Why Supplements Might Be Bad For You

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While certain supplements are quite safe for your health—you’re unlikely to go wrong with a vitamin D pill, for example—others may not provide the health benefits that they advertise. In reality, some of them may be harming your health, resulting in a variety of undesirable or even deadly consequences. According to a recent research of over 26,000 US military service personnel, 20% of those who used pre-or post-workout supplements, as well as supplements for weight reduction or muscle growth, suffered at least one negative consequence.

Researchers looked at how a variety of nutritional supplements affected service members’ health in the study, which was posted in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. They searched for a broad range of negative effects, including nausea, sleep disruptions, and seizures. In addition, 8% of those who used prohormone supplements, 6% of those who consumed protein or amino acid supplements, and 4% of those who used herbal supplements reported experiencing at least one of these side effects.

Because supplements are not required by the FDA to be authorized before being advertised, you should proceed with care while testing new products. It’s also crucial to check whether supplements interact poorly with any prescriptions, if they’ve been well studied to be effective and safe, and, preferably, if they’ve been third-party tested to validate the components.

This study emphasizes the importance of consulting a registered dietitian or doctor before beginning a new supplement regimen, especially if you have severe allergies or intolerances, are trying to deal with chronic health issues, are pregnant and/or breastfeeding, are taking any prescription medications, or are planning to have surgery. Registered dietitians and physicians are educated to provide the best suggestions for each person based on reliable information, making it far less likely that you’ll have negative side effects.

The study was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

William Reid

A science writer through and through, William Reid’s first starting working on offline local newspapers. An obsessive fascination with all things science/health blossomed from a hobby into a career. Before hopping over to Optic Flux, William worked as a freelancer for many online tech publications including ScienceWorld, JoyStiq and Digg. William serves as our lead science and health reporter.