The Risk of Dietary Supplementation

The Risk of  Dietary Supplementation

On October 15, 2015 the New England Journal of Medicine published a study that reports on Emergency Department Visits for Adverse Events Related to Dietary Supplements.  While there is clear report within the abstract and body of research, the title of the research and the reporting by media sources would have us believe that nutritional and dietary supplemtation poses a serious health risk.  They estimate that there are about 23,000 Emergency department visits per year in the USA that are associated with dietary supplementation.  Let us take a moment to assess risk.

If you read the research, they make important points within the statistical results regarding the risk of supplements. 

- 34% of all ER visits were due to children getting a hold of adult supplements
- 37% were due to seniors, age 65+, choking on their supplements
- 72% of all dietary supplement related ER visits are attributed to weight-loss and energy boosting dietary supplements

According to the Centers For Disease Control (CDC), there are over 136 million Emergency Department visits in the USA annually.  This means that supplement related ER visits account for 0.017% of all ER visits, annually.

If we can keep supplements out of the hands of children, prevent choking and avoid abuse of weight loss and energy boosting supplements, approximately 0.00005% of all ER visits are related to dietary supplements. Findings in research regarding risk of death due to dietary supplements is minimal and is, mostly, limited to case reports.

By comparison, over the counter NSAIDs (Ibuprofen, Advil, Motrin, etc.) are considered reasonably safe; yet, they account for 103,000 hospitalizations and more than 16,000 deaths each year in this nation. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is significantly more dangerous than NSAIDs and is generally considered to be safe. You can see that there are nearly as many deaths attributed to Ibuprofen as there are hospital visits for all supplements combined.

When supplements are recommended by a doctor, taken as recommended and are kept out of the hands of children, the risks of taking dietary supplements is very low. Feel free to discuss your diet, your health objectives and/or possible drug-supplement interactions that may concern you with your doctor at Gallatin Valley Chiropractic.


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