Supplement's Dirty Dozen

The obsession with supplements in America started with seemingly innocent multi-vitamin and mineral pills. Then herbal supplements came into the picture and boasted magic bullets like improving memory and energy. Dramatic increase in supplement usage came when people started taking them for weight loss, muscle gain, and the whole nine yards. Nowadays, the supplement isles in markets stretch as far as the eye can see, and consumers are purchasing ginormous bins of these pills at discount warehouses. 

But there's a bit of a problem- there is no governing body that regulates these supplements.  Somehow, they got a special pass to skip FDA inspections. No fact check against these health claims, and there isn't much supporting evidence for the exaggerated health benefits that are becoming ingrained in consumers' minds. 

Once used to describe the 12 fruits and veggies that contain the most pesticides, the phrase "dirty dozen" has now transcended into the supplement realm.The 12 most harmful substances that are often found in these pseudo-nourishment are now given the same foul label.

Nutrition should be coming from fresh foods that we can recognize, not plastic bottles that have childproof caps on them. If they warrant such safety precautions, supplements are probably much less healthful (and actually harmful) than we believe them to be. 

For more supplement safety details, visit the pages on nsf.org and fda.gov. Full article on supplement's "Dirty Dozen" can be found at msnbc.com.