Just about anyone asked would tell you that a healthy, fit body is a good thing. Most people would probably say that proper exercise and proper nutrition would give you a healthy, fit body. Some people take diet and exercise to much greater extremes, and want faster results. They try to take short-cuts with fitness, body-building, and sports pre-workout supplements that promise greater energy and stamina, and others that are used for weight loss. The market for these products was over $2.7 billion in 2008.
Some products might be giving you more than you expected, though. Researchers in the USA and South Korea have found that a pre-workout product named “Craze” contains a chemical similar to methamphetamine that appears to have its origins as an illicit designer recreational drug. The U.S. researchers also said they found the same methamphetamine-like chemical in another supplement, Detonate, which is sold as an all-natural weight loss pill.
What the Experts Have to Say About Meth in Sports Drinks
“These are basically brand-new drugs that are being designed in clandestine laboratories where there’s absolutely no guarantee of quality control,” said Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a co-author of the analysis of Craze samples being published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Drug Testing and Analysis. “It has never been studied in the human body,” Cohen warned. “Yes, it might make you feel better or have you more pumped up in your workout, but the risks you might be putting your body under of heart attack and stroke are completely unknown.” Craze, which is marketed as giving “unrelenting energy and focus” in workouts, was named 2012’s “New Supplement of the Year” by Bodybuilding.com.
A USA TODAY investigation published in July reported on other tests detecting amphetamine-like compounds in Craze. New York-based Driven Sports is the company that makes Craze. Driven Sports has issued repeated statements in recent months that Craze does not contain any amphetamine type compounds, including posting test results on its website that it says prove the product is clean. In July, a USA TODAY investigation revealed that a top Driven Sports official — Matt Cahill — is a convicted felon who has a history of selling risky dietary supplements, including products with ingredients linked to severe liver injury and at least one death. Cahill is currently facing federal charges in California involving his introduction of another supplement, Rebound XT, to the market in 2008 that contained an estrogen-reducing drug, and this spring a grand jury was also investigating, USA TODAY has reported. The newspaper’s investigation, which focused on several products sold over the years by Cahill’s changing series of companies, reported that tests by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in June 2012 and a government-affiliated forensic lab in Sweden in April 2013 had detected undisclosed amphetamine-like compounds in samples of Craze.
Unlisted Ingredients
Most products list their ingredients on the label. Most nutritional and food product ingredients have enough history behind them that the ingredients can easily be looked up, and the consumer can make a judgment on whether they want that particular product with those given ingredients. Most common products don’t contain mystery ingredients not listed on the label. On the other hand, some of these fitness, diet, workout, and body building products seem to be a little out there on the fringe. They are promoting the idea that you don’t have to take a common sense approach to fitness and health, but rather short-cut or bypass the traditional methods: eating right, and working up a sweat.
Sources:
New York Times: When the Gym Isn’t Enough – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/health/nutrition/14fitness.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
USA Today: Popular Sports Supplements Contain Meth-like Compound – http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/14/tests-of-supplements-craze-and-detonate-find-methamphetamine-like-compound/2968041/