Steroids for the supplements grift

The FDA is relaxing its already-lax rules on these chemicals

In 1994, Congress passed the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DHSEA), which, despite its upbeat name, was the result of supplements industry lobbyists who wanted to market their products without supporting health and medical claims with pesky things like clinical trials.

The bill was introduced by Republican Senator Orrin Hatch and Democratic Senator Tom Harkin. Hatch’s home state of Utah is extremely friendly to the supplements industry. Leading up to the bill, he received significant financial support from MLMs like XanGo and Herbalife.

While supplements manufacturers don’t need FDA approval to sell products, DHSEA required the printing of a label that you’ve likely ignored a thousand times:

This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

By law, the disclaimer must be printed on each panel in which a structure/function claim, a general claim of well-being, or a claim of a benefit related to a nutrient deficiency disease is made.

Which, in RFK Jr’s America, is regulatory overreach.

Kennedy has repeatedly claimed that supplements are “being suppressed,” a ridiculous statement given that the entire industry is barely regulated and, according to FDA Deputy Commissioner Kyle Diamantas, “FDA recognizes that we have rarely, if ever, enforced this requirement.”

Still, as David Gorski writes in Science-Based Medicine, Diamantas is loosening the rules of these already-unenforced regulations. Soon you’ll be able to ignore even fewer “quack Miranda warnings,” as Gorski calls them—and which I explain in more detail in the video below: