What is in our supplements?

[WannaBeHulk]

[Dietary supplements--surprise pills?]

* Hendset M,
* Lunder N,
* Refsum H,
* Island TK.

BACKGROUND: Sales of herbal dietary supplements have increased dramatically. A patient case drew our attention to the problem of incomplete declaration of content. METHODS: Two dietary supplements which the manufacturers claim to be natural, extremely fat-burning and energizing were analysed, as were urine and serum samples from persons taking these supplements. RESULTS: Surprisingly, the herbal dietary supplements contained drugs. Diazepam, clonazepam, ephedrine and metabolites were found when analyzing serum samples after intake of the dietary supplement Thermo-X 650, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine after intake of the Purple Burn supplement. INTERPRETATION: Use of herbal dietary supplement can have serious consequences, for instance through interactions with drug therapy. Consumers must be given sufficient product information for safe use.

PMID: 15776071 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

kind of scary. luckily i trust all the supplement companies i support. seriously though, who puts benzos in a thermogenic... or any supplement?

 

[T-Bone]

Damn thats really scary. Only purchase supplements from well know companies. Most of the reason I visit this board is for information on supplements. I stick with companies I know and trust.

 

[RoadBlocK]

I started writing a long response but change my mind, here is the short one, thanks for bringing this up, although older info, it is very relevant, and if anyone looks around over on pubmed, theres quite a few things about supplements and multis not being what they are supposed to be, I mean seriously, if these companies cant even get the simple stuff like the fat burners and the multi's right, then how are they supposed to get the super-halo-mega-epi-oxy-chol-ene-trn-drol right.

:think:

 

[fenster]

This is the exact reason why you should not solely buy based on a product's price.

True, some products come out of the gate way overpriced and then back off. iFORCE BOLD is the perfect example. It is $13 less now.

However, some of the companies that pop up out of nowhere with extremely lower priced products that are knock-offs of the original version, beware.

Any company that uses St***a Labs as a contractor is probably getting whatever **** was swept up off the floor in their ingredients. That contractor has been sued many times by manufacturers.

The good companies that seek to come out with a similar product and improve upon it, not just play price wars, usually have random samples of the brand in question tested, and then try to offer something stronger.

When I worked at a GNC, the company in Iowa (I forget the name) that makes EAS' Betagen would send people out and buy cans of it at random and bring it back to test. They wanted to make sure the end product came out as it was supposed to. That's pretty good quality control when the manufacturer's contractor also tests products.

 

[RoadBlocK]

Sorry, OT, but.........

.................., the company in Iowa (I forget the name) that makes EAS' Betagen would send people out and buy cans of it at random and bring it back to test. They wanted to make sure the end product came out as it was supposed to. That's pretty good quality control when the manufacturer's contractor also tests products............

Are you kidding me, thats ****ing fantastic, thats the ultimate followup, and shows a pride in manufacturing, and everyone should have that kind of attention to getting things done right, unfortunately, Im going out on a limb, but I say most business dont run like that anymore.

 

[fenster]

Sorry, OT, but.........


Are you kidding me, thats ****ing fantastic, thats the ultimate followup, and shows a pride in manufacturing, and everyone should have that kind of attention to getting things done right, unfortunately, Im going out on a limb, but I say most business dont run like that anymore.

Well, considering EAS is owned by Ross Products, a division of Abbott Labs, it's probably routine.

AH, I remember, now, MTI makes HMB:

[ HMB-MTI ] HMB, plays a key role in muscle and immune system function, a product of Metabolic Technologies, Inc. HMB, dietary, supplement, hmb, immune, nutritional, hmb, muscle, medical products, health products

It would probably make sense for All-American to do the same for Kre-Alkalyn now and then since they license it out to alot of companies so they know who might be f'ng with it or watering it down.

 

[Aeternitatis]

Since I'm on the "inside" and have access to a lot of disturbing info (which unfortunately I cannot share), I'll say this: yes, there is A LOT to worry about. A number of supplements not only show up having ingredients which aren't listed, but several also show toxic contaminants.

I urge everyone to buy primarily from well established companies and companies that openly test each new batch of materials. If you have concerns, ask for an independant COA on the current batch. If that won't be provided, then you may want to seriously consider not buying the supp.

 

[fenster]

Since I'm on the "inside" and have access to a lot of disturbing info (which unfortunately I cannot share), I'll say this: yes, there is A LOT to worry about. A number of supplements not only show up having ingredients which aren't listed, but several also show toxic contaminants.

I urge everyone to buy primarily from well established companies and companies that openly test each new batch of materials. If you have concerns, ask for an independant COA on the current batch. If that won't be provided, then you may want to seriously consider not buying the supp.

^^^TRUTH.

 

[WannaBeHulk]

Since I'm on the "inside" and have access to a lot of disturbing info (which unfortunately I cannot share), I'll say this: yes, there is A LOT to worry about. A number of supplements not only show up having ingredients which aren't listed, but several also show toxic contaminants.

I urge everyone to buy primarily from well established companies and companies that openly test each new batch of materials. If you have concerns, ask for an independant COA on the current batch. If that won't be provided, then you may want to seriously consider not buying the supp.

thats a very good point. its just mind blowing that benzos were identified in the testing. you need a prescription for that and addiction is very possible. i know caffeine can be "addictive" but benzo detox in an entirely different league of consequences.

fenster, thanks for sharing your info. ive never liked EAS because of their outrageous pricing but if the money is spent on quality assurance, the perspective changes.

i would think if a supplement didnt meet label claims, there would be useless or ineffective substances such as fillers like maltodextrin and not toxic componets that can seriously effect health.

 

[WannaBeHulk]

damn, another article popped up on my MSN newsfeed today regarding supplements not meeting claims on their ingredient list.

Arthritis supplements often come up short - Arthritis - MSNBC.com

and ive used natures plus supplements before because i thought they had a great reputation 8 out of 11 brands failed. maybe its time this industry became regulated?:think:

 

[ShakesAllDay]

maybe its time this industry became regulated?

Say it ain't so!

 

[fenster]

damn, another article popped up on my MSN newsfeed today regarding supplements not meeting claims on their ingredient list.

Arthritis supplements often come up short - Arthritis - MSNBC.com

and ive used natures plus supplements before because i thought they had a great reputation 8 out of 11 brands failed. maybe its time this industry became regulated?:think:

GAH!

That sucks. Regulation means higher prices and less brands.

Sure there are alot of brands, alot are good, but when some of them keep insisting on cheap ingredients and fillers just so they can come out and say "we're cheaper than BSN", it's ridiculous.

I say, put up or shut up. Test accurately or within reason of +/- a percentage off 100%, or don't expect people to trust your brand.

The only problem is keeping dirty politics out of the industry. But, pharmaceutical companies do it to each other all the time, so of course you're going to have it in the supplement industry too.

 

[WannaBeHulk]

haha, another story made headlines today with hi-tech pharmaceuticals:

Nutrition firm or herbal cabal? - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

this one appears worse than the others. ephedra was included in their diet supps after the first ban and before the appeal, more benzos were detected (why would anyone add this? maybe for addiction?), and they had intent to market a "nutrition drink" that contained GHB and BDO but disguised the supplement as a cleaner when the FDA recognized this.

this stuff is attracting too much attention, so i wouldnt be surprsied if we see more headlines in the near future. another AM member submitted an article with multivitamins being contaminated and failing to meet label claims. is this just the beginning?

 

[rugger48]

[Dietary supplements--surprise pills?]

* Hendset M,
* Lunder N,
* Refsum H,
* Island TK.

BACKGROUND: Sales of herbal dietary supplements have increased dramatically. A patient case drew our attention to the problem of incomplete declaration of content. METHODS: Two dietary supplements which the manufacturers claim to be natural, extremely fat-burning and energizing were analysed, as were urine and serum samples from persons taking these supplements. RESULTS: Surprisingly, the herbal dietary supplements contained drugs. Diazepam, clonazepam, ephedrine and metabolites were found when analyzing serum samples after intake of the dietary supplement Thermo-X 650, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine after intake of the Purple Burn supplement. INTERPRETATION: Use of herbal dietary supplement can have serious consequences, for instance through interactions with drug therapy. Consumers must be given sufficient product information for safe use.

PMID: 15776071 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

kind of scary. luckily i trust all the supplement companies i support. seriously though, who puts benzos in a thermogenic... or any supplement?

Didnt it say that these chemicals were found after intake, wouldnt that mean after consumption.

 

[fenster]

haha, another story made headlines today with hi-tech pharmaceuticals:

Nutrition firm or herbal cabal? - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

this one appears worse than the others. ephedra was included in their diet supps after the first ban and before the appeal, more benzos were detected (why would anyone add this? maybe for addiction?), and they had intent to market a "nutrition drink" that contained GHB and BDO but disguised the supplement as a cleaner when the FDA recognized this.

this stuff is attracting too much attention, so i wouldnt be surprsied if we see more headlines in the near future. another AM member submitted an article with multivitamins being contaminated and failing to meet label claims. is this just the beginning?

Well, it appears they lived double lives because the criminal activity seemed more to do with the stuff they did out of Belize, versus the brand sold in the U.S. as seen below...

But it remains unclear to what extent the government’s charges involve Hi-Tech products manufactured and sold in the United States versus those made in Belize for sale over the Internet.

Anyway, I stayed away from them when one of their first products was a powder called "ANAVAR" which a) isn't at all Anavar, and b) is the blatant use of the exact intellectual property of Searle or whoever bought them.