Study Finds Big Increase In Liver Injury Related To Dietary Supplement Use

Herbal and other dietary supplements can be harmful to the liver, especially in middle-aged women, according to new U.S. research. More than half of Americans – mostly women, non-Hispanic whites, people over age 40, the better educated – use herbal and dietary supplements. Liver injury related to non-bodybuilding supplements has risen from seven percent in 2004 to 20 percent in 2013. Death or liver transplantation occurred more frequently (13 percent) from the use of non-bodybuilding supplements than from conventional medications (three percent). The researchers said the key problem is the lack of stringent oversight of herbals and dietary supplements, resulting in greater potential harmful or even deadly consequences.