Can I take nutrition supplements without doctor's advice/persciption?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Look again at the title of the thread. People don't always do that. The Dunning-Kruger effect is rampant these days.

You are seriously suggesting that the National Institutes of Health and the Food & Drug Administration are not reliable sources? :rolleyes: I have been on the internet since 1988 and spent a career designing and managing large websites, including at a medical school whose medical librarians posted tips and advice on how to differentiate reliable sources from crap. Keep your condescending garbage to yourself.

Just so you know, I was laughing at the posted video, not at you.

:flowers:
 
I am thinking about a logic....

When the fact is, nutritional supplement doesn't require FDA approval and can be obtained without doctor's prescription, shouldn't it be generally safe without having need to consider about reaction with other medicine? Just like we won't worry that eating vegetables or meat will react with your medicine.

Is my logic correct??
 
I am thinking about a logic....

When the fact is, nutritional supplement doesn't require FDA approval and can be obtained without doctor's prescription, shouldn't it be generally safe without having need to consider about reaction with other medicine? Just like we won't worry that eating vegetables or meat will react with your medicine.

Is my logic correct??


No it is not. One of my previous jobs was to monitor "food and drug interactions" for nursing home residents. Google food and drug interactions. I referred to a manual on the subject when documenting.
 
The FDA regulates food and prescription drugs. The Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act explicitly prevents the FDA from regulating supplements until something bad happens. Supplement manufacturers are not required to prove the safety and effectiveness of products they put on the market.

From https://www.pharmacytimes.com/publi...legislative-framework-for-dietary-supplements

The production and distribution of dietary supplements is an industry that has grown steadily. Yet, the oversight has remained almost the same since 1994. With the authority of the FDA limited by statute to removing supplements from the market only after reports of adverse effects, the role of pharmacists to intervene and assist patients with optimal product selection is vital.

The principal legislation covering products in this classification is the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which defined what constitutes a dietary supplement and outlines the limited role of the FDA in the oversight of the industry. Any dietary supplement ingredients marketed before 1994 are not required to have FDA clearance before marketing in interstate commerce.1 As a result, manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that products are neither adulterated nor misbranded and comply with the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP).2 The FDA’s authority is limited to surveillance and acting after defective products reach the market. An improvement to the legislation, the Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act of 2006, was passed 12 years ago, mandating that manufacturers report adverse effects within 15 days after they are received.3

Although the DSHEA has been around for more than 20 years, the public has misconceptions about what it entails. This has a lot to do with the growth and prevalence of the supplement industry, which is projected to grow from $100 billion in 2013 to more than $260 billion by 2024.4 The appearance of supplement packaging and “dosage forms” frequently resemble those of the medications that have been proved effective and safe. Additionally, the supplements are located near these medications in stores, which may contribute to assumptions and misunderstandings about their quality. Many consumers do not know that a way to ensure that a product contains what it says and nothing more is to look for a verification seal from a quality assurance program, such as consumerlab.com, the National Sanitation Foundation International, and the US Pharmacopeial Dietary Supplement Verification Program. Products with these seals should be recommended to patients.
 
The FDA regulates food and prescription drugs. The Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act explicitly prevents the FDA from regulating supplements until something bad happens. Supplement manufacturers are not required to prove the safety and effectiveness of products they put on the market.

From https://www.pharmacytimes.com/publi...legislative-framework-for-dietary-supplements


OK. If I still want to take a certain nutritional supplement, and it is shipped from and sold by Amazon.com, not a third party seller, is it the best bet for me??
 
I'd like to take a kind of nutrition supplements which can be purchased on Amazon. Can I take it without doctor's advice or supplement? Does
nutrition supplement usually have positive result, no result or negative result?

btw, when something shipped or sold directly by Amazon services, should it
be quality guaranteed and safe?

Thanks for advice.
quick answer "no"
This is still true. It doesn't matter who sells the supplements. There are no guarantees.
 
This is still true. It doesn't matter who sells the supplements. There are no guarantees.

But when a supplement is sourced by Amazon, wouldn't it more guaranteed? Amazon must have their legal team and they don't want to be sued badly in case of problems. As a result, they should at least have some belief in the
products they source, isn't it??
 
But when a supplement is sourced by Amazon, wouldn't it more guaranteed? Amazon must have their legal team and they don't want to be sued badly in case of problems. As a result, they should at least have some belief in the products they source, isn't it??
No. Amazon is not responsible for the safety or effectiveness of products that can be legally sold in the countries where they operate.

This is the last thing I am going to say on this topic. From Harvard University:

You can find plenty of treatments for hair loss on the Internet. Some are combinations of "specially formulated" shampoos and an herbal supplement in capsule form that may have saw palmetto as an ingredient. But aside from paid, "it really works!" testimonials, there's not much evidence that these remedies are effective. Save your money
https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Hair_today_more_hair_tomorrow
 

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom