Unregulated supplements could bring serious side effects - Off Duty, Military Health and Fitness - Air Force Times

Unregulated supplements could bring serious side effects

While some supplements can soup up performance, experts say others can be downright dangerous.

Dietary supplements aren’t regulated, so it’s easy for supplement-makers to push their pills, protein powders and power drinks without much regard for actual truth.

“Everybody wants to take something that gives them an edge,” says Harris Leiberman, a research psychologist for the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine. “Dietary supplements were deregulated in 1994, which gave manufacturers the right to market their products without regard to safety and efficacy.”

Lab studies have found toxins and even prescription medications in some supplements, but authorities generally intervene only when problems surface. In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration banned the stimulant ephedrine amid reports that it was causing heart problems.

Last year, the popular supplement Hydroxycut was pulled from shelves over concerns about liver damage.

But mostly, it’s what supplement researchers don’t find that gives them pause.

Take dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA, which is widely marketed to bodybuilders as a legal steroid because of its testosterone-boosting properties. Every large study that’s been done on it has concluded it’s a waste of money.

Other bodybuilding supplements are more worrisome. In January, the FDA recalled five supplements — superdrol, madol, tren, androstenedione and turinabol — used in more than 100 bodybuilding products.

Linked to anabolic steroids, the supplements are believed to cause liver damage, testicular shrinkage and male breast enlargement.

Meanwhile, even something as simple as a multivitamin can pose problems. While daily doses within the FDA’s recommendations can be great, steer clear of the mega-dose pills.

“The old rule of ‘more is better’ generally doesn’t apply to vitamins,” says Col. George Dilly, chief dietician for Army Medical Command. “If you’re 24 years old and eating like a horse, a multivitamin is probably overkill.”

While excess amounts of water-soluble B and C vitamins generally are purged from the body, too much of some fat-stored vitamins and minerals can cause problems. Excess iron, for example, can cause ulcers and nausea.

Combat duty also can tip the risk-to-benefit ratio too deeply into the danger zone for otherwise helpful supplements. Garlic, for example, has been shown to relieve cold symptoms, but can increase the risk of bleeding.

“Garlic-containing supplements should be discontinued two weeks prior to any surgical procedures or combat deployment,” according to the Committee on Dietary Supplement Use by Military Personnel.

Dangers can multiply when supplements are mixed with other supplements or prescription meds. Ginkgo biloba, when combined with aspirin or warafin, can cause excessive bleeding.

Even energy drinks can cause problems. They’re often packed with a wide variety of supplements that have gone through little, if any, testing on how they interact.

“Energy drinks should not be used while exercising, during training or missions or with alcohol because of the multiple combinations of ingredients, and the possibilities of gastrointestinal distress and disturbances in heart rhythms,” warn the experts at the Uniformed Services University, the Pentagon’s medical school.

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