Risks and Benefits

The FDA recently issued a recall on the Hydroxycut products due to some adverse reactions, particularly liver damage. There are some that argue that is this recall the FDA is exhibiting some hypocrisy and bias towards dietary supplements. I don't want to enter this argument. I do think it is important to examine the risks and benefits of taking any supplement or medication. Just because a medication has FDA approval does not mean it is without risk.

For example, millions of people take statin medications to manage their lipid profile. Statins are not without side effects, some of which can be severe. ABC recently ran a blurb about another study on the negative side effects, namely loss of energy due to decreased CoQ10 production (see our previous post). You should know that there are safer alternatives to statins that don't have the same negative side effects. If you do choose to use a statin medication be sure to supplement with CoQ10.