The Truth About Herbal Supplements

More than 150 million Americans consume dietary supplements, including herbal supplements, each year, as part of the healthy things they do for themselves. As a licensed naturopathic doctor, I am part of this cohort of supplement users, and also include herbal supplements as part of a comprehensive health regimen for not only myself, but my entire family. 

Herbal supplements, which include products like chamomile, echinacea, garlic, ginkgo biloba, and ginseng, provide valuable phytonutrients and other bioactive components that promote health and vitality. Many herbs have a long history of safe use, which is being validated by modern scientific evidence. As herbal supplement use grows, it continues to draw the attention of regulators and policy makers who are tasked with making sure America’s industries are doing all they can  to provide high quality products to American consumers.

Recently Congress took a close look at herbal supplements. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), published its findings in a federal report which was then reviewed in a United States Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on May 26. The GAO randomly selected 40 herbal supplements and tested them for contaminants, such as heavy metals and pesticides. The GAO discovered that 37 of the 40 products tested contained trace amounts of at least one contaminant. To the “average consumer”, this information may be surprising because many people assume that the foods we eat have zero environmental contaminants. But as with anything that grows in the ground or swims in the oceans, it is not possible to eliminate all contaminants. And herbal supplements are sourced from plants that originate in the ground; consequently there are bound to be trace amounts of contaminants—you would also expect to find similar amounts in many of the food sources grown in the ground. What’s important to point out is that the levels of contaminants found are not considered to be harmful. In fact, according to the government report, “the levels of contaminants found do not exceed any FDA or EPA regulations governing dietary supplements…” Further the government did not express concern regarding any immediate negative health consequences from consuming these supplements. 

Herbal products can be provided as dry ground plant material or as an herbal extract. When herbal extracts are made, the manufacturer filters out some of the naturally occurring contaminants, which reduces the levels to near zero, but with today’s sophisticated testing equipment, one can always detect trace amounts. In other words, it is virtually impossible to eliminate all contaminants because they are in the environment, and particularly as testing equipment has become more adept at identifying even the tiniest traces of contaminants, it is not surprising that trace amounts would be found. So while much hullabaloo can be made about the presence of contaminants in herbal supplements, the governments’ own investigation did not identify any reason for concern.

The government report also raised concern about unsupported marketing claims made by rogue retailers who are either unaware or willingly ignoring dietary supplement advertising laws. When it comes to any marketing claims, it’s always best to go by the adage, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”  If an herbal supplement (or any supplement—or product—for that matter) is claiming to cure cancer, it’s safe to assume the claim is false.  As importantly, it’s an illegal claim because supplements are not allowed by U.S. law to be sold with treatment or curative claims. Supplements are meant to be supplements to, not substitutes for, our health regimen—not to act as magic bullets to cure a disease or to take the place of a prescription medicine or other healthy habits. 

Furthermore, in the U.S., the dietary supplement industry is regulated by both FDA and the Federal Trade Commission under the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994.  FDA has the ability to remove products from the market if they pose significant risk of injury or illness for the consumer, and the same law requires all supplement companies to follow manufacturing regulations called Good Manufacturing Practices. The law also demands all labeling claims be truthful and non-misleading. And while the vast majority of supplement makers are doing the right things when it comes to manufacturing and advertising practices, it’s always important to shop for products from reputable companies and brands you know and trust—not from companies that make egregious claims.

So despite the recent GAO report, I plan to continue to take my herbal supplements, and to encourage my family to take them too. I will just be a little more careful in the brands I select and where I purchase them. I’ll avoid fly-by-night internet ads for products I’ve never heard of, and I’ll stay away from retailers that promise to cure whatever ails me. That’s pretty good advice—with or without a report.