If you are among the hundreds of millions of people that use dietary supplements, do you know what’s in these products? Be aware that the FDA has tested many of these products and found potentially harmful hidden ingredients. They are urging stores, websites, and online marketplaces, including Amazon, to stop selling these potentially dangerous products.

The FDA’s tainted products database can help consumers identify nearly 1,000 of these deceptive supplements. But they can’t test them all. Even if a product is not listed, consumers should be cautious about using certain products, especially those promoted for sexual enhancement, weight loss, bodybuilding, sleep aids or pain relief.

Watch out for products that offer immediate or quick results and sound too good to be true. These products may be secretly laced with varying and unknown amounts of approved prescription drug ingredients, controlled substances, and untested and unstudied active components that can have a harmful effect, and thus violate federal law.

Here are a few examples…

Sexual performance enhancers have been found to contain prescription Sildenafil (or Viagra) and Tadalafil (or Cialis), used for erectile dysfunction. These medicines may interact with nitrates such as in nitroglycerin and lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. People with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take nitrates.

Weight loss supplements have been found to contain sibutramine and related controlled substances, once used as an appetite suppressant that was removed from the market due to the risk of serious cardiovascular problems in some individuals.

Another weight loss products contained the antidepressant Fluoxetine, commonly known as Prozac. Medicines of this type have been associated with suicidal thinking, abnormal bleeding, and seizures. It can interact with other commonly used medications to cause heart problems and death.

Bodybuilding supplements often are adulterated with anabolic steroids similar to male hormones designed to increase muscle mass. Bodybuilding products are the most common cause of liver injury linked to herbal and dietary supplement use.

A product promoted and sold for joint pain and arthritis on various websites, and possibly in some retail stores was found to contain diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that can increase risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke, as well as serious gastrointestinal damage. It may also interact with other medicines.

Consumers should exercise caution before purchasing any product in the above categories. Health care professionals and patients should report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the FDA's MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.

Talk to your health care professional and pharmacist before use using these kinds of supplements. Search for product information from sources other than sellers and ask for help distinguishing between reliable and questionable information.

For more information, check out my blog on www.DrLinda.TV entitled, What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You – Hidden Ingredients in Dietary Supplements.