The US Food and Drug Administration showed how powerless they are when it comes to regulation of dietary supplements. Many of those unregulated dietary supplements are still popular in Boston area, especially among bodybuilders and athletes.

Based on the current law, FDA can only take actions after the agency receives report or complaints from consumers on a particular food supplement. However, dietary supplement manufacturers are not required to prove the safety of their substance before it could be released in the market. Congress should amend the current law, in order to give more power and authority to FDA to control the dietary supplements industry.

Many of the products contain illegal synthetic steroids that can harm the kidneys and liver. These synthetic steroids could also lead to formation of blood clots that could later cause complications such as strokes.

Steroids and performance-enhancing substances are not the only ones identified to contaminate supplements. There are about 140 different substances found to be hazardous to the human body. Dr. Pieter Cohen of Harvard Medical School named some of those ingredients and published an article in The New England Journal of Medicine about these hazardous ingredients. It includes toxic plant material, heavy metals, bacteria, prescription medications, controlled substances, experimental compounds and drugs not approved by FDA due to health safety concerns.

From Boston:

THE US Food and Drug administration is virtually powerless in regulating the $25 billion dietary supplements industry, even though many of its products contain illegal synthetic steroids that can damage livers or kidneys and cause strokes or lung blood clots. Yet the unregulated supplements are hugely popular among young people in the Boston area who are intent on bulking up and improving their athletic performance. Congress should give the agency the power and the money to police the industry.