BUSTED: Drug testing busts dirty supplements
February 23, 2019 • 1 min read
BUSTED! Testing uncovers active pharmaceuticals in more than 20% of over-the-counter dietary supplements
Surprised? Thought so. Even your local gym instructor knows it takes more than bicep curls and whey protein to build a set of Instagram impressive guns. In a global market worth $USD23+ billion, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) testing shows supplement makers enthusiastically practice dodgy chemistry to help gym junkies (and bedroom ninjas) live their dreams. A study published on JAMA Network Open shows a disturbing level of tainted manufacturing: from 2007 through 2016 the FDA detected 776 adulterated dietary supplements, implicating 146 supplement makers for sprinkling potentially harmful pharmaceuticals into their factory-sized mixing bowls.
But don’t worry, your supplements are probably fine, unless…
Unless you’ve bought a little something to crank up your sex life, lose weight, or add muscle like a bull in a veterinarian’s laboratory.
Common adulterants found in 157 products (20.2%) of the 776 products tested by FDA include sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra, for men with erectile dysfunction), sibutramine (an obesity drug once sold under the brand name Meridia – now discontinued in many countries because of increased risk of strokes), and synthetic steroids, which come in all sorts of flavours likely to tip users into acne-flecked rage.
Remember, always read the label. Oh, yeah, scratch that.