If you’re thinking of adding a dietary supplement to your daily routine, call your health care professional first, and let them know what other supplements and medications you’re taking.Some people find it easiest to throw all their dietary supplements and medications in a bag to bring to the medical visit. Include the dosages and how many times a day you take them. Every time you visit a health care professional’s office, bring a list of all the dietary supplements and medications you are currently taking.Talk With Your Health Care Professional Before Using Supplementsīefore you take any dietary supplement or medication-over-the-counter or prescription-it is important to discuss it with your health care professional. To the extent a product marketed as a dietary supplement bears claims that the product is intended to diagnose, mitigate, treat, cure, or prevent a disease, the FDA may also consider whether it is appropriate to take action against products that are unlawfully marketed as drugs.
The FDA can take enforcement actions against manufacturers if their products are found to be adulterated (for example, if an ingredient is unsafe) and/or misbranded (for example, if their labeling is false or misleading). If the dietary supplement contains certain new dietary ingredients, the manufacturer must submit data on that ingredient’s safety-but not its effectiveness-for the FDA’s review before the manufacturer markets a dietary supplement containing the ingredient. The FDA does not review supplements for effectiveness (as it does for OTC and prescription medications) before they enter the market. Manufacturers are required to produce dietary supplements that meet minimum quality standards, do not contain contaminants or impurities, and are accurately labeled. What Is the FDA’s Role in Dietary Supplements?Īlthough the FDA has oversight of the dietary supplement industry, the supplement manufacturers and distributors are responsible for making sure their products are safe before they’re marketed. Your health care professional may ask you to stop taking dietary supplements two or three weeks before the procedure to avoid potentially dangerous changes in heart rate, blood pressure, or bleeding risk. If you’re planning a surgery, be aware that some dietary supplements can interact in a harmful way with medications you need to take before, after, or during that surgery. And if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, you’ll want to discuss any dietary supplements with their health care professional. For kids, ingesting dietary supplements together with other medications make adverse events a real possibility. Children’s metabolisms are unique, and at different ages they metabolize substances at different rates. Precautions for Children and for Those Who Are Pregnant or BreastfeedingĬhildren, in particular, could be harmed by taking both supplements and medicines. Natural does not always mean safe.įor example, many weight loss products claim to be “all-natural” or “herbal,” but their ingredients may interact with medications or may be dangerous for people with certain medical conditions. Some consumers may believe that a so-called “natural” product, such as an herbal supplement or fish oil, can’t hurt them. Taking any of these products together may increase the potential for internal bleeding or stroke. In addition, warfarin (a prescription blood thinner), ginkgo biloba (an herbal supplement), aspirin, and vitamin E (a supplement) can each thin the blood.
Depending on the medication involved, the results can be serious. For example, drugs for HIV/AIDS, heart disease, depression, treatments for organ transplants, and birth control pills are less effective when taken with St. take some kind of dietary supplement along with a prescription medication.Ĭombining dietary supplements and medications could have dangerous and even life-threatening effects. Dangers of Mixing Medications and Dietary Supplementsĭietary supplements are widely used and include vitamins, minerals, and other less familiar substances-such as amino acids, botanicals, and botanical-derived ingredients. If that happens, it can affect the potency of your medication, which means you may get either too much or too little of the medication you need. Certain dietary supplements can change absorption, metabolism, or excretion of a medication. When you take prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medications, do you also take a vitamin, mineral, or other dietary supplement? Have you considered whether there is any danger in mixing medications and dietary supplements?
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