Six Popular ‘Health’ Supplements That Can Irreversibly Damage Your Liver
Six supplements claiming to boost immune function and energy may cause irreversible liver damage, a study finds.
Researchers in Michigan analyzed data from nearly 10,000 American adults surveyed over a three-year period.
Participants were asked how often they used six popular but unproven supplements, including turmeric, green tea extract and ashwagandha.
The team found that the supplements, which are used by one in 20 Americans, are most popular among older, white women trying to treat conditions such as arthritis, low energy and hot flashes.
According to the researchers, as many as one in twenty Americans take these supplements. Users were mainly older white women
They warned that these common supplements could contain ingredients that lead to permanent liver damage and organ failure, though they did not specify how much they contained or what specific ingredients they contained. The mechanism is also unclear.
Dr. Alisa Likhitsup, lead author of the study and a gastroenterologist at the University of Michigan Health, said: ‘Herbal and dietary supplements (HDS) include a variety of products consumed daily by millions of people to improve their overall health and treat minor ailments.’
‘Chemical analyses of HDS products associated with confirmed liver toxic effects often reveal discrepancies between product labels and detected ingredients.’
The study, published Monday in JAMA Network Openedcollected data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a survey of the general US population.
The 9,685 participants were asked about how often they had used any of six supplements in the past 30 days. These were turmeric, green tea extract, garcinia cambogia, black cohosh, red yeast rice, and ashwagandha.
About 58 percent said they had used at least one of the supplements in the past month. Those who used the supplements were on average eight years older — 52 — than those who did not use them.
White women were the group most likely to take at least one of these supplements. They were also more likely to have health conditions such as arthritis, thyroid disease, and cancer.
Maintaining overall health, preventing health problems, and boosting immunity were the most common reasons participants took the supplements. One in four of those taking turmeric did so for joint health or arthritis, and used green tea for energy.
Additionally, 70 percent of garcinia cambogia users did so to lose weight, and 84 percent of those taking black cohosh were trying to treat hot flashes. And nine in 10 of those taking red yeast rice wanted to improve their heart health.
Turmeric was the most popular supplement in the study. It has been touted for joint benefits, although it may be linked to liver damage
The graph above shows why users chose to take the six supplements studied
The researchers did not specify which ingredients in these supplements could cause liver problems. They did warn that the effects “can not only be serious” but could also lead to “death or liver transplantation.”
They also noted that drug-induced liver injury, also called drug-induced hepatotoxicity, specifically caused by supplements, has increased and accounts for 20 percent of these injuries.
In addition, the team cited research showing that the number of liver transplants due to supplement-related injuries increased by 70 percent from 2010 to 2020 compared to 1994 to 2009.
Some studies suggest that these supplements are linked to liver problems, but most claim that these complications are rare.
A 2022 study in the American Journal of Medicine found that turmeric may be linked to drug-induced liver damage, although the link is unclear.
The new study had several limitations, namely not explaining the exact risk of liver damage from taking these six supplements. Additionally, the ingredients in supplements vary widely, as they are not regulated by the FDA.