Are supplements safe? Not automatically. In this video, I explain why supplements are really drugs, why the industry has so little oversight, which products worry me most, and how I think about using supplements more safely in real life.
I’m a board-certified vascular surgeon specializing in cardiometabolic prevention, and I do use supplements in practice — but in a targeted, evidence-informed way. Here I walk through the biggest myths about supplements, the real risks people ignore, the categories I side-eye hardest, and the framework I use to help patients choose products that are actually worth taking.
If you’ve ever assumed that “natural” means safe, that a big retailer means quality, or that more supplements must mean better health… this one’s for you.
Disclosure: Some links in this description may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend sources I trust.
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If this video helped you, please subscribe and share it with somebody whose supplement cabinet is starting to look a little wild.
Chapters
0:00 Supplements are drugs
1:22 What makes a supplement different from a prescription drug
4:21 Myth #1: Supplements are more noble than Big Pharma
6:24 Myth #2: Over-the-counter means safe
9:01 Myth #3: Big retailers mean high quality
10:38 Why I still use supplements in practice
13:56 The right way to use supplements
16:17 Who should not self-prescribe supplements
17:23 How I choose safer, better-tested supplements
19:17 The highest-risk supplement categories
19:57 How to verify a supplement is actually helping
21:06 Why I use Fullscript
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🧬 About Dr. Lily Johnston
Dr. Johnston is a double board-certified vascular and general surgeon in San Diego, specializing in metabolic and cardiovascular prevention. She’s the founder of CorSight Health and a passionate advocate for reimagining how medicine approaches chronic disease.
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