Public Health Warning - Tainted Supplements
DO NOT TAKE These Potentially Dangerous Supplements
This is a public health warning. If you have any of the supplements listed in this article, return them immediately. They were found to contain a chemical called BMPEA. That's a powerful stimulant, nearly identical to amphetamine. The supplements I mention do not specifically list BMPEA on their labels and do not warn anyone who might take them of the risks.
In December of 2014, Canadian health authorities called BMPEA "a serious health risk" and pulled any supplements that had it from store shelves. The Canadian government said, "Amphetamine stimulants can increase blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature; lead to serious cardiovascular complications (including stroke) at high doses; suppress sleep and appetite, and be addictive."
Unfortunately, because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States does not regulate supplements like they do medicine, all those tainted products are still for sale in vitamin stores and online in America.
DO NOT TAKE THE FOLLOWING SUPPLEMENTS:
Aro Black Series Burn, Black Widow, Dexaprine XR, Fastin-XR, JetFuel Superburn, JetFuel T-300, MX-LS7, Lipodrene Hardcore, Lipodrene Xtreme, Stimerex-ES and Yellow Scorpion.
Here's what happened. Supplement companies that sell weight-loss products, want to sell something that works. If you take their pill and lose weight, you'll tell other people about it and sales will go up. The problem is, supplements aren't tested like drugs for safety and efficacy. Most supplements aren't tested at all and it's perfectly legal.
So supplement companies put known weight loss chemicals, or slight variations of those chemicals into their pills and powders. It's common knowledge that if you take amphetamines, or amphetamine-like substances, you can lose some weight.
To avoid the legality of selling prescription-only amphetamines, supplement companies used a "botanical extract" called acacia rigidula. With its amphetamine-like chemical makeup, it could stimulate weight loss. But it's also addictive. It can cause heart attacks. It can cause strokes. Plus, it's never been clinically studied in humans, so nobody really knows how it may interact with any other prescription medications.
The ugly truth is, supplement companies get away with selling fake, misleading and dangerous products because of a 1994 law. Supplements are NOT tested like drugs. No government agency checks to make sure they work. Dosages are not verified. Ingredients are not confirmed. Claims on the label are left entirely up to the supplement company.
Supplement companies are NOT regulated by the FDA. They are NOT regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The government only steps in once they start hearing complaints of injury or death. In the case of the eleven products I mentioned, the government seems to be waiting until they can verify someone has been hurt or killed before they take action.
The supplement companies have made you their guinea pig. You take the untested drugs while paying for the privilege of risking your health and your life. The supplement companies sit back and collect the money, often risking little more than a recall when (or if) the government ever decides to step in.
Some people have tried to make supplements safer. In 2013, Senators Durbin and Blumenthal introduced a bill known as the "Dietary Supplement Labeling Act of 2013." The key provisions in the bill include:
(1) establish mandatory warning label requirements for dietary supplement ingredients that the Secretary determines to cause potentially serious adverse events, drug interactions, or contraindications, or potential risks to subgroups; and
(2) identify proprietary blends of ingredients for which, because of potentially serious adverse events, drug interactions, or contraindications, or potential risks to subgroups such as children and pregnant or breastfeeding women, the weight per serving of the ingredient in the proprietary blend shall be provided on the label.
You probably thought those things were already being done by supplement companies, but they're not. If you want to start seeing at least minimal protections, call your senator or congressman and ask if they will support the "Dietary Supplement Labeling Act of 2013."
Find your Representative in Congress HERE: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Find your Representative in the Senate HERE: http://www.senate.gov/senators/states.htm
Call for a FREE Consultation (305) 296-3434
CAUTION: Check with your doctor before
beginning any diet or exercise program.
6/14/2015
