Council for Responsible Nutrition

About the author: The Council for Responsible Nutrition is a trade association representing the dietary supplement industry.

Performance-enhancing dietary supplements like creatine and ephedra are safe when used by healthy people within the recommended dosage limits. Media assertions that supplements are unregulated as a result of the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act are false—the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to regulate supplements in the same way that it regulates any other food product. The FDA should exercise its regulatory authority constructively to increase consumer confidence in dietary supplements.

It is human nature to seek an "edge" to support and improve performance, and sports supplements are one tool millions of people have found helpful. As with all efforts to improve health and increase performance, common sense needs to be...