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Do Dietary Supplements Provide Long or Short Term Effects Worth Their Monetary Value?
Jose Ventura
Ottawa University
Abstract
The emphasis of this bibliographic essay is to furthermore expand the knowledge on
dietary supplements, which are among the fastest products being purchased in the United States
market today. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a dietary supplement
is a product taken by mouth that is intended to supplement the diet that contains one or more
dietary ingredients these products may include vitamins, minerals, amino acid, and enzymes,
which as a result can help a person manage or lose weight at a faster rate than their natural
metabolism allows them to, with little or no exercise whatsoever. The FDA is an international
organization that is reviewed by many professional experts and health professionals who are in
charge of approving the safety of foods and drugs, their purely informative articles are open to
the general public to read without bias points of views. Satisfaction and good reviews have
earned these products a positive view from the public, which in turn, continues to increase the
investments people make in these magic products. However, people have become concerned
about what potential results or effects these supplements can have on the body in the long run, or
the simple matter of whether the results are permanent or temporary. This essay incorporates
multiple articles that discuss the negative and positive aspects of these products without a bias
point of view. It will also go into detail, covering the effects dietary supplements can have inside
the body in relation to the natural human metabolism, as well as the psychology behind products
like these and their effectiveness on the overall health.

Introduction
Within the last couple of years, dietary supplement companies have skyrocketed the
market and sales of their products globally, with more than 29,000 different nutritional
supplements available, designed for nutritional support, athletic performance enhancers, and
weight loss and management, these companies are getting rich by the hour. As found in the
scholarly article Use of Dietary Supplements on the Rise, with unbiased point of view, over
one-half of U.S. adults over age 20 take dietary supplements surveys show that number has
been increasing within the recent years as stated by Laura J. Martin, a medical doctor featured
in the peer-reviewed article. Companies that sell this merchandises win every time anyone
spends their money on a purchase. Although most of these products are considered effective on
their intended purpose, concerns still exist in regards to the safety and potential dangers these
products can have on the human body; simply because supplements are helping an individual
lose weight without much effort, it does not mean that the body is completely safe from harm,
this is because of the chemicals supplements do contain. Others argue against the effectiveness of
these products and the monetary value they have, whether spending money on them is worth it or
not.
Positive Aspects
It is logical that when pills and drinks that enhance weight loss show positive results, they
will grow in popularity among the public with good reviews supporting their effectiveness. In
book available to the general public, Human Drug Metabolism: An Introduction, 2nd Edition,
without bias comments, medical doctor and author Michael D. Coleman, discusses that through
the consumption of supplements designed specifically to facilitate weight loss, an individual is
able to lose weight at a faster rate because such pills and drinks contain chemicals that will boost

the natural metabolic rate at which the body burns calories and fats. In the peer-reviewed book,
Dr. Michael also explains that people whose metabolisms are slower, tend to be the number one
consumers of such products. His comments are also supported by a nutritional expert and author
of the scholarly article The New Slimdown Truths, Maria Fontoura, who argues that a boost in
the metabolism is actually beneficiary for individuals whose metabolic rate is slower than
average. She states, as we know, all of us are different and we all burn fat at different rates
and speeds, so in this case, dietary supplements are a possible benefit for those people.
Although the article is peer-reviewed and with intention for scholarly audiences, it appears to
have some bias towards supplements being good. The statements made by both experts support
the idea that supplements can be considered helpful for people who experience a problem with
their metabolism.
Another common purpose of these products is weight management, which is achieved
similarly to the way weight loss is done since the supplements can decrease or completely
eliminate little food cravings a person experiences throughout the day. Medical doctor and author
of the peer-reviewed article for general audiences, You Dont Have to Take the Pill, Anthony
L. Kanaroff, states that when dietary pills or drinks are consumed, they contain enzymes that will
trick the human body into thinking that he or she is not hungry, thus eliminating hunger, although
the title of the article can be misleading towards the bias point of view, there are no bias
comments. In addition, Dr. Kanaroff states how this can be good thing because people are so
used to snacking every so often, which is considered a negative factor when trying to lose
weight.
Negative Aspects

Although dietary supplements are proven to be effective in most cases, there are concerns
in regards to whether these products are completely healthy for the consumers body. In the peerreviewed book Business and Government Relations: An Economic Prospective, Howard Beales,
former Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, argues that the advertisement of
dietary supplements by industries often makes out the pharmaceutical industry to be an evil
empire which then ranks in billions by poisoning consumers with expensive, dangerous
chemicals they shouldnt be taking. His biased implication towards the general audiences that
buy dietary supplements is that many times, the continuous supply of these products is a big
waste of money.
A common myth that surrounds some of these supplements is the fact that they are safe to
consume since they were derived from herbs or natural plants, however, the reality of things is
that simply because something is extracted from nature, it does not make it one hundred percent
healthy by any means. When it comes to how safe a product is, the Food and Drug
Administration is in charge of approving whether or not a product is safe for consumption by the
public; this is possible by setting standards that any supplement or drug must meet. However,
according to the peer-reviewed article, published by a health organization, Are Over-theCounter Diet Pills Safe, available for the general public with a slight point of view, the concerns
of how safe supplements are increased when the realization is made that many of these dietary
supplements have not been proved by the FDA; in order to attain approval, any new prescription
drug must be tested and pass a series of strict clinical trials in order to guarantee safety to the
public. Because many of these supplements have not been approved through the FDA, they are
sold for less, which is beneficiary in terms of the monetary value but remain skeptical because

they have not been officially approved; the way many of they reach the market is by undergoing
some testing in order to prove their efficiency but lack the safety regulations.
Another discussed topic when it comes to choosing a dietary supplement is the monetary
value these products have and whether they are worth it or not. These products can be pricy
because they are not a one-time payment, instead, they must be purchased monthly or so, thus
making them expensive in the long run. As discussed by the article for popular audiences,
Dietary Supplements: What you Need to Know, depending on the quality and popularity of the
merchandise, the total can be quite expensive. As quoted form the article, dietary
supplements are considered worth it due to their results and satisfaction they provide people
with; the negative aspect of it, not considered by many, is the continuous spending a person must
make to attain the desired results. Although there is constant spending while consuming these
products, some people might view their expenses as an investment worth the money, the article is
purely informative without bias points of view published by health and nutrition experts through
a nutrition organization with the ultimate goal of educating the public. In addition to the previous
article, fitness and nutrition expert, Jason Yun, argues in his featured article, The Good, the Bad,
and the Dangerous- The Truth About Diet Pills, which is also peer-reviewed without bias
opinions, that even though the results are attained by the majority of consumers, many believe
that if he or she stops consuming that specific supplement, the results will fade away rapidly,
hence they continue to purchase these products for a longer time than actually is necessary.
Which is not true however, by following a strict diet plan, an individual can keep their results
without further intervention from more supplements.
Long-Term Effects

Once again, the issue of whether these supplements provide people with long term effects
is another discussed topic among the scientific community. As discussed in the article directed
towards a scholarly audience published by yet another health organization, The Smart and Safe
Use of Vitamins and Supplements, which has been peer-reviewed and contains no bias
comments, dietary supplements that enhance weigh loss will only function to a certain point. The
human bodys natural way of losing weight through the metabolic system is very similar, the
human metabolism is always burning fat whether the individual is aware of it or not, however,
once the metabolism has burned a certain amount of fats and calories, it will slow down. Like so,
these dietary supplements will help a person lose weight until a certain point is reached, after that
point, these supplements can have little to no effect in the person.
Since some of these products help boost an individuals metabolism, another question
arises in regards to what will happen to the natural metabolism after that person has stopped
taking these products. According the unbiased scholarly article, Harmful Effects of Diet Pills
and Supplements, revised and published by a group of health professionals whose emphasis or
focus is dietary supplements, the human metabolism works like any other portion of the body,
when you introduce an enhancer to its normality, the body will slow down the rate at which it
naturally does anything, in this case, burns fats, so completely relies on the outside source to
burn the calories and fats. In such case, you are faced with a challenge; lose weight quickly
and potentially sacrifice your natural metabolism, or exercise, take care of your body, while
maintaining your natural metabolism but with slow results. The problem with this however is
that in todays society, people are always looking for the fastest way to lose weight, which
requires the least effort, even if money must be used in order to achieve such.
The Psychology Behind Dietary Supplements

Just like any factor to be considered when discussing dietary supplements, the
psychological factor is one that many times is ignored or overlooked. Large numbers of people
who consume dietary pills believe that by doing so, they will live a healthier lifestyle, this
however, has been proven wrong for the majority of cases. According to a study published by
Psychological Science for scholarly audiences with no bias points of view, there appears to be an
interesting asymmetrical relationship between the frequency of dietary supplement intake and the
overall health status of an individual (Ironic Effects) Social Psychologist, Wen-Bin Chiou of
National Sun Yet-Sen University, decided to test the frequency use of dietary supplements and
the subsequent health-related behaviors after an individual has taken a supplemental product. As
proven through his experiment, people who consume dietary supplements and multivitamins at
the start of their day will feel less compelled to engaging in activities that boost health such as
exercise. Another psychological result attained from his revised experiment was linked to the
types of foods these people chose throughout their day, individuals who had taken a multivitamin
felt as though they were not at risk of bad health, hence they choose fattening foods over a
healthy and organic food. This furthermore proves a negative correlation between the people
who take supplements and the actual overall attained health; although not every case is the same,
the majority of cases did support his hypothesis.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are people who will argue for and against whether dietary
supplements are efficient or not. Although people whose natural metabolism is slow can benefit
from these products, the intake of dietary supplements is somewhat useless otherwise. According
to the informative peer-reviewed article Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss, released by the
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, available for general audiences containing no

bias points of view, there is a rapid growth in the purchase and consumption of these products in
the United States, it is perhaps one of the largest and fastest growing industries today. Even
though approximately half of Americans use dietary supplements on a regular basis to improve
their health, a large number of those people do not actually need to use them. According to the
scholarly article 2016 Wellness Reports: Dietary Supplements, reviewed and published by
experts in nutrition and containing no bias opinions or comments, men and women spend an
approximate $28 billion a year on the purchase of herbs, vitamins, minerals, hormones and other
pills purchased without a doctors prescription. Even though people will argue that these
supplements are worth their money spent, the majority of the articles concluded that it is not
worth spending large quantities of money on a product when exercise and healthy nutritional
meals can provide the same results.

Works Cited
Are Dietary Supplements Approved by FDA? U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.d.
Web. 1 April, 2016.
Beales, Howard. Business and Government Relations: An Economic Prospective. Kendall Hunt
Publishing. Boston: 3 July, 2012. Print.
Chiou, Wen-Bin. Ironic Effects of Dietary Supplementation: Illusory Invulnerability Created by
Taking Dietary Supplements Licenses Health-Risk Behaviors. Psychological Science.
Aug. 2012. Web. 1 April, 2016.
Coleman, Michael D. Human Drug Metabolism: An Introduction, 2nd Edition. New York: May,
2010. Wiley-Blackwell. Print.
Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know. 17 June. 2012. U.S. Department of Health &
Human Services. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. 11 Feb.
2016. Web.1 April, 2016.
Fontoura, Maria. The New Slimdown Truths. 1 July, 2014. Truth in Diet. Web. 1 April, 2016.
Harmful Effects of Diet Pills and Supplements. Futures Palm. Oct, 2013. Web. 1 April, 2016.

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Komaroff, Anthony L. You Dont Have to Take the Pill. 1 April, 2008. Harvart Health Letter.
Web. 1 April, 2016
Mann, Denise. Use of Dietary Supplements on the Rise. WebMD. 13 April, 2011. Web. 1 April,
2016.
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Paul, Maya W. and Melinda Smith. The Smart and Safe Use of Vitamins and Supplements.
HelpGude.Org. Feb. 2016. Web. 1 April, 2016.
The Good, the Bad, and the Dangerous- The Truth About Diet Pills. Lbn-Online-Fitness, Jan.
2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
What is a Dietary Supplement? U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.d. Web. 1 April,
2016.
2016 Wellness Reports: Dietary Supplements. BerkeleyWellness, University of California. 15
May, 2013. Web. 1 April, 2016.