The Institute of Medicine called for tougher regulations of dietary supplements this month, and local residents and business owners have mixed feelings on tightening the guidelines.

Under The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act signed in 1994, The Food and Drug Administration currently does not regulate supplements on shelves unless they are proven to have adverse consumer complications.

"They're all good," said Linda Johnson of Mason. "I don't think (the FDA) has a right to tell people what people can and can't take."

Johnson said she often buys different vitamins and supplements. She researches different products on the Internet to educate herself about them before she tries anything, she said.

Dietary supplements are defined by the FDA as products that contain a "dietary ingredient" to add to a person's food intake including vitamins, minerals, herbs and amino acids. Most recently, the FDA removed the weight-loss drug Ephedra from the U.S. market.

The FDA did not return calls for comment.

According to the institute, the supplement industry has grown to generate almost $19 billion a year. The institute's report said there is "little product reliability" in an industry fueled by nearly 20 percent of Americans.

The push for regulation is all part of a larger battle between the health food industry and the FDA to figure out what regulations should be, said Gana Wilson, a nutritionist and assistant manager at a Lansing Better Health Store, 305 N. Clippert Ave.

"People should be able to choose between traditional and holistic approaches," Wilson said, but added some regulations are needed to hold companies accountable.

Some diet pills and herbal supplements make quick-fix promises, especially involving the diet industry, she said.

"They make claims that aren't true and couldn't possibly be true," Wilson said. "People want to simply take a pill and make it all better."

But Wilson fears the FDA soon will require all herbal and dietary supplements be prescribed by doctors or taken from the market, rather than more closely monitored.

It is important for consumers to question all claims made by health food suppliers, said Olin Health Center nutritionist Ronda Bokram.

"They are in this business because it's just that: business," she said.

Many people are spending a lot of money for nutrients they could find in foods, Bokram said.

"They spend a lot of money for nutrients that they could get in a 45-cent can of tuna," she said.

MSU graduate student Steve King said he has a "you are what you eat" approach when it comes to his health, focusing on diet and exercise.

"I'm rather skeptical of herbal supplements," King said. "They aren't officially regulated by the FDA - I'd like to seem some evidence before I'm sold on them."

As health professionals and nutritionists weighed in on the future role of the government in the dietary supplements industry, all stressed consumer education and personal safety.

People need to be careful about what they put into their bodies, Bokram said.

"In large enough doses, anything can be lethal," she said.

With any health issues, it is crucial people listen to their own bodies before they listen to other sources of advice, including doctors, Wilson said.

"They need to take responsibility for their own health," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.