Article from the NYT seems to cast some light on this question:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/scienc....html?_r=0
I have tried various supplements, many recommended by people on this forum, and I can't say I have ever felt any effect even after chronic use. Perhaps that is my own form of confirmation bias, but the report above suggests that there is a significant chance that what you're buying is not what you're getting. My concern regarding that is not so much from a health perspective but from a fraud perspective: I want to get what I paid for. In contrast, if I take an ibuprofen, my headache goes away.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/scienc....html?_r=0
Quote:Quote:
Americans spend an estimated $5 billion a year on unproven herbal supplements that promise everything from fighting off colds to curbing hot flashes and boosting memory. But now there is a new reason for supplement buyers to beware: DNA tests show that many pills labeled as healing herbs are little more than powdered rice and weeds.
Quote:Quote:
Canadian researchers tested 44 bottles of popular supplements sold by 12 companies. They found that many were not what they claimed to be, and that pills labeled as popular herbs were often diluted — or replaced entirely — by cheap fillers like soybean, wheat and rice.
Quote:Quote:
Of 44 herbal supplements tested, one-third showed outright substitution, meaning there was no trace of the plant advertised on the bottle — only another plant in its place.
I have tried various supplements, many recommended by people on this forum, and I can't say I have ever felt any effect even after chronic use. Perhaps that is my own form of confirmation bias, but the report above suggests that there is a significant chance that what you're buying is not what you're getting. My concern regarding that is not so much from a health perspective but from a fraud perspective: I want to get what I paid for. In contrast, if I take an ibuprofen, my headache goes away.