{"id":46594,"date":"2025-08-26T05:47:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T10:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=46594"},"modified":"2025-08-26T05:47:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T10:47:42","slug":"maha-loves-dietary-supplements-but-that-hasnt-led-to-gains-in-washington-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=46594","title":{"rendered":"MAHA loves dietary supplements. But that hasn’t led to gains in Washington \u2014 yet."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An avid consumer of dietary supplements, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has surrounded himself in part with senior staff members, advisers and health influencers who have promoted everything from weight loss pills to capsules of desiccated organ meat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that hasn\u2019t led to gains in Washington for the multibillion-dollar industry \u2014 yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy\u2019s \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d takeover has, instead, been focused in part on questioning vaccine use<\/a>, calling out artificial food dyes<\/a> and cutting personnel and research grants<\/a> at federal agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Trump officials have offered a warm welcome, neither the administration nor the GOP-controlled Congress has made policy changes long sought by the industry \u2014 to make it easier for consumers to buy supplements, to go after unscrupulous actors and to allow manufacturers more leeway in making claims about their health benefits. And other administration policies targeting food additives and tariffs on imports have imposed new challenges on supplement makers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey seem very willing and eager to have those conversations, and they listen to the issues that we raise. But we\u2019re not seeing action that brings these things to the forefront,\u201d said Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a supplement trade group. \u201cWe\u2019re not seeing any positive, dramatic changes that have been particularly helpful to the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dietary supplements cover a vast array of products, including vitamins, herbal extracts and products derived from foods, including produce, fish and meat. They\u2019ve grown increasingly popular among consumers, making up a\u2002$69 billion market<\/a> in the United States last year, according to one industry estimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the most prominent influencers supporting Kennedy and President Donald Trump are among the many celebrities who hawk dietary supplements. Podcaster Joe Rogan has promoted capsules meant to promote cognition<\/a> \u2014 \u201cit helps your ability to form sentences\u201d \u2014 to a mushroom-derived supplement<\/a> meant to improve athletic performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, came under fire<\/a> during his confirmation hearing for promoting supplements that he called a \u201cmagic weight loss cure\u201d and \u201cthe No. 1 miracle in a bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy also did raw milk<\/a> shots at the White House with Dr. Paul Saladino, a wellness influencer who sells capsules<\/a> of freeze-dried organ meats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, supplement companies \u2014 along with the influencers and celebrities who promote the products \u2014 have come under criticism for making inflated, sometimes misleading claims that overstate the health benefits of their products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big fan of supplements,\u201d said Dr. Pieter Cohen, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. \u201cBut most of supplement use is not supported by strong evidence \u2014 it\u2019s supported by advertising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though companies are subject to federal oversight and enforcement action, dietary supplements aren\u2019t approved by the Food and Drug Administration for safety and effectiveness, and their labels aren\u2019t approved before they\u2019re sold to the public. Some can be dangerous<\/a>, and a growing number of states are taking up bills<\/a> that would ban the sale of weight loss and muscle-building supplements to minors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supplement makers say they go out of their way to ensure their products are safe, arguing it\u2019s a myth that their industry is unregulated \u2014 and they argue some of the federal rules go too far. Laws prohibit labeling or marketing dietary supplements as being able to cure, treat or prevent any disease; those products are\u2002considered drugs.<\/a> Supplement companies can make health claims about their products only through a strict federal approval process<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, said in a statement that people should \u201cconsult a healthcare provider when choosing a dietary supplement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a\u2002podcast in 2023<\/a>, after he had launched his presidential bid, Kennedy mentioned the many vitamins he takes. \u201cI can\u2019t even list them to you here, \u2019cause I couldn\u2019t even remember them all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c9lan Sudberg saw an opportunity. Sudberg, the CEO of a botanical plant testing company<\/a> and a board member of the American Herbal Products Association, which represents supplement makers, was heartened by Kennedy\u2019s emphasis on alternative medicine and criticism of Big Pharma. In November 2023, he met Kennedy at a private event in Ojai, California, and told him that the supplement industry needed his support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need a champion. And I understand you\u2019re a big fan,\u201d Sudberg recalled telling him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy put both of his hands on Sudberg\u2019s shoulders. \u201cMy people are going to be talking to your people,\u201d he told him, Sudberg said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy has already faced criticism from some of his other early MAHA supporters for failing to deliver some of the sweeping changes they were hoping to see, on everything from expanding access to raw milk<\/a> to eliminating harmful pesticides from the food supply<\/a>. Similarly, some in the supplement industry are frustrated that \u2014 despite the positive rhetoric \u2014 the administration hasn\u2019t been more proactive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere there are gaps in nutrition, and how do you fill those gaps, the agency does not seem to be focused on that,\u201d said Mister, head of the Council for Responsible Nutrition. \u201cIt really seems to be much more reductionist in terms of we have to get rid of colorings, we have to get rid of dyes, we have to get rid of ultra-processed food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after he became secretary, Kennedy targeted an FDA process<\/a> that lets companies introduce new chemicals or ingredients into food products without FDA approval, if they are \u201cgenerally recognized to be safe.\u201d Vowing to eliminate the process, Kennedy said<\/a> food companies had \u201cexploited a loophole\u201d that put consumer food safety at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major supplements groups quickly registered their concerns in meetings with the FDA, which has yet to announce next steps. \u201cOur members really depend on the ability to be innovative,\u201d said Duffy MacKay, who leads policy initiatives on dietary supplements for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, an industry trade group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supplement makers were thrown for a loop when the Trump administration imposed tariffs on imported goods, as many key ingredients for their products are sourced overseas. While industry groups successfully lobbied the White House for\u2002tariff exemptions<\/a> for major vitamins, minerals and fish oils, other popular ingredients have still been affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tariffs scrambled business plans for Herbalist & Alchemist, which sources herbs from China, India and Europe, some of which can\u2019t be grown easily in the United States. The company this year bought two years\u2019 worth of Rhodiola \u2014 an herb that grows in Arctic regions, used to combat fatigue and stress \u2014 because of looming Canadian tariffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While CEO Beth Lambert has been encouraged by the MAHA campaign Kennedy has led, \u201cthe biggest thing that has happened\u201d so far has been the new tariffs, she said. \u201cHaving that uncertainty is just disruptive for an industry. It\u2019s rough for business. It\u2019s rough for the growers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, makers see an opportunity and believe it\u2019s worth making the extra push while Kennedy and his team are in office. In late July, Calley Means \u2014 a Kennedy aide who founded a startup allowing consumers to get tax breaks<\/a> on supplements and other health products \u2014 was the keynote speaker at a gathering for supplement industry executives. \u201cIt was an olive branch to working with the industry,\u201d said Graham Rigby, CEO and president of the American Herbal Products Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the industry\u2019s biggest priorities is to allow supplements to be covered by federal programs like Medicare, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and tax-advantaged health savings accounts. \u201cVitamin C is pretty much now an undisputed, necessary nutrient for healthy lifestyles \u2014 pirates figured that out with scurvy hundreds of years ago,\u201d Sudberg said. \u201cStill, you can\u2019t use your health savings account to buy vitamin C.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industry groups tried to make their case this year when Congress debated Trump\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill,\u201d but lawmakers resisted the change, in part because of the cost. Five trade groups for the supplement industry recently called for the Trump administration<\/a> to make the change through an updated tax code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separately, advocates are pushing the FDA to make it easier for supplement companies to make claims about the health benefits of their products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FDA has an approval process for claims that the food component of a supplement may \u201creduce the risk of a disease\u201d or a health condition. But the approval process is strict and time-consuming, requiring not only evidence but also \u201csignificant scientific agreement\u201d about such health claims. To date, the FDA has approved only about a dozen claims.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Alliance for Natural Health, an advocacy group, believes the FDA has unfairly muzzled companies. It is asking the FDA to allow it to make vastly more health claims \u2014 more than 150 total \u2014 through a formal petition to the agency, scheduled to be submitted this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a huge amount of information at the moment that\u2019s not even finding its way to the public,\u201d said Robert Verkerk, the group\u2019s scientific director, citing research that shows links between B vitamins and the reduction of cognitive decline and between folate and the risk of depression, among other examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some outside experts and consumer advocates warn that supplement companies could end up manipulating consumers if the FDA heeds such calls, allowing manufacturers to make health claims that have only tenuous links to the products they are selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industry groups insist that they are committed to weeding out dishonest companies that make false claims or sell dangerous products. Some have been openly critical of the broad staff cuts the Trump administration has made across federal health agencies \u2014 warning of the impact on FDA enforcement and federal research on supplements, among other areas \u2014 and applauded the FDA\u2019s recent call to categorize 7-OH, a substance found in tablets and drink mixes sold in gas stations and convenience stores that has opioid-like properties, as an illicit substance<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re tolerating bad actors around us, then we\u2019re contributing to the problem,\u201d said Jim Emme, CEO of NOW Health Group, a supplement manufacturer and retailer that has called\u2002for the FDA to crack down<\/a> on products sold on Amazon that have failed potency and quality tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emme, who leads the board of directors of the Natural Products Association, said he has been encouraged by his recent conversations with FDA officials, who have asked whether supplements could be covered by Medicare and what mothers are looking for in supplements for children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a window of an opportunity for an industry that we need to take advantage of,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s all election cycles, right? Who knows how long these administrators are going to be in there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nbcnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An avid consumer of dietary supplements, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has surrounded himself in part with senior staff members, advisers and health influencers who have promoted everything from weight loss pills to capsules of desiccated organ meat. But that hasn\u2019t led to gains in Washington for the multibillion-dollar industry \u2014 yet. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":46595,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5784],"tags":[33447,3043,1256],"class_list":["post-46594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-dietary-supplements","tag-fda","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46594"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46596,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46594\/revisions\/46596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}