Compass is still being developed and is effectively in beta. Some content and features may be incomplete, change, or not work as expected.
Content is anchored to trusted sources where available, but Compass has not yet been clinically reviewed. It provides general information rather than medical advice.
Feedback helps us identify gaps, errors, usability problems and opportunities to improve Compass over time.
Using Dietary Supplements Wisely
Part of National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
USOfficial or government body
This describes who publishes a source, not how reliable it is.
Open source (opens in a new tab)Link checked August 2026
About this source
Plain-language NIH guidance on what is known about the effectiveness and safety of dietary supplements, how they are regulated, and how they can interact with medicines.
Where this source is used
Used in 3 places across 1 domain.
Questions
Lifestyle
Supplements & Therapies
- Are supplements safe? Could they interact or cause harm?
Supports this
“Coming from a natural source does not make a supplement safe, and some natural products cause real harm.”
Makes exactly this point and gives a worked example: kava, a plant in the pepper family sold as a supplement, can cause liver disease. The same page reports that supplement-related liver injury, while rare, can be severe enough to need a transplant.
Many dietary supplements (and some prescription drugs) come from natural sources, but "natural" does not always mean "safe."
What the Science Says About the Safety and Side Effects of Dietary Supplements - Are supplements safe? Could they interact or cause harm?
Qualifies this
“Supplements are often regulated less tightly than medicines, so what is actually in a product can vary.”
Describes the United States system: the rules for making and distributing supplements are looser than for drugs, the regulator cannot check most supplements for safety before they are sold, and what is on the label may not be what is in the product. That is evidence for one country, so how tightly supplements are regulated where you live may be different.
However, rules for manufacturing and distributing dietary supplements are less strict than those for prescription or over-the-counter drugs.
Federal Regulation of Dietary Supplements - Are supplements safe? Could they interact or cause harm?
Supports this
“Supplements can interfere with how prescribed medicines work, including the ones prescribed in ALS/MND.”
Says supplements can harm someone who is taking prescription or over-the-counter medicines, and names St John's wort, which makes many medications less effective. It is written about prescribed medicines in general, not about ALS/MND medicines in particular.
Some dietary supplements may harm you if you have a particular medical condition or risk factor or are taking certain prescription or over-the-counter medications.
What the Science Says About the Safety and Side Effects of Dietary Supplements
This is an external source. Compass links to it and describes it but does not hold rights over it. Opening it takes you to the publisher’s own site.