January 2008
Risky pills
Dietary supplements to avoid
CHECK THE LABEL The USP Verified Dietary Supplement mark assures that the product has the declared ingredients.
Consumers who turn to dietary supplements to avoid the risks and potential drug interactions of pharmaceutical drugs might
unwittingly court problems.
From January through September 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued nine "safety alerts" warning consumers to stop using 13 brands marketed as dietary supplements because FDA testing found they contained prescription medications. Nine concealed erectile-dysfunction drugs such as sildenafil (Viagra) or tadalafil (Cialis); three harbored lovastatin (Mevacor), a prescription drug for high cholesterol; and one, sibutramine (Meridia), a weight-loss drug. They put unknowing consumers at risk of pharmaceutical side effects and potential drug interactions.
In most of those cases, manufacturers voluntarily recalled their dietary supplements. The FDA issued a warning letter to one company, advising it to stop selling the products.
FDA warnings don't stop all sales. In March 2004 the FDA warned 23 companies to cease distributing androstenedione, an anabolic steroid-like body-building supplement. But in November 2007 we found it available for purchase online from three other suppliers.
We also found Internet ads for aristolochia. The FDA warned consumers to stop using this ingredient in April 2001 because it commonly contains aristolochic acid, which has been linked to kidney damage and certain types of cancer.
In fact, of the dozen supplements that we deemed dangerous based on published reports and expert consultations in our May 2004 story, we found that most are still easily available on the Internet.
We've recently identified three additional dietary supplements that have been linked to serious adverse event reports. They include cesium, a purported medicinal element linked to reports of abnormal heart rhythm; colloidal silver, a mineral that can cause kidney damage and irreversible skin discoloration; and graviola, from evergreen trees, associated with nerve-cell toxicity.
From January through September 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued nine "safety alerts" warning consumers to stop using 13 brands marketed as dietary supplements because FDA testing found they contained prescription medications. Nine concealed erectile-dysfunction drugs such as sildenafil (Viagra) or tadalafil (Cialis); three harbored lovastatin (Mevacor), a prescription drug for high cholesterol; and one, sibutramine (Meridia), a weight-loss drug. They put unknowing consumers at risk of pharmaceutical side effects and potential drug interactions.
In most of those cases, manufacturers voluntarily recalled their dietary supplements. The FDA issued a warning letter to one company, advising it to stop selling the products.
FDA warnings don't stop all sales. In March 2004 the FDA warned 23 companies to cease distributing androstenedione, an anabolic steroid-like body-building supplement. But in November 2007 we found it available for purchase online from three other suppliers.
We also found Internet ads for aristolochia. The FDA warned consumers to stop using this ingredient in April 2001 because it commonly contains aristolochic acid, which has been linked to kidney damage and certain types of cancer.
In fact, of the dozen supplements that we deemed dangerous based on published reports and expert consultations in our May 2004 story, we found that most are still easily available on the Internet.
We've recently identified three additional dietary supplements that have been linked to serious adverse event reports. They include cesium, a purported medicinal element linked to reports of abnormal heart rhythm; colloidal silver, a mineral that can cause kidney damage and irreversible skin discoloration; and graviola, from evergreen trees, associated with nerve-cell toxicity.
