More than 50% of people in the US take dietary supplements to enhance an aspect of their health. Maybe you take supplements on a regular basis…

You see, as a nation we spend an absurd amount of money on supplements, to the tune of billions per year.

Unfortunately, many of these supplements are sold with deceptive advertising. Even worse, many of these supplements are eventually pulled from the market because of health issues.

So here are common misconceptions you need to know about dietary supplements:

1. They don’t have side effects: Look, just because the supplement companies market their products as natural does NOT mean there are 100% safe. In fact, there are many “natural” substances that are lethal. Also, remember that a lot of supplements are super concentrated concoctions of different ingredients. Thus, at this level, the naturalness tends to fade.

2. Dietary supplements are backed by peer reviewed research: Very few supplements actually undergo the rigors of peer reviewed research. In fact, the majority of research you see in the advertisements are fly-by-night studies performed by the companies themselves.

3. They take your health as a top priority: There is a lot of money to be made selling supplements. And when there is so much money at stake, it is very easy for companies to lose sight of ethics. And the supplement industry is no exception here.

4. The placebo effect doesn’t exist: The placebo effect is real, very real. So just because someone you know swears by a supplement, doesn’t mean that it’s safe. Simply taking a sugar pill can make 40% of a group feel an improvement. Now 40% is a huge number. This makes sense, however, since our minds have such great control over our bodies.

In the end, you need to be weary of all the sexy advertising and use common sense when purchasing a supplement. And if you really want to stay on the safe side, only take supplements that have been tested by independent entities with controlled studies.

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