FDA Cracking down on Supplement Makers Who Claim Their Products Can Treat Alzheimer’s

The US Food and Drug Administration is making a new move against dietary supplement makers who assert that their items can treat Alzheimer's and other ailments. 

Recently, the FDA sent 12 cautioning letters and five online advisory letters to companies who claim, without verification, that their products can prevent, treat or cure Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer.

Although studies continue demonstrating that supplements are not a replacement for a healthy diet, Americans keep taking them.

In a statement, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said: “Such claims can harm patients by discouraging them from seeking FDA-approved medical products that have been demonstrated to be safe and effective for these medical conditions."

“As the popularity of supplements has grown, so have the number of entities marketing potentially dangerous products or making unproven or misleading claims about the health benefits they may deliver.”

Some written in association with the Federal Trade Commission, the warning letters were sent to companies including Earth Turns, TEK Naturals, John Gray's Mars Venus, Blue Ridge Silver, and Gold Crown Natural Products.

Although studies continue demonstrating that supplements are not a replacement for a healthy diet, Americans keep taking them.

As indicated by Gottlieb, three-quarters of American grown-ups and a third of kids routinely take a dietary supplement. He added that the business has expanded with many items collectively worth over $40 billion.

Gottlieb noted that dietary supplements could claim some potential advantages to customer's wellbeing, yet they can't profess to prevent, treat or cure diseases like Alzheimer’s.

In an interview with TODAY, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dr. JoAnn E. Manson said:

"People are bombarded by the marketing for dietary supplements and they may not be fully aware of the lack of evidence for efficacy."

Past FDA activity has focused on companies that have made comparable false claims regarding the treatment of severe conditions such as cancer and opioid addiction.

They also recalled Valsartan, a drug used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure, because of contamination.