The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that about 100,000 different supplement products are sold in the US. That’s an umbrella term for vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and any other mystery powder you toss into your morning smoothie.

Over 75% of American adults take at least one daily supplement, according to the FDA. The domestic industry is estimated to be worth about $60 billion this year. But why?

How we got here

The US has been enamored of supplements for hundreds of years. The term “snake oil salesman” dates back to the 1800s. But around 1990, the FDA wanted to require standardized nutritional labeling (how modern).

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 was passed by Congress to hold supplements to the same scientific standards as medications, requiring proof for claims made on the labels. The dietary supplement industry revolted:

• The industry told people the FDA would lock up their vitamins or require prescriptions.
• Celebrities spoke out against the tyranny. There were marches, and citizens sent thousands of postcards to Congress.
• Mel Gibson even made this commercial.

In 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act was passed, exempting supps from most of the FDA’s drug regulations. Instead, they’re regulated by the FDA as food—a big reason why a multitude of brands line drugstore shelves and pop up in influencer bios.

“Honey, I made fish oil for dinner.” Supplements can’t claim to treat or prevent diseases, but they can include broader, unscientific claims, like being “immune boosters”:

• Fiber, fish oil, and vitamin D are beneficial for certain groups of people suffering from deficiencies.
• However, most studies on supplements are observational, allowing scientists to identify correlations between vitamin intake and health outcomes, but not to establish a definitive cause-and-effect relationship.

Deregulation isn’t a perfect science: The supplement industry has celebrated Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appointment as Health and Human Services Secretary, hoping he will clear the pathway to allow SNAP, HSA, and insurance funds to cover dietary supplements. But some industry experts have resisted his plans to get rid of an important pathway for ingredients to enter the market.—MM

If you were walking down the street and encountered a shirtless man trying to sell you distilled yak protein, you’d probably walk away quickly. But in the world of social media, people can’t seem to stop giving influencers promoting supplements a lot of money.

Healthy returns: A survey from CreatorIQ states that companies are spending more on influencer marketing and see a higher ROI from TikTok and IG stars touting their products than from traditional advertising. Companies are also earmarking 57% of their marketing budgets to online creators.

But why influencers?

Famous people selling stuff is nothing new—Jason Kelce and Walton Goggins are probably auditioning for a cereal commercial right now—but what makes “internet famous” people on Instagram and TikTok popular choices for the supplement industry?

• Social media posts tend to be less regulated than TV commercials and street ads. Some posts are temporary, like Instagram Stories, which disappear after a day, making it harder to track and assess legal responsibility.

Trust factor: According to a survey from the National Library of Medicine, 40% of respondents followed influencers for health information, and about one-third of respondents bought health products like supplements due to an endorsement from an influencer. However, influencers don’t usually have the medical background to explain or disclose the risks of misusing supplements.

Bottom line: With social media platforms cutting back on fact checking, and the Trump administration’s desire to deregulate the FDA and exempt some vitamins and supplement ingredients from tariffs, there’s no reason to believe this mutually beneficial relationship between influencers and supplements won’t continue to grow, according to Mashable.—DL

When you think of Utah, it might be because of its real housewives or its professional basketball team that has nothing to do with jazz music. But one of the Beehive State’s biggest economic drivers is its supplement industry.

The $16 billion industry is the state’s third-largest, behind tech and tourism. Utah has 300 nutraceutical companies and about 50,000 people working for them. And it all began in the hills around Provo.

• Dr. John R. Christopher, an herbalist, opened the School of Natural Healing in 1953 and is regarded as the pioneer of the industry.
• In 1979, his son, David, developed a home study course that brought the teachings to a wider audience.

A mission from abroad: A big part of the explosion of supplements in Utah in the ’80s and ’90s had to do with Mormons returning from missionary work overseas with large networks of contacts and relationship-building skills.

As for today, Utah became the first state to ban fluoride in the drinking water as of May. Now, the state health department is allowing pharmacists to provide fluoride supplements for children ages 6 months to 16 years to help prevent tooth decay.—DL

Athletes and weightlifters have turned to creatine for decades to boost performance and build muscle, but lately, everyone seems to be talking about it. From social media influencers praising its brain benefits to your friend’s dad who just bought a squat rack on Facebook Marketplace, the creatine bandwagon is filling up.

The Wall Street Journal reported that between 2019 and 2024, creatine sales at the Vitamin Shoppe jumped 320%, taking the supplement beyond bodybuilders’ bloodstreams and firmly into the mainstream.

What is it? Creatine is a compound that helps muscles generate energy. The body typically produces enough on its own for survival, but we also absorb it from eating meat and seafood. Supplements are usually a synthetic powder form of creatine monohydrate, which can be mixed into everything from smoothies to queso.

Creatine is generally considered to be safe for long-term use and has few side effects (though it’s always best to check with your doctor before starting any supplement), but does it actually work? Here’s what preliminary research suggests:

For strength: If you regularly engage in physical activity, creatine can slightly enhance athletic performance, increase energy, indirectly build muscle, and help recovery, according to multiple studies. Anyone experiencing muscle loss could especially benefit, like post-menopausal women and seniors who want to ensure a pickleball dynasty. Early research shows creatine could also improve bone density in combination with resistance training.

For the brain: While creatine studies historically focused on the physical benefits, new research shows it could improve memory, attention, and, potentially, mental health, if used in tandem with other remedies. Mental benefits may require higher doses, though, according to limited data.—BC

Your creatine gummies might be as good for your body as a handful of Starbursts. A new report released last month found that most of the top-selling creatine gummies on Amazon had little to no creatine at all. The powders fared much better, but were wildly less fun.

The report is from SuppCo, a new supplement tracking platform that randomly selects products from the wildly unregulated industry and uses a third-party lab to test for heavy metals and whether or not the supplement contains what it promises. The company launched its beta app last year after closing a $5.5 million funding round:

• SuppCo has information for ~160,000 supplement products on its platform, including whether or not they contain artificial dyes or if anyone on a company’s executive team has a medical degree.
• The app also offers a scheduling feature and supplement recommendations for specific goals.

But you can also just look at the number. While the science is still loose (at best) on whether supplements can actually cure ailments or improve health, the SuppCo app aims to make sense of a company’s manufacturing standards and ingredient list. It gives supplements a TrustScore rating from 1 to 10, explaining that a score of 7 or under is a blinking orange light. Metamucil fiber powder—you’re on notice.—MM