The 'Wild West' of Supplements
The only way to survive was to eat their dogs...
Douglas Mawson had a mission to map the unexplored areas of Antarctica. So on November 10, 1912, the Australian geologist set out with two men to survey some glaciers several hundred miles away from base camp.
The gang was 300 miles in when, on December 14, dog handler Lt. Belgrave Ninnis disappeared, along with several dogs and the sled carrying most of the food supply.
The remaining two knew that without their food supplies, the only way they'd make it back to base camp was to eat their six remaining huskies.
Over the next 23 days, they ate the stringy meat and organs, killing the weakest dogs first.
Mawson's companion, Xavier Mertz, developed fatigue, nausea, abdominal pains, muscle weakness, and severe diarrhea. His hair started falling out. And the skin on his legs began sloughing off.
The sickness progressed to delirium, incoherent outbursts, and seizures. Finally, on January 8, he died in his sleep... still 100 miles away from base camp.
Somehow, Mawson made it back alive... powering on despite facing similar symptoms to Mertz. He was losing hair and the skin on the soles of his feet slid off, leaving painful, oozing blisters.
So what could have produced these horrors?
Modern researchers believe it was the huskies' livers.
You see, a dog's liver is packed with vitamin A. Humans need vitamin A for bodily processes – like keeping our eyes, skin, and bones healthy, creating immune cells, and more – but not too much.
Current dietary standards say that an adult male should take in 3,000 international units ("IU") of vitamin A per day. When Mawson and Mertz ate their huskies, they likely consumed at least 1.2 million IU each day.
The result is acute vitamin A toxicity, or hypervitaminosis A.
Now, you're not eating dog livers. But you could still be courting the same kind of danger...
Each year, about 23,000 Americans land themselves in emergency rooms with symptoms ranging from diarrhea and vomiting to heart palpitations.
The cause? Dietary supplements.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition's 2024 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements showed that 75% of American adults take supplements. On average, they're spending $50 each month, thinking it's the magic bullet for overall health and well-being.
And get this: According to a JAMA Network Open study released in August 2024, 5% of Americans are taking liver poisons – like turmeric and green-tea extract, for example – without running them by a doctor. In 2013 to 2014, doctors linked 20% of hospitalizations for liver toxicity to herbal and dietary supplements... up from just 7% of cases in 2004 to 2005.
It's understandable why so many of us want to take supplements. We know that our bodies need vitamins and other benefits. And it's easier to pop a pill than to eat healthier foods or exercise more.
In 2023, the U.S. dietary-supplement market size was almost $54 billion, and it's projected to keep growing by 6% each year. As the market swells, so will the ranks of elderly Americans.
Trouble is, under a 1994 law, it's up to supplement makers to ensure their products are safe for sale... not the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA").
Back then, there were about 4,000 supplements on the market. These days, you're looking at around 80,000 or more.
In 2021, 2,400 Americans reported bad reactions to supplements they'd taken. The FDA estimates that the real number is likely 50,000.
Simply put, we're relying on a bunch of different companies to keep us safe. Practically nothing keeps them from churning out their pills, some of which contain ingredients and substances different from what's on the label. They all hit the shelves without the FDA evaluating their safety and efficacy.
As a result, Americans could end up wasting their money. Even worse, they could end up harming their health.
There's No Sheriff in Town
Companies peddle their pills in ways that make you think they're medical treatments. But the FDA doesn't fully regulate supplements like it does with medications.
That's why many folks liken the supplement industry to the Wild West.
It's a complete free-for-all with these companies, supposedly self-regulating while clamoring for customers. Only when the hapless consumers report adverse side effects (or worse, death) does the FDA finally step in to lay down the law.
We have no way of knowing whether a supplement is safe. Nor do we have full assurance that the pills actually contain the exact amount of the active ingredient advertised on the bottle.
We also have no safeguard against companies fudging the truth, whether it's overstating the efficacy or touting their supplements in a misleading manner.
According to a 2018 JAMA Network Open study, the FDA flagged nearly 800 dietary supplements – most of them marketed for weight loss, muscle building, or sexual enhancement – from 2007 to 2016 for improperly containing pharmaceutical-grade ingredients. Plus, 20% of these supplements had more than one unapproved ingredient.
Back to the matter of vitamins... We tend to think of them as beneficial and necessary. They're natural and can have antioxidant powers. So more is better, right?
Nope. Taking too much for too long can easily do more harm than good...
Now, I want to emphasize that you should check in with your own doctor before you start any regimen of supplements or stop taking any that you've been prescribed.
The key thing to remember is that if you have certain conditions or diseases that raise your risk of true deficiency, you'd probably benefit from a supplement.
Otherwise, you're throwing away your money on pills that probably do nothing for you... and could even make things worse.
Read my take on America's top-two favorite supplements, along with my tips on what to look for on the bottle, should you decide to take a supplement. If you're not a Retirement Millionaire subscriber, you can sign up for a monthlong, risk-free trial.
What We're Reading...
- Something different: Dentist cracks a centuries-old math puzzle hidden in this famous Leonardo Da Vinci drawing.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
July 1, 2025