Dangerous Supplements That You Should Be Aware Of

You should not take any supplements that contains ...

• chaparral
• aconite
• bitter orange
• colloidal silver
• coltsfoot, comfrey
• country mallow
• germanium
• greater celandine
• kava
• lobelia
• yohimbe.
  

These are 12 supplements listed as among the most dangerous supplements by ConsumerReports (see chart here). You can read September 2010 issue of ConsumerReports for more details in its cover story. This is not an inclusive list of course. Just because a supplement that is not on the list does not imply that it is safe.

If you are taking supplements, make sure you check the bottle for the above ingredients. They may be mixed in with other ingredients.

The categories of supplements that people should be careful of are supplements marketed for weight loss, body building, and sexual enhancement. ConsumerReports says "we think consumers should be extremely cautious with those categories of products or avoid them."^[1]

Reports of the dangers of these supplement can easily be found from other reputable sources as well.

Cancer.org says ...

"Chaparral is considered a dangerous herb that can cause irreversible, life-threatening liver damage and kidney damage".

Health Canada warning:

"Health Canada is warning consumers not to ingest the herb chaparral in the form of loose leaves, teas, capsules or bulk herbal products because of the risk of liver and kidney problems."

FDA in the United States also warned against chaparral:

"Public Warning About Herbal Product Chapparal: The FDA has issued a public warning against consumption of chaparral because of reports of its association with acute, toxic hepatitis when consumed as a dietary supplement." [ref]

Just because aconite is an herb does not mean that it is safe.  It still contains poisonous chemicals.

WebMD says ...

"Aconite is a plant. The root is used as medicine. However, aconite contains some poisonous chemicals. In Hong Kong, aconite is the most common cause of severe poisoning from herbs."

Bitter Orange is also known as citrus aurantium. It is sometimes used in weight loss products as an alternative to ephedra. Ephedra is now banned by the FDA. Since bitter orange is similar in structure and function, it may be just as dangerous.^[ref]

Bitter orange speeds up the heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolism.

Medpedia says ...

"Bitter orange contains synephrine and octopamine — chemicals that are similar to ephedrine in ephedra. These chemicals may cause high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias), which can lead to heart attack, stroke and even death (severe side effecta that actually did occur with ephedra)."

Colloidal Silver will turn the skin blue and the discoloration is permanent. This happened to one person mentioned in the Consumer Reports report.

Note only is colloidal silver dangerous for humans, FDA does not even approve of its use in animal products. See FDA website that says:

"The human consumption of silver may result in argyria -- a permanent ashen-gray or blue discoloration of the skin, conjunctiva, and internal organs. Colloidal silver-containing products have not been approved by FDA for use in any animal species."

The FDA had told supplements manufactures to remove products containing comfrey. Comfrey contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids and is a potential hepatotoxin. It causes liver damage.^[6]

Read more at LiveStrong.com which says ...

"According to the FDA, the toxins in comfrey that can be absorbed through your skin can also affect your body's other tissues. Because the FDA says there's some evidence that these toxins may cause cell mutations that can lead to cancer"^[2]

Coltsfoot is also known as tussilago farfara.  This herb contains toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid which can cause liver damage over time.

herbco.com which sells herbs warns that ...

"Coltsfoot should not be taken for more than 3 or 4 weeks at a time. ... Coltsfoot flowers should not be used. The herb should not be taken by pregnant or breast-feeding women. It should not be given to children under age 6."

An in fact, an infant had died from liver disease because mother had drank coltsfoot tea during pregnancy.^[5]

Germany has banned the sale of coltsfoot.^[3] Canada has banned both Coltsfoot and comfrey.^[4]

WebMD says ...

"Country mallow contains ephedrine, which is an amphetamine-like stimulant that can cause harmful side effects. Since April 2004 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned ephedra, country mallow, and other products that contain ephedrine."^[11]

Possible dangers includes heart attack, arrhythmia, and stroke.^[1]

Germanium is also known as Ge-132.

WebMD says ...

"Germanium is UNSAFE. There have been more than 30 reports of kidney failure and death linked with use of germanium. It builds up in the body and can damage vital organs such as the kidneys. ... Don’t use it."^[13]

It doesn't get any clearer than that quote.  Physicians also have to be warned. The British government had sent out a letter to physicians about the dangers of germanium-based products such as those found in health food stores.^[12]

Also known as chelidonium, the plant is toxic because it contains various isoquinoline alkaloids.

Article on PubMed indicates 2 cases of acute liver damage from the use of greater celandine.^[14]

WebMD says ...

"Greater celandine might not be safe when taken by mouth. It can cause serious liver problems. When applied to the skin, greater celandine can cause allergic skin rash."[15]

Kava is also known as kava-kava.

Kava was at various times have been banned in Germany, Canada, Switerland, and other countries. However, the status becomes murky as governments are still trying decide how to handle kava. See worldwide legal status of kava.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) has reported on cases of liver toxicity associated with kava that required individuals to have liver transplants.^[8] The FDA has put out an consumer advisory about potential liver injury related to kava-containing dietary products.^[9]

Others have argued that kava is safe as long as it is properly prepared and only the peeled roots are used.^[10]

WebMD says ...

"Lobelia is considered UNSAFE for most people when taken by mouth. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, dizziness, tremors, and more serious effects."[16]

Yohimbe is sometimes found in erectile dysfunction products.

Yohimbe contains yohimbine, which is a prescription drug. Therefore, it is unsafe to use without medical supervision.^[1]

MayoClinic says ..

"yohimbe can interact with prescription medications and increase heart rate and blood pressure."^[16]

Many people have been harmed by bad supplements. Some of their stories were mentioned in the ConsumerReports issue.

Then why are these supplements still available in the market?

That is a good questions. Not sure if there is a good answer. In the viewpoint section of the ConsumerReport issue, it did give the opinion that "the FDA lacks the legal authority and doesn't have staff or funding to properly monitor the marketplace." [Consumer Reports Sept 2010 page 6]

In fact, some countries have bans on some of these supplements. Yet, ConsumerReports says that they were able to find these supplements readily in stores in the United States and online. When asked retailers why they are still selling them, they simply said that FDA had not banned them.^[1]

The FDA is the Federal Drug Administration in the United States. Although they have not banned the dangerous supplements, they have put out advisories against many of these supplements.

The above is only a limited set of supplements that have been labelled dangerous. Just because a supplement was not listed as dangerous, it does not necessarily mean it is safe. There are many other risky supplements out there. Some of which are ...

Ephredra

To see how risky ephredra is WebMD has the following note on its ephredra overview page:

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the sale of ephedra because of concerns about its safety. The product has been linked to heart attacks, strokes, and some deaths."[17]

The New England Journal of Medicine cites a study that showed the following results ...

"Among the adverse events that were deemed definitely, probably, or possibly related to the use of supplements containing ephedra alkaloids, 47 percent involved cardiovascular symptoms and 18 percent involved the central nervous system. Hypertension was the single most frequent adverse effect (17 reports), followed by palpitations, tachycardia, or both (13); stroke (10); and seizures (7). Ten events resulted in death, and 13 events produced permanent disability, representing 26 percent of the definite, probable, and possible cases."[18]

There are good supplements and bad supplements. The supplements mentioned above are bad supplements. But that is not to say that all supplements are bad. Some supplements are good for health.

And in fact, in the same ConsumerReports issue lists eleven other good supplements to consider.