Dr. Pieter Cohen (Harvard Medical) has been on his academic and research soapbox almost as long as I. And, he, along with John Travis (NSF International), Celine Vanhee (Sciensano Research Institute, Belgium’s version of NIH), as well as Dana Ohana and Bastiaan Venhuis (National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Netherland’s version of NIH), just published the results of their research in Clinical Toxicology.
If their research results don’t stop from taking those supplements, I guess nothing will. The title of their article alone says it all: Nine prohibited stimulants found in sports and weight loss supplements: deterenol, phenpromethamine (Vonedrine), oxilofrine, octodrine, beta-methylphenylethylamine (BMPEA), 1,3-dimethylamylamine (1,3-DMAA), 1,4-dimethylamylamine (1,4-DMAA), 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (1,3-DMBA) and higenamine.
The study examined only 17 of the millions of supplements out there. Now, every one of the supplements tested in this study listed deterenol (or its aliases) on the labels. (Oh, good- at least there was accurate labeling, right?)There is no reason to consider these to be the best or the worst. They are simply representatives of the weight loss and sports supplements that unsuspecting folks (read “fools”) purchase each and every day. Oh, yeah- I haven’t yet told you that these supplements didn’t just have ONE of the offending items- some had 2 (2 products), others had 3 (2 products) and 2 of them actually combined four of the illegal products in their little pills.
Not one of these ingredients are approved for use in humans- not as supplements nor as prescription medicines. And, their side effects should also give one pause: nausea, vomiting, palpitations, chest pains, and cardiac arrest. Yeah- that’s just what I would want as I attempt each day to gain strength or lose weight.
It shouldn’t surprise you that these and the rest of those useless supplements that 3 out of 4 Americans ingest daily create tens of thousands of emergency visits to the hospital every year. (Hemorraghic stoke and sudden death are among the typical diagnoses.)
Bet you this WILL surprise you, though. Despite other researchers (and the FDA) finding deterenol in a bunch of stimulants and that is prohibited from being present in dietary supplements, the FDA does not tell the public to avoid its use- and, more importantly, does not notify manufacturers that this substance must be removed from their concoctions! (Phenpromethamine presence has also never stimulated an FDA enforcement action or consumer warning.) The other 7 stimulants tested have occasioned FDA regulatory actions (product seizures, warning letters, public notices).
(The issue? The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 was concocted with heavy lobbying effort from the supplement industry- and their consumer advocates. As such, US Government regulation is terribly restricted. This was the impetus behind many firms contacting us to help them concoct new supplements. We declined. Back then, the total market size was approaching $ 5 billion; now it exceeds $ 50 billion.)
As a matter of fact, as published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), Drs. J. Tucker, T. Fischer, L. Upjohn, D. Mazzera, and M. Kumar (California Department of Public Health- one of the toughest state drug agencies in the US) reported that more than half of 746 supplements adulterated with drugs were never recalled by the FDA. Now, isn’t that a comforting thought for those of you still buying these supplements?
So sad the government doesn’t protect us – no doubt due to some industry pressure in the “right places”.
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Which brings to mind the FDA asking for an investigation how Aduhelm got approved. To see if undue corporate pressure got the $56K a year drug approved.