Digital health, consumer choice and supplement/nutraceutical regulation

Digital health is changing the landscape of healthcare, peptides are advancing, mushrooms are undergoing trials, and alcohol (lowest consumption in 90 years) is being replaced by plants like Kava. As individuals are empowered to take charge of their health, they are becoming more conscious of how different variables impact their health due to innovations like wearables, digital health apps, blood-tests, etc. These insights are extremely valuable and can drive both awareness and behavior change - great news as diet and exercise make their way to the forefront of healthcare. But we are also witnessing a continuous rise in the supplement industry. As someone who worked in this space for years, this is both exciting and concerning. We now have the opportunity to track and measure supplement / nutraceutical impacts to drive research; however, the market still remains largely unregulated. Safety concerns must be addressed, but what is the best strategy when many nutraceuticals / supplements are ineffective or harmful, companies do not hold themselves to appropriate standards, and public trust in government (especially surrounding healthcare) isn’t at its peak? How do we ensure appropriate safeguards while simultaneously allowing consumers to make the health decisions that they deem most appropriate?