Perhaps, the Labor Day weekend was another slow news period for the Wall Street Journal, as evidenced by the latest in a seemingly ongoing series of articles appearing in the mainstream media (MSM) slamming the presence of dangerous ingredients in some herbal supplements.

A good portion of the article is devoted to eye-opening, first-person accounts of consumers, young and old, who experienced very serious and very legitimate medical problems, as a result of taking some supplements, followed by citations of reports documenting the health-harming presence of foreign substances -- think steroids and prescription drugs -- in them.

Buried about halfway down, however, was the real moral of the story, voiced by Andrew Shao, vice president for The Council for Responsible Nutrition, whose organization welcomed recent efforts by the FDA to jump-start its enforcement efforts. In a statement, Shao urged consumers to be savvy as well about the supplements they use.

To that end, the rest of the story took a more even-handed approach, detailing the many ways consumers can do their homework to ensure the supplements they use are safe, from surfing the Web to studiously reading product labels to consulting with their physicians before taking them.

Learn more about what you can do to protect your health and that of your loved ones by watching this short, informative video by Dr. Timothy Birdsall, vice chairman of CNCA's Quality Control Unit.

Wall Street Journal September 7, 2009