I've read in a number of places that people in the U.S. spend anywhere from $8 to $20 + billion dollars a year on supplements. That's a lot of dough Guess those providers are in it for the money too.

Not saying that some supplements aren't good. They are regulated by the FDA as a food so the manufacturers do not have to prove their quality, effectiveness or safety.

They do have to prove their effectiveness - They can't make claims without defending them so if you do see a claim without any scientific studies, you can bet the product will be investigated...

Research studies in people to prove a supplement's "safety" are not required before the supplement is marketed, unlike drugs. The manufacturer does not have to prove that the supplement is "effective", unlike for drugs. If the manufacturer does make a claim, it must be followed by the statement "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."

The manufacturer does not have to prove supplement "quality".

It is all on the government site.

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/bottle/

It's a personal choice if people want to take them or anything else. I'm not bashing supplements, just providing a government site for information on them. It is interesting.

I never disputed the safety or quality part, but in terms of effectiveness, companies cannot make unsubstantiated claims without proof. It says so within the U.S. Dietary act of 1994.. I could pull it up for you if you like.

I personally have seen within my family examples where medication and the difficult side effects from them, have been able to be reduced through the use of natural products (without side effects). Instinct and experience tells me that both patient and physician need to be really "in tune" to the patient's symptoms to make this happen and there has to be a good working and cooperative relationship as well. IMHO, it would take a very bright, informed, self confident, honest, willing and able physician to be able to combine the discplines and have them work effectively for the patient's best interest. It can be done and especially since many people really suffer with side effects from traditional prescriptions (sometimes serious ones), it seems like a VERY worthwhile thing to explore as fully as possible.

To put this in a bit of perspective:
The annual sale of Lipitor (one drug only) for 2007 was 6.8 billion dollars.
Supplements remain fairly low on the dollars spent, compared to drugs.

Coca Cola?
from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23143415/

Absolutely, there is no doubt about it that plenty of money is spent on drugs and all the rest. I never said that there wasn't lots spent on drugs and all those kinds of things. I was just making a statement. I don't drink pop/soda either so they aren't making any money on me.