Diet Drug & Dietary Supplement Safety Concerns

Safety Concerns with Dietary Supplements

Potential for Contamination

Botanicals are also subject to contamination. The source of many botanical ingredients in dietary supplements comes from foreign countries. The environmental food and drug laws in those countries are, for the most part, less stringent than in the United States. Human, animal and industrial waste contaminates water and soil, and then is absorbed by the plants. The California Department of Health conducted tests on some botanical products and found high levels of lead, mercury, arsenic and other heavy metals. Further, pesticides that have been banned for use in the U.S. are still in use in other countries. These, too, are absorbed by botanicals or not washed off before the plants are harvested, dried and shipped to the manufacturer of botanical products. In the process of harvesting, drying and shipping, botanicals are also subject to mold and fungus contamination.

In October, 2006, Health Canada issued an Advisory warning consumers of heavy metal contamination in two natural health products, Emperor's Tea Pill (Tian Huang Bu Xin Wan) and Hepatico Extract (Shu Gan Wan), which were found to contain high levels of lead and mercury.

Adulteration of Dietary Supplements

Investigators have identified some all natural dietary supplements that were actually adulterated with prescription drugs. A research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported the chemical analysis of a dietary supplement promoted for enhancing sexual performance for men. Actra-Rx was found to contain prescription-strength amounts of sildenafil Viagra. These chemical analyses were confirmed by the FDA. Even in 2006, the FDA has found that some herbal male sexual enhancement products (Zimaxx, Libidus, Neophase, Nasutra, Vigor-25, Actra-Rx, 4EVERON) contain sildenafil or vardenafil Levitra.

One product that was removed from the U.S. market in 2002, had been marketed as a treatment for prostate cancer, was found to contain the prescription drugs warfarin (a blood thinner), indomethacin (an anti-inflammatory drug) and/or diethylstilbestrerol (DES, a synthetic estrogen hormone).

Variations in Dosage Amounts of Active Ingredients

ConsumerLab.com, an independent testing lab, ran extensive tests on several herbal products, including gingko biloba, saw palmetto, and SAMe. Their testing found that one-quarter to one-third of the products do not meet the claims made on the labels for dosage of active ingredients. For example, ConsumerLab.com tested 13 different SAMe products. In over half of those products, the dosage levels of SAMe were less than one-half of that claimed on the label, and in one, the SAMe content was below detectable levels.

Herb/Drug Interactions

What many consumers don't know is that using some herbal supplements at the same time as prescription or over-the-counter drugs can have serious and potentially life-threatening consequences. For example, if echinacea is taken with Valium, it can cause liver damage. Combining a garlic supplement or ginko biloba with blood thinners such as warfarin or aspirin may cause excessive bleeding. And St. John's Wort weakens the effectiveness of antibiotics and birth control pills.