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Summary

Dietary supplements are vitamins, minerals, herbs, and many other products. They can come as pills, capsules, powders, drinks, and energy bars. Supplements do not have to go through the testing that drugs do.

Some supplements can play an important role in health. For example, calcium and vitamin D are important for keeping bones strong. Pregnant women can take the vitamin folic acid to prevent certain birth defects in their babies.

To take a supplement as safely as possible:

• Tell your health care provider about any dietary supplements you use
• Do not take a bigger dose than the label recommends
• Check with your health care provider about the supplements you take if you are going to have any type of surgery
• Read trustworthy information about the supplement

NIH: National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements

Start Here

• 5 Tips: What Consumers Need To Know about Dietary Supplements (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Dietary and Herbal Supplements (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
• FDA 101: Dietary Supplements (Food and Drug Administration)
• MedlinePlus: Herbs and Supplements (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) Also in Spanish
• Questions and Answers on Dietary Supplements (Food and Drug Administration)
• Using Dietary Supplements Wisely (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Alerts and Advisories (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Caution Consumers: Honey-Based or Honey-Flavored Syrup Products May Pose Health Risk (Food and Drug Administration)
• Did you know? Supplements and Medications Can Interact in Unexpected Ways Also in Spanish
• Dietary Supplements (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) - PDF
• Drug-Nutrient Interactions and Drug-Supplement Interactions: Examples of Dietary Supplement Interactions (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Know the Science: How Medications and Supplements Can Interact (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Natural Doesn't Necessarily Mean Safer, or Better (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Watch Out for False Promises on Some Dietary Supplements (Food and Drug Administration)
• Weight Loss, Male Enhancement, and Other Products Sold Online or in Stores May Be Dangerous (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• 5 Things to Know about Probiotics (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• 5 Things To Know About Type 2 Diabetes and Dietary Supplements (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• 8 Tips: High Cholesterol and Dietary Supplements (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Apetamin: An Illegally Imported Weight Gain, Figure Augmentation Product (Food and Drug Administration)
• Botanical Dietary Supplements: Background Information (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
• Colloidal Silver: What You Need to Know (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Dietary Supplement Fact Sheets (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
• Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
• Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) Also in Spanish
• Do You Need Dietary Supplements? Vitamins, Minerals, and More (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• FDA Warns of Use of Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) among Teens, Young Adults (Food and Drug Administration)
• Is Kratom Safe? (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• Omega-3 Supplements: In Depth (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Pomegranate (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Probiotics: Usefulness and Safety (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine (SAMe): In Depth (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Tianeptine Products Linked to Serious Harm, Overdoses, Death (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Trace Elements: What They Do and Where to Get Them (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Dietary Supplements (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Trace Elements (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Exploring the Potential of Oral Butyrate Supplementation in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic...
• Article: Impact of vitamin D supplementation in the prognosis of patients with...
• Article: Beta-alanine supplementation improves time to exhaustion, but not aerobic capacity, in...
• Dietary Supplements -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Definitions of Health Terms: Minerals (National Library of Medicine)
• Definitions of Health Terms: Vitamins (National Library of Medicine)

Find an Expert

• Find a Nutrition Expert (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
• Food and Drug Administration
• Food and Nutrition Information Center
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
• National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements

Children

• 10 Things To Know About Dietary Supplements for Children and Teens (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Dietary Supplements for Toddlers (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Sports Supplements (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Men

• Supplements and Men's Health (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)

Women

• Dietary Supplements: Tips for Women (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Older Adults

• Dietary Supplements for Older Adults (National Institute on Aging) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Understanding Dietary Supplements (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF