Some surveys find that about 75% of U.S. adults have used supplements, while federal survey data shows that 58% used one in the past 30 days — but some groups should exercise caution, experts say.

There are many different supplements — including vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids and probiotics — designed to fill nutrient gaps and support overall wellness. Some target specific functions, such as immune support, muscle recovery and bone health, according to multiple medical sources.

Unlike prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, supplements usually aren’t FDA-approved before they are marketed, but the FDA does regulate them and can take action against unsafe or misbranded products.

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For people with diabetes, the following supplements could pose serious health risks, as they can affect blood glucose levels or interact with medications, per the National Institutes of Health.

St. John’s Wort

Dawn Menning, a California-based registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist with Nutu, a healthy lifestyle app, says people with diabetes should avoid taking St. John’s Wort as a supplement. 

Primarily touted as a natural remedy for mild to moderate depression, St. John’s Wort could have additional benefits for anxiety, sleep issues, and menopausal or PMS-related symptoms.

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“This herbal remedy can interfere with many diabetes medications by affecting the way the body breaks them down,” Menning told Fox News Digital. “This can make medications less effective and blood sugar management more difficult.”

Chromium

This supplement is often marketed for its ability to improve blood sugar regulation in people with type 2 diabetes, Menning noted, but there is limited evidence and the research is “mixed.”

“Taking this supplement with insulin or oral diabetes medications may increase the risk of hypoglycemia,” she cautioned. This condition can increase the risk of dizziness, fatigue and fainting, according to Healthline.

Bitter melon supplements 

These are often taken to help with reducing blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, Menning noted.

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“It contains compounds such as polypeptide-p, which may act like insulin,” she said. “Taking this with diabetes medications could increase the risk of hypoglycemia.”

Niacin (vitamin B3)

This supplement is sometimes used to help manage cholesterol levels — but in people with diabetes, it may also raise blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).

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“I would caution against using high-dose niacin supplements because it can noticeably raise blood sugar levels and make it harder to keep A1c in an optimal range,” Michelle Routhenstein, preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished.com in New York, told Fox News Digital.

Ginseng

Asian ginseng has been linked to a boost in energy, focus and immune system health. It also contains antioxidants, which can provide cellular protection, according to Cleveland Clinic.

While it has also been linked to improved cardiometabolic factors for those with prediabetes and diabetes, some evidence suggests that ginseng could lower blood sugar levels when combined with diabetes medications.

Β-carotene

This supplement is primarily used as an antioxidant and a source of vitamin A to support vision, immune function, and overall eye and skin health.

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“The American Diabetes Association recommends against β-carotene supplementation for people with diabetes because of its association with increased lung cancer and cardiovascular mortality risk,” Jordan Hill, a registered dietitian with Top Nutrition Coaching in Colorado, told Fox News Digital. 

High-dose cinnamon (Cassia cinnamon)

Cinnamon is often promoted as a supplement for diabetes management and weight loss, as some research has shown it can help to reduce blood sugar and lower insulin resistance.

However, consuming large amounts of cinnamon can enhance the effects of diabetes and cause blood sugar levels to fall too low, which can cause hypoglycemia, Healthline warns.

Cinnamon also includes a compound called coumarin, which can cause liver damage if consumed in large amounts.

Niacin (high-dose vitamin B3)

This supplement can help to promote healthy digestion, skin and nervous system function, according to Mayo Clinic.

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High doses of nicotinic acid (a form of niacin) can raise blood sugar levels and interfere with the effectiveness of diabetes medications, warns the National Institutes of Health.

“These doses can even raise blood sugar levels in people who don’t have diabetes,” the NIH states.

Aloe vera

Oral aloe vera is often promoted for diabetes, weight loss and inflammatory bowel disease.

However, when paired with diabetes medications, it could cause blood sugar levels to dip and increase the risk of hypoglycemia with medications, according to the National Institutes of Health. It can also cause gastrointestinal side effects.

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For most supplements, Menning noted, “there isn’t evidence to support a beneficial effect on diabetes or its complications.”

“The primary concern with most supplements is not direct harm, but rather the lack of regulatory oversight.”

The American Diabetes Standards of Care state: “Without underlying deficiency, there are no benefits from herbal or nonherbal (i.e., vitamin or mineral) supplementation for people with diabetes.”

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinology advises caution with all unregulated nutritional supplements due to “inconsistent composition, quality and potential for harm,” Hill said.

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“The primary concern with most supplements is not direct harm, but rather the lack of regulatory oversight,” he told Fox News Digital.

Experts recommend speaking with a doctor before starting any supplement to understand how it could affect blood sugar levels, medications or overall diabetes management.

A newly discovered virus hiding inside common gut bacteria may be linked to colorectal cancer, according to new research.

Scientists in Denmark found that colorectal cancer patients were about twice as likely to carry a previously unidentified virus within Bacteroides fragilis, a bacterium that normally lives in the human gut, according to the study published in Communications Medicine earlier this month.

Researchers say the discovery could help scientists better understand the role of the gut microbiome in cancer development.

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“These findings highlight the importance of the microorganisms in the gut and their relation to our health,” Dr. Flemming Damgaard, PhD, of the Department of Clinical Microbiology at Odense University Hospital and the University of Southern Denmark, told Fox News Digital. “If we want to understand the full picture, we need to look deep into their genetic material.”

Doctors have known for years that Bacteroides fragilis shows up more often in people with colorectal cancer, which includes cancers of the colon and rectum, but since most healthy people also carry the bacteria, it wasn’t clear why it would be harmful in some cases and not others.

So researchers looked at subtle genetic differences within the bacteria and uncovered something unexpected.

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“We were very surprised to find a whole virus inside the bacteria from the colorectal cancer patients,” Damgaard said. “That was not something we expected when we started our study.”

The virus, known as a bacteriophage, infects bacteria rather than human cells. According to the researchers, the viral type they identified had not previously been documented.

When the team analyzed stool samples from 877 individuals across Europe, the United States and Asia, they found that colorectal cancer patients were approximately twice as likely to carry traces of the virus compared to people without cancer.

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The findings show a strong statistical association, but researchers stress that the study does not prove the virus causes colorectal cancer, and it is too early to draw immediate conclusions.

“The major limitation is that we still don’t know why the virus is linked to colorectal cancer,” said co-author Ulrik Stenz Justesen. “But we are already continuing our research.”

The team is now conducting laboratory experiments and animal studies to determine whether the virus alters the bacterium’s behavior in a way that could influence cancer development.

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Studies have found that the human body contains roughly as many microbial cells as human cells, underscoring how deeply microbes are intertwined with human health.

“Our understanding of [microbial cells] is still in its infancy,” Damgaard said. “There are many health-related discoveries to be made in the human microbiota.”

Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Several high-profile celebrity deaths, including James Van Der Beek, Catherine O’Hara, Kirstie Alley, Pelé and Chadwick Boseman, have drawn attention to colorectal cancer’s impact across age groups in recent years.

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While much of colorectal cancer risk is tied to diet and lifestyle, researchers think the bacteria in our gut may also play an important role.

Currently, colorectal cancer screening includes stool tests that check for blood that isn’t visible to the naked eye, as well as colonoscopies. Researchers say that in the future, it may be possible to test stool samples for viral markers like those identified in the study.

Researchers pointed to cervical cancer as an example of how identifying a viral cause can help prevention efforts. After HPV was linked to cervical cancer, vaccines helped drive down new cases. 

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While it’s too early to make that comparison, they said colorectal cancer could one day follow a similar path if a clear viral role is confirmed.

“It is too early to act,” Damgaard said. “We have a lot of hope, and that is what we want people to have at this point.”

Fox News Digital’s Melissa Rudy contributed reporting.

Eric Dane’s death has sparked conversations about the speed and severity of ALS.

Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, the progressive illness — officially called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — is debilitating and fatal. 

While only about 5,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed each year, the average life expectancy is just two to five years, according to the ALS Association.

Dane, who most famously starred as Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” announced his diagnosis in April 2025, telling “Good Morning America” in June that his first symptoms began as “some weakness” in his right hand.

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“I didn’t really think anything of it,” the actor said. “At the time, I thought maybe I’d been texting too much, or my hand was fatigued. But a few weeks later, I noticed that it got a little worse.”

“I’m fighting as much as I can,” Dane added. “There’s so much about it that’s out of my control.”

What is ALS?

ALS is a progressive disease where the brain loses connection with the muscles, according to the ALS Association. This slowly strips a person’s ability to walk, talk, eat, dress, write, speak, swallow and, eventually, breathe.

Early signs include muscle weakness, stiffness and cramping. Symptom progression and severity are different for each case, as the association notes there is “no single timeline for ALS.”

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The disease only impacts motor neurons controlling voluntary movement, so the five senses — sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell — are not affected, nor are the eye muscles or bladder control.

Many ALS patients remain “mentally alert and aware” throughout the disease, the ALS Association reported.

Diagnosis typically occurs in people between the ages of 40 and 70. About 20% of patients live five years or longer. Only about 5% live longer than 20 years.

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ALS is typically diagnosed by a neurologist with an electromyography test (EMG), but can also be detected by blood and urine tests, spinal taps, MRIs and other imaging scans, muscle and nerve biopsies, or neurological exams.

There is currently no cure or treatment to stop disease progression, although there are treatments to slow and ease symptoms, per the ALS Association.

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel joined “Fox & Friends” on Friday to discuss the prevalence of ALS, suggesting that cases have increased due to “something in the environment that we don’t know yet.”

While ALS is 10% genetic, according to Siegel, 90% of cases do not have a genetic link, pointing toward other risk factors like environmental toxins.

“We’re learning to personalize the approach to this disease.”

“It’s a muscle weakness disease — affecting nerves that innervate muscles — and usually it starts on one side,” the doctor shared. “Then you develop fatigue … You could see a quivering tongue or your arm is quivering, usually one side and then the other side.”

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As the weakness progresses, it impacts speech and ultimately attacks the diaphragm, making it difficult to fully inflate the lungs.

“That’s what happened to [Dane], most likely,” Siegel said. “So, it progresses from your arms, your legs, your speech, your swallowing ability and then your breathing.”

Rising research

ALS progresses “pretty rapidly in most cases,” Siegel said. While scientist Stephen Hawking lived 55 years with the disease, Dane “probably lived about two years with it,” the doctor surmised.

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“I want to point out how courageous [Dane] is — he actually was involved with Target ALS, where he was fighting for new research,” Siegel pointed out. “We’re learning to personalize the approach to this disease, and that’s the future — and he fought for that.”

“We need a lot of money for research for this — [Dane] was asking for a billion dollars from the government.”

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Various research groups and hospital systems are actively working on new ALS therapies that take a personalized approach, Siegel shared.

The estimated cost to develop a drug that would slow or stop disease progression is $2 billion, the ALS Association has reported. The annual estimated out-of-picket cost for care is $250,000.

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Funding for ALS research and awareness has been on the rise for years, with the viral social media ALS Ice Bucket Challenge making a splash in 2014. 

The challenge, supported by the ALS Association, was intended to boost awareness. It ultimately raised $115 million toward ALS research and patient care.