Vegan patients screened for vitamin and mineral deficiencies might benefit from supplements, but physicians are obliged to discuss lack of regulation in the supplement industry and possible risks.

Helping patients mitigate their risk of chronic disease is key, but dietary supplements are risky.

Children with micronutrient deficiency might need supplementation, sometimes in irregularly high doses.

Increase in dietary supplement use in the United States suggests a great need for clinicians to be aware of the range of their quality parameters.

Dietary supplements can have side effects; interact with medications, food, or other supplements; or be unsafe.

Statutory limitations prevent the FDA from effectively regulating dietary supplements and have generated numerous calls for reform.

Illegal, fraudulent, adulterated, or improperly labeled products should be regarded as sources of possible clinical and ethical harm to patients.

Government-supported review and safety monitoring is needed for dietary supplements’ use in the care of patients with mental illness.

Marissa Chaet Brykman joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Dr Virginia Streusand Goldman, Dr Nandakumara Sarma, Dr Hellen A. Oketch-Rabah, Deborah Biswas and Dr Gabriel I. Giancaspro: “What Should Clinicians Know About Dietary Supplement Quality?”

Dr Ilisa B. G. Bernstein joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Karin L. Bolte: “Is My Patient Taking an Unsafe Dietary Supplement?”