WASHINGTON -- College students might know energy drinks as the quick fix for an all-night cram session, but relatively few know that some energy drinks are also dietary supplements.

Many Americans believe that dietary supplements are safe because they are natural. However, products like St. John’s Wort, calcium, and magnesium can decrease the effectiveness of certain medications.

These days supplements come in many forms, including protein powders, energy bars, and diet pills. Some of these products emphasize all-natural ingredients and suggest that they may cure just about everything.

In a recent study by Johns Hopkins University, researchers found what some students already suspected. Some energy drinks contained the caffeine equivalency of 14 cans of Coke. Researchers called for “full disclosure of the amount of caffeine and other ingredients in energy drinks on the product labeling.”

The demand for improvements in labeling and tighter regulation of dietary supplements has been a long-standing debate. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration does not review labels prior to market.

“[Dietary supplements are] not well regulated and they (concentration of ingredients) really vary from bottle to bottle. So, you don’t really know that you’re getting the same thing when you switch from brand to brand or bottle to bottle,” said Lisa Pawloski, chairwoman of George Mason University’s Global and Community Health Department.

Dietary supplements are regulated by the FDA, but, unlike its treatment of drugs, the federal agency does not ensure the safety or effectiveness of a supplement before it reaches a consumer.

“If reports surface that a product is dangerous or mislabeled, we can compel the company to take steps to mitigate that risk, whether it's through modification of the ingredients, a warning label or withdrawal of the products,” said FDA spokeswomen Siobhan DeLancey in an e-mail response.

The problem is, the FDA does not step into the picture until there is a problem, said Pawloski.

“There are certain individuals who do need dietary supplements,” said Pawloski. “But in general, your healthy college student really should be aiming to get those vitamins and minerals from the food rather than from the supplements.”