OK Woman Warns Of Dietary Supplement Dangers

Dietary supplements are a $26,000,000,000 a year industry. Consumer Reports says more than half of Americans have taken them to stay healthy, lose weight or get more energy.

With little to no regulation how do we know what we're putting in our bodies and the potential dangers they pose to our health.

Amanda Garrett first tried dietary supplements when she was 12 years old.

"Being younger and seeing all the celebrities look good and thinking to yourself you probably wanted to look good too," Amanda said.

Over the years, she's experimented with several kinds, including Metabolife 357, Stackers, Lipodrene and Stimarex. While Amanda said she's had remarkable results with some, she's had a couple of scares after taking some popular weight loss pills.

"I started having complications. My chest was hurting seven times last year," Amanda remembered. "I did have to go to the hospital because of my breathing."

Unlike prescription medication, the FDA does not approve supplements, so there is no oversight into what goes into them. Many of them include a long list of dangerous side effects.

Pharmacist Dave Mason spends his days making his own supplements at Innovative Pharmacy Solutions. He said how our bodies react to them can vary greatly.

"If folks jump in too crazy, too quick, just decide we want to lose weight and start eating hardly anything at all," Mason said, "Start working out at the gym four hours a day, your body inside doesn't realize what's going on. So you're body inside is wondering why we're in a famine and being chased by a T-Rex four hours a day."

Mason said there's no magic pill that will help us lose weight.

"In health, it's more of a symphony. It's more of a musical chord," Mason said.

It takes a balance of a healthy diet, exercise and plenty of sleep. Amanda's decided to stay away from supplements and approach her health the all natural way, eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains and exercising. And she'll think twice before taking supplements again.

"Be careful," Amanda said. "Make sure you know what you're taking."

Consumer Reports has compiled a list of the so called "dirty dozen," 12 supplements to avoid, and 11 safer ones to consider. You can find both lists here.