5 Dietary Supplements Linked to More Risks Than Benefits

Weight Loss Supplements Pack a Dangerous Punch

When people get desperate to shed pounds, they often turn to weight loss supplements, but this path might lead straight to the emergency room. Among non-bodybuilding herbal and dietary supplements, weight loss supplements were among the most common type implicated in liver injury, with numerous commercial products containing green tea extract advertised as weight loss agents. Several case reports and case-series studies document liver injury following the use of Garcinia cambogia extract for weight loss, prompting the US FDA in 2009 to issue a warning related to hepatotoxicity induced by Hydroxycut™, a supplement based on Garcinia cambogia extract.

Certain supplements linked to liver damage include green tea extract often found in weight-loss supplements or metabolism “boosters,” with researchers finding in 2024 that 15 million Americans take compounds known to be toxic to the liver, including turmeric, ashwagandha, black cohosh, garcinia cambogia, green tea, and red yeast rice. The scary part isn’t just that these products don’t help you lose weight effectively – it’s that they can cause serious organ damage while emptying your wallet.

Vitamin B6 Turns Toxic When You Take Too Much

What seems like an innocent B vitamin can actually wreck your nervous system when taken in large amounts. The recommended dietary intake for vitamin B6 is 1.3–1.5 milligrams for adults, but consuming upwards of 100 milligrams a day can lead to toxicity. B vitamins are often added to multivitamins and proprietary supplement blends for energy or metabolism, so it’s important to be aware of what you’re taking.

This isn’t just a mild side effect we’re talking about – nerve damage from B6 toxicity can be permanent. The worst part is that many people stack multiple supplements without realizing they’re getting dangerous doses of B6 from various sources. Think about it like this: if someone told you that taking too much of something could cause permanent nerve damage, would you risk it for a theoretical energy boost?

St. John’s Wort Sabotages Your Other Medications

St. John’s wort is an herb most commonly used for depression, but it’s tricky because St. John’s wort interferes with liver enzymes in a way that increases the breakdown of many medications. This can cause the body to metabolize drugs rapidly, which can weaken the effects of many medicines, including antidepressants, birth control pills and blood thinners.

St. John’s wort can make certain medicines less effective, including birth control pills and medicines for depression, heart problems, HIV, and cancer. Imagine taking birth control pills but having an unwanted pregnancy because this herb made them useless. Or picture someone with HIV whose life-saving medications suddenly stop working properly. St. John’s wort can make antidepressants and birth control pills less effective. It’s basically a medication saboteur disguised as a natural remedy.

Black Cohosh Targets Your Liver Like a Weapon

Supplements containing black cohosh are often promoted to help with hot flashes and night sweats, however these benefits haven’t been proven, and the herb has potential risks, namely black cohosh can increase liver enzymes, which “can lead to drug-induced autoimmune liver injury.” Symptoms of liver problems include pain in the upper right abdomen, loss of appetite, fatigue, itchy skin, dark-colored urine, pale stools, and yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes.

The purity and strength of black cohosh supplements can vary, and they may contain ingredients not listed on the label, and if you have any underlying conditions affecting your liver, it’s best to avoid black cohosh. The irony is cruel – women going through menopause are already dealing with enough health challenges without adding liver damage to the mix. It’s like trying to fix a leaky faucet by flooding the entire house.

Green Tea Extract Becomes Your Liver’s Enemy

There isn’t enough evidence to make conclusions about the health benefits of green tea extract, but it can cause unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects for some people, including nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Most green tea pills contain caffeine which can cause jitteriness, fast heartbeat or sleeping issues, and in high doses more than 800 milligrams or with prolonged use, it can cause liver toxicity.

Green tea extract is considered a potential culprit of liver injury as evidenced by several case reports, with regulatory agencies in the US and Korea recommending setting a limit on the daily intake of green tea extracts to prevent serious liver damage. Studies of green tea in humans have not demonstrated an effect on weight loss, and while prospective clinical trials had not shown clear effects on weight, they also had not shown appreciable adverse events. The supplement industry has somehow turned one of the world’s healthiest beverages into a liver-damaging pill.

Bodybuilding Supplements Turn Muscles Into Hospital Visits

Many bodybuilding supplements have creatine, an amino acid that may build muscle but can also damage the kidneys, and many have high levels of caffeine which can cause muscle breakdown, hyperactivity and agitation. Supplements for weight loss, bodybuilding, or an “energy boost” should not be used by people with kidney disease or kidney failure.

These products promise to transform your physique, but they might transform your health in ways you never wanted. The fitness industry has created a culture where people willingly consume potentially dangerous substances in pursuit of the perfect body. Bodybuilding supplements sometimes tainted with anabolic steroids have been linked to liver damage. It’s like trying to build a castle on quicksand – you might get impressive results temporarily, but the foundation is dangerously unstable.

High-Dose Vitamin C Backfires Spectacularly

Vitamin C can interact with statins, niacin, estrogen, warfarin and chemotherapy drugs. Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E might make some chemotherapy medicines less effective. This is particularly devastating for cancer patients who think they’re helping their treatment by taking extra vitamins.

Some randomized trials have found that assigning people to take supplements with large doses of beta-carotene, selenium, and vitamins A, C, and E actually increased mortality rates. That sentence should make everyone pause. We’re talking about supplements that were supposed to promote health actually increasing the risk of death. It’s like discovering that your safety net has been made of razor wire all along.

Kidney “Detox” Products Actually Harm Your Kidneys

You should avoid teas and supplements specifically marketed as a “kidney detox” or “kidney cleanse” because these products may claim to flush out toxins from the kidneys and improve their health. There is limited evidence to support their effectiveness, and some ingredients used in these products can interact with medications or even damage your kidneys.

Some herbal supplements can contain ingredients that are known to cause kidney damage, like aristolochic acid, banned in many countries but still present in some traditional remedies. Some herbal supplements leave your body through your kidneys, so your body may develop toxic levels if you have kidney disease. The irony here is absolutely staggering – products marketed to help your kidneys are actually poisoning them.

Turmeric Supplements Hide Dangerous Side Effects

Vitamins E and K, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, resveratrol, turmeric and CoQ10 can interact with blood thinning medications. While turmeric as a spice in cooking is generally safe, concentrated turmeric supplements are a different beast entirely. Researchers found in 2024 that 15 million Americans take compounds known to be toxic to the liver, including turmeric.

People assume that because turmeric is “natural” and used in cooking, the supplement version must be harmless. But here’s the reality check: concentrated extracts can contain levels of active compounds that your body was never meant to handle. It’s like the difference between enjoying a glass of wine and chugging pure alcohol – same base ingredient, completely different health impact.

Multi-Ingredient Supplements Create Unpredictable Chaos

Multi-ingredient nutritional supplements used for a range of purposes from hair growth to mental health have been linked to liver damage. In one study, researchers tested 30 dietary supplements that claimed to strengthen immune health and found that 17 of the products were “misbranded,” lacking key ingredients listed on their labels or containing unlisted ingredients.

Some combination products may avoid listing the amounts of each ingredient, mentioning a “proprietary formulation,” “complex,” “matrix,” or “blend” instead. Many people don’t realize that supplements and medications use the same metabolic pathways and can cause dangerous side effects when combined. These products are like playing Russian roulette with your metabolism – you never know which combination of ingredients might trigger a dangerous reaction.

The Supplement Industry’s Dirty Little Secret

In 2022, Americans are projected to spend over $40 billion on dietary supplements, even though there is little, if any, evidence of benefits. The FDA does NOT have the authority to approve dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness before they are sold to the public, and it is the responsibility of dietary supplement companies to ensure their products meet safety standards.

One study by the FDA estimated that the agency is notified of less than 1 percent of all adverse events linked to supplement use, with another federal government study estimating that injuries caused by supplements are responsible for about 23,000 emergency room visits each year. The system is designed to let dangerous products reach consumers before anyone realizes they’re harmful. The amount of the active ingredient found in supplements can vary dramatically – not just from brand to brand but from batch to batch.

Your Doctor Probably Doesn’t Know What You’re Taking

The biggest concern is that people often don’t share what supplements they’re taking with their health care provider, and while taking supplements is generally okay, if you don’t tell your provider what you’re taking, they could prescribe a medication that interacts with the supplement. This has the potential to be very dangerous, even fatal.

It is rare that patients disclose supplement use to their physicians, therefore the risk of adverse drug-supplement interactions is significant. This creates a perfect storm of danger – doctors can’t protect you from interactions they don’t know about, and patients don’t realize their “harmless” supplements could turn their prescription medications into poison. Patients worry about potential side effects from medications but have no problem taking 10 or 20 supplements they heard about from health influencers on social media.

The Cancer Risk Nobody Talks About

Research investigating the overlooked harmful effects of dietary supplements reveals that beyond known toxicities at high levels, dietary supplements may contribute to increased risk of cancer. Recognizing the link between supplement consumption and increased cancer risk is crucial for informing consumers and empowering healthcare professionals.

There have been case reports of endometriosis in women consuming isoflavone supplements, and given clear evidence of estrogenicity, there is a likelihood of increased risk of estrogen sensitive cancers in consumers of these products. This information should be front and center on every supplement bottle, but instead it’s buried in obscure research papers. Such an association has been reported for several vitamins, minerals, and other dietary supplements, and while several of these studies have critics, they must draw attention to further investigate long-term adverse effects.

The Truth About “Natural” Products

It is not always true that natural products are safer or better than synthetic substances, and some natural products can be harmful even if used as directed. Many botanical supplements such as garlic, ginger, ginkgo biloba, echinacea are sold as “natural” products, but plants themselves are made up of many chemicals, some helpful and some harmful.

Botanicals fit into the category of substances toxic to liver cells even though they are often considered safe because they are natural. The marketing term “natural” has become one of the most dangerous words in the supplement industry. Poison ivy is natural too, but you wouldn’t rub it all over your body. Certain dietary supplements or traditional health remedies may be harmful because they contain dangerous chemicals or high levels of heavy metals such as lead, mercury or arsenic. Nature doesn’t care about your health – it just exists, sometimes beautifully, sometimes lethally.

The supplement industry has built a multi-billion dollar empire on the promise of better health while systematically avoiding the responsibility of proving their products actually work or are safe. Every day, millions of people swallow pills that could be doing more harm than good, often while skipping proven medical treatments or healthy lifestyle changes that would actually benefit them. Anything that has an intended effect also has a side effect, and if a supplement does something you want it to do, it will probably also do something you don’t want it to do. The question isn’t whether supplements can be dangerous – it’s whether the risks are worth taking for unproven benefits.