More than 50% of people in the US take dietary supplements to enhance an aspect of their health. Maybe you take supplements on a regular basis…
After all, the American public spends billions and billions of dollars each year on a wide array of pills and powders.
Unfortunately, a lot of what is sold to the public is under the umbrella of deceptive advertising. We are talking about fake pictures and ridiculous testimonials. Even worse, some supplements are extremely unhealthy.
So here are common misconceptions you need to know about dietary supplements:
1. They don’t have side effects: Look, just because the supplement companies market their products as natural does NOT mean there are 100% safe. In fact, there are many “natural” substances that are lethal. Also, remember that a lot of supplements are super concentrated concoctions of different ingredients. Thus, at this level, the naturalness tends to fade.
2. Supplements are backed by scientific studies: Only prescription drugs need FDA approval. Dietary supplements, on the other hand, do NOT require rigorous FDA testing. Even worse, many of the bar charts and study references found on the packaging are simply ghost studies performed by the manufacturers themselves.
3. Supplement manufacturers are acting in our best interest: The bottom line is that millions and millions of dollars are spent on advertising to get you to buy. And the reality is that when so much money is involved, things can get a little out of control. Ephedra is a perfect example here. So please do not be swayed by the sexy advertising.
4. The placebo effect doesn’t exist: The placebo effect is real, very real. So just because someone you know swears by a supplement, doesn’t mean that it’s safe. Simply taking a sugar pill can make 40% of a group feel an improvement. Now 40% is a huge number. This makes sense, however, since our minds have such great control over our bodies.
In the end, you need to be weary of all the sexy advertising and use common sense when purchasing a supplement. And if you really want to stay on the safe side, only take supplements that have been tested by independent entities with controlled studies.
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