Snake Oil? How much of our obsession with supplements is rooted in scientific evidence?

As we've discussed in class, supplements are a common go-to for health advocates. There is the obvious problem that the supplement industry undergoes no outside regulation, and we must question how "pure" and safe are these supplements. What are we putting into our bodies?
That aside, the issue of actual scientific support is more alarming to me. The fact that so many people support this industry without a backing of science is pretty shocking. However, when I think things like that, I only have to remember myself a few years ago, when I believed that if it was "natural" it couldn't do the body harm. This was a time when I also didn't understand that claims could be made without government regulation and that scientific testing of these products was actually necessary. It just seemed like "well, they made the claim, so it must be true. Why would they lie?" Now being completely enveloped in the fields of science and health, I understand the issues.
This website has a pretty interesting take on the various supplements out there and their efficacy. While it isn't a scientific article, I have to agree with a fair amount (thought not all) of what they posted based on my own extensive reading of bioactives on PubMed. I tend to enjoy visual interpretations of data/information, so if you feel the same, you'll probably enjoy this site as well. I also find it very helpful that you can gain access to the articles that the schematic is based on by clicking on the bubble. That way, you can determine if you agree or not, and it really acts as an interactive reference list. (As a side note, whoever made this website has a lot of other really interesting visuals for lots of other topics, in case you're interested).

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/play/snake-oil-supplements/

Notice that our friend tumeric is colored brown in order to show that it looks promising. I suspect that it is located below the "worth it" line because there is very little evidence in humans thus far. Additionally, you'll see prickly pear at the very bottom of the page in the range of "no evidence." The amount of data in support of supplements is pretty clearly inversely related to the amount of supplements out there, which I would have found surprising a few years ago, and I am not at all surprised about now.