Using supplements with medications (whether prescription or over-the-counter)
• Substituting supplements for prescription medicines
• Taking too much of some supplements, such as vitamin A, vitamin D, and iron

Some supplements can also have unwanted effects before, during, and after surgery. Inform your doctor, including your pharmacist, about any supplements you are taking, especially before surgery.

Dietary supplements include vitamins, minerals, and other less familiar substances - such as herbals, botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and animal extracts. While some dietary supplements are well understood and established, others need further study.

Some supplements can help assure that you get an adequate dietary intake of essential nutrients - others may help you reduce the risk of disease. However, supplements should not replace the variety of foods that are important to a healthful diet, so, be sure you eat a variety of foods as well.

Unlike drugs, supplements are not intended to treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure diseases. That means supplements should not make claims, such as "reduces arthritic pain" or "treats heart disease." Claims like these can only legitimately be made for drugs, not dietary supplements.

Although the benefits of some dietary supplements have been documented, the claims of others may be unproven. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

• Watch out for false statements like:
  
  • A quick and effective "cure-all"
  • Can treat or cure diseases
  • "Totally safe" or has "no side effects"
• Be aware that the term natural doesn't always mean safe.
• Don't assume that even if a product may not help you, at least it won't hurt you.
• When searching for supplements on the Web, use the sites of respected organizations, rather than doing blind searches.
• Ask your doctor for help in distinguishing between reliable and questionable information.

Always remember - safety first!

You, your doctor, or anyone else should report a serious problem from the use of any dietary supplement directly to FDA's (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) MedWatch Program at:

• 1-800-FDA-1088 (toll-free phone number)
• 1-800-FDA-0178 (fax)
• The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program

FDA would like to know whenever the use of a dietary supplement causes you to have a serious reaction or illness, even if you're not certain that the product was the cause, and/or you did not visit a doctor or clinic.

Source: http://www.fda.gov