Herbal Diet Supplements: The Universal Truths

There are more of them on the market than you can count, their pricing and marketing sophistication running the gamut from high to low. Do they work? Are they safe?

There are two universal truths when it comes to herbal supplements for weight loss. One is that little to no scientific evidence exists to support their claims of effectiveness. The other is that, unlike prescription pharmaceuticals, these supplements are not subject to any safety evaluation or regulation by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. or any other regulatory body in the U.S. or abroad. And what does that mean for you? That means that you, really, have absolutely no idea what you're getting when you pop one in your mouth. And it doesn't matter if you bought it at Walgreen's or Wal-Mart or some other unimpeachable retailer - the bottom line with over the counter supplements is that the companies which manufacture them can do and say whatever they please in the manufacturing process, in the labeling process and in the marketing process. Because no one is monitoring them.

Know that it is possible that the herbal supplements you buy - particularly if you buy them online from an unknown or seemingly shady website - may be counterfeit, may be contaminated, or may contain "undeclared" substances, which means substances that are not noted on the label. Undeclared substances in herbal supplements have been in the news of late, in one case due to the discovery of the prescription drug Sibutramine present in scores of over the counter supplements, in dosages far greater than any doctor would ever safely prescribe. These supplements were recalled by the FDA. Another case in the news centered around a number of NFL players failing league drug tests - which revealed that the OTC diet pills they were taking were laced with an undeclared prescription-only diuretc drug. Anecdotal, yes. But it begs the question: how often does this kind of thing go on?