Every January, my clinic gets busier than usual. It’s the season of fresh starts, ambitious resolutions, and long-overdue promises to get healthier. People show up with all sorts of bold goals—lose ten pounds, build visible abs, or run their first 5K. But no matter the goal, the topic of supplements always makes its way into the conversation.
Just a few days ago, Matt and his wife Lisa came in for a consultation. They’re a classic “opposites attract” couple. Matt has been lifting weights for years and is the kind of IT guy who reads supplement labels like novels. Lisa, on the other hand, is a social media enthusiast who’s just now starting her fat-loss journey after following a dozen fitness influencers on Instagram.
Matt showed up with his gym bag, stuffed with his trusted stash of creatine and protein powder. Lisa, slightly unsure, pulled a handful of colorful weight-loss pills from her purse and asked me, eyebrows raised: “Do these even work?”
It’s a question I get asked more times than I can count. And because it’s so common, I always hope people can find their answers not just in bottles and capsules, but in their own everyday choices.
I started by asking Matt why he trusted creatine. He said it helped him feel stronger and recover faster, especially during intense weight training or sprint sessions. His experience actually lines up well with research: creatine works for short, high-intensity activities, but it’s not the go-to supplement for endurance sports like marathon running or cycling. In fact, in some cases, it can cause bloating or water retention—something many users don’t expect.
Lisa’s story was far more familiar. Influenced by her favorite fitness influencers, she had stocked up on raspberry ketones, African mango extract, and green tea pills—all of which promised fast results with minimal effort. But instead of saying they “worked,” she mostly said, “I just hope they help me see results faster.”
And that right there is the real root of the issue.
When people feel frustrated with their bodies and desperate for change, they’re most vulnerable to promises of “fast,” “natural,” and “effortless weight loss.” But the truth is, many of these supplements are anything but transparent. Raspberry ketones? Hardly any research in humans. African mango? Limited evidence and mostly tested on lab animals. Green tea extract? Drinking tea is fine, but in high-dose capsule form, it’s been linked to liver damage in some users. In fact, I once had a young patient come in with elevated liver enzymes after weeks of taking green tea supplements.
Lisa was stunned. “I thought natural meant safe,” she said.
That’s a common misconception. People often confuse “natural” with “harmless,” but anything that has an effect on your body can also carry risks. Caffeine is natural, but too much can cause anxiety and insomnia. Carrots are natural, but if you drink a liter of carrot juice every day, your skin might start turning orange.
When Matt chimed in, saying he sometimes uses caffeinated pre-workouts to boost performance, I nodded. In small amounts, caffeine can be helpful—but it’s also important to be mindful of how your body responds. Some people develop a tolerance, while others experience sleep disruption or jitteriness. Supplements aren’t inherently bad, but before using one, you need to know how it affects you, not just what it promises on the label or what your favorite fitness creator says.
We also talked about protein powder—probably the most accepted and widely used supplement out there. For someone like Matt who works out regularly and watches his diet, protein powder is a convenient and efficient tool. But I’ve also seen plenty of people eating steak, eggs, cheese, and then chugging three scoops of protein powder every day—and wondering why their muscle isn’t growing but their belly is.
Lisa asked, “So does that mean all weight-loss supplements are useless?”
“Not all,” I said. Chromium, for example, has shown some promise in regulating blood sugar and mildly reducing appetite. It’s also relatively safe. But you have to understand that the effects are very mild, especially compared to simply cutting back on carbs at dinner or adding a daily walk. If you expect a pill to do all the work, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
I gave them a simple rule of thumb: if a product’s label says things like “rapid,” “dramatic,” or “no exercise needed,” you should be skeptical. The things that actually help your body are rarely flashy, rarely instant, and never effortless. Their effectiveness comes not from a single miracle ingredient but from whether or not you’re sticking to a healthy lifestyle overall.
That’s why I’m such a fan of the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health. They recently released two incredibly helpful fact sheets—one about exercise supplements, and one about weight loss. They break down over 20 common ingredients and explain what works, what doesn’t, and what might be risky. Best of all, they offer versions for both consumers and healthcare professionals, in English and Spanish. Transparent. Straightforward. Practical.
Before they left, Matt bookmarked the ODS website to check ingredient info regularly. Lisa said she would pause the supplements for now and instead shift her focus to improving her meals—and signed up for a yoga class her friend recommended.
Honestly, that felt like the healthiest choice of all.
I’ve always believed that supplements aren’t villains. They’re tools. But like any tool, you have to know what job you’re doing, what your body needs, and whether that tool actually fits the task.
We don’t change by buying more products. We change by making smarter choices and gentler, more consistent efforts. And that—more than any capsule or powder—is where real power lies.