About 3 in 4 (74%) American adults take supplements, according to topline data from the 2023 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements by Council for Responsible Nutrition. The global nutraceuticals (which offer health benefits beyond nutrition) and supplement market has also grown steadily over the past decade, and this growth increased with the onset of COVID-19 in early 2020, likely as people looked for ways to boost their immune systems.

In 2023, the value of the global dietary supplements market was $188.04 billion and is anticipated to grow 9.10% every year from 2024 to 2032.

Everyone needs vitamins

Let's start by debunking one of the most pervasive supplement myths: Everyone needs or benefits from dietary supplements.

The truth is that most people don't actually need to take dietary supplements, according to Cohen. While people with specific medical conditions or nutritional deficiencies may benefit from taking certain vitamin or mineral supplements, eating a healthy, balanced diet will provide all the essential nutrients an average person needs. The big challenge here is whether people can foster good eating habits in the first place.

And no, taking supplements is not a substitute for eating a healthy, balanced diet, according to Jeffrey Millstein, a physician at Penn Internal Medicine Woodbury Heights. To summarize a complex issue, supplements can't replace a healthy diet because they tend to contain only one form of a vitamin or mineral. Supplements also lack complex phytochemicals and other nutrients like fiber in foods that may help your body properly absorb and use vitamins and minerals.

Taking B vitamins helps you lose weight

There's a near-endless onslaught of so-called weight loss hacks circling on social media, one of which is that taking B vitamins helps shed pounds. While some elements of potential truth to this myth exist, more research is still needed to establish whether taking B vitamins is linked to losing weight.

Yes, B vitamins absolutely play a very crucial role in metabolism. Most importantly, B vitamins help break down amino acids, release energy from fats and carbohydrates, and transport nutrient-containing energy throughout the body. Some studies also indicate that people of higher weight may have lower levels of B vitamins.

All supplements are safe, especially when they're labeled natural

It's pretty easy to see how the myth that all supplements are safe began. For starters, most dietary supplements contain vitamins, minerals, nutrients, or products found naturally in plant and animal sources. Dietary supplements are also sold in pharmacies and are sometimes recommended by doctors.

But it's important to know the FDA does not approve the effectiveness, safety, purity, potency, or labeling claims of dietary supplements (unless they claim to cure, treat, or prevent a disease) before they hit the market. Many manufacturers of dietary supplements don't even need to inform the FDA before they start selling their products to the public. The FDA can take a supplement off the market, but usually only once it's found unsafe or not compliant with the law.

Even products advertised as natural health products or naturally derived don't need to meet any standards to prove that they are natural or safe to consume. You should also remember that just because a supplement is natural doesn't mean it can't cause harm, according to the National Institutes of Health. For example, kava or comfrey supplements can cause liver damage, and taking vitamin K can reduce the effectiveness of blood thinning medications.

Mushrooms, even in supplement form, are beneficial

If you're an avid user of social media like Instagram or Facebook, you're probably aware of the rise in popularity of mushroom supplements. In 2023, the global functional mushroom market size was valued at $31.71 billion, and from 2024 to 2030, it is expected to grow about 11.2% annually.

The list of unverified health benefits associated with mushroom supplements is expansive, ranging from improving memory, focus, and mood to increasing overall health and longevity, as listed by the University of Utah. Mushrooms have also been used medicinally or traditionally by many Indigenous cultures for more than 2,000 years.

So far, the research is clear that mushrooms alone contain numerous compounds that may offer a wide range of health benefits. Mushrooms, when eaten whole, are also an excellent source of prebiotic fiber, which helps support a healthy gut microbiome, and beta-glucans, a kind of soluble fiber that can help control blood sugar levels, according to the University of Utah Health.