In 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) allowed for "supplements" to be sold without requiring much scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration. It was mainly a decision promoted by business-minded politicians. After that, the GNC-type stores came to prominence as lucrative businesses. In turn, marketing and sale of products over the internet proliferated too.

The key point is to exercise caution since there is very little regulation of supplements. Practice skepticism about what is for sale at stores like this; even though it is "legal," doesn't mean it is healthy. I often hear people talking about doing "research" on drugs and saying they are safe. The problem is that their idea of research is not very objective. Often the research they read is sponsored by the companies themselves, or just a report of one study. In order to trust that supplements will work, it is better to have a conclusive body of research that exists. We are just getting to this point with creatine, which had been popular for a while now. Many of these drugs are new, and we don't know the lasting effects, which take years to study. Anabolic steroids were "legal" for many years until people started seeing the negative side effects. So, whether or not a drug is "legal" shouldn't be the factor that determines its healthiness or its morality in a sporting situation. More important factors are probably the effects of the drug over time and the peer-reviewed scientific research body on the drug.

Many alternative medicines (Echinacea, St. John's Wart, massage, etc) have been used for years, but only recently have been studied seriously in western medicine. On the other hand, the new supplements that come out (in order to make money), usually get researched but have a very short track record to see the long-term effects. So, in either case, one must make the most objective judgment regarding supplements. The majority of health professionals still advocate proper nutrition to get all the required nutrients for achieving optimal performance but maybe there are supplements out there that give you an edge. If so, then a moral dilemma occurs. How is this any different then inventing a new trick for the X Games or riding a better bike in the Tour de France?