Three years ago, a 19-year-old man died from liver damage after taking Hydroxycut dietary supplements to lose weight.
Though the company responsible for Hydroxycut recalled its products after 22 more cases of liver damage were reported in otherwise healthy users, the exact cause of the affliction remains unknown. Chillingly, the products remain on the market.
Students who use dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building might be putting themselves at risk.
“I use EAS 100 Percent Whey Protein,” Gavin Forrest, a freshman undecided major who exercises two to three times per week, said. Forrest, who has been using the supplement for about a year, said, “I use the protein because I believe it helps with muscle growth.”
The Food and Drug Administration defines a dietary supplement as one or any combination of vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, glandulars and metabolites.
“A properly labeled dietary supplement might say something like ‘Helps to support a healthy immune system.’ It doesn’t make a direct claim,” Sarah Ash, associate professor of nutrition, said.
She said a properly labeled drug makes a very specific claim for health improvement, such as relieving aches and pains.
According to the Nutrition Business Journal, dietary supplements are a $27.3 billion industry in the United States. A search for “dietary supplements” on Amazon.com reveals a litany of products, many of them claiming to help users lose weight or gain muscle. Many of them suggest they are supported by research or endorsed by doctors.
While they may appear to be effective and safe, dietary supplements do not need approval from the FDA before they are marketed. This opens the door for a wide variety of problems.
“We’re seeing an increasing number of supplements aimed at the ‘bodybuilding’ population, which includes college students just trying to bulk up, which are sold as dietary supplements but are spiked with steroids,” Ash said.
According to Ash, manufacturers intentionally and illegally put the steroids into their products in order to boost results in customers. She also noted the illegal labeling problem extends to weight-loss drugs, some of which have been found to contain amphetamines.
Illegal labeling is certainly not the only hazard associated with dietary supplements.
“There are products that themselves are potentially dangerous because they have unknown ingredients,” Ash said. These typically include glandular products, such as desiccated liver, which are found in a variety of dietary supplements, including those for bodybuilding.
There is also a danger to students’ pocketbooks.
Ash said, “Amino acid supplements are a particularly good example of products that can become very expensive but are basically useless.”
With a large number of students graduating in debt, spending large sums of money on useless supplements could impair graduates’ financial futures.
While there are risks associated with taking dietary supplements, some of them do have proven benefits for students trying to bulk up. Creatine is marketed as a bodybuilding aid that can be bought at many nutritional supplement suppliers.
“There is more meaningful research suggesting a beneficial effect from creatine than probably any other legal ergogenic [performance-enhancing] aid,” Ash said. Ash added that while there is research suggesting caffeine can boost the performance of endurance athletes, she is reluctant to recommend it to students because it has substantial side effects and can be injurious if taken in excess.
Some students aren’t taking any chances.
Capen Rhew, a freshman in computer engineering, lifts weights at the gym several times a week. “I don’t use dietary supplements because I don’t think they’re necessary at my level of physical activity. Plus, they can make you gain weight and I don’t want to gain weight right now,” Rhew said.
For students trying to lose weight, Ash said dietary supplements have little benefit, if any.
“The sad reality for weight loss is that there is nothing magical about it. It is easy and as hard as eating less, exercising more,” Ash said.
Ash said many students aren’t aware of how many calories are consumed through alcohol. For example, she said a single shot of vodka contains approximately 126 calories. She encourages students trying to lose weight to cut back on “mindless eating,” or eating that is associated with boredom, social events or other reasons besides hunger.
Though dietary supplements might help students reach their fitness goals, they should be mindful of potential consequences. When they consider whether or not to use them, students might want to remember the ancient Roman advice “Caveat emptor” or “Let the buyer beware.”
As Ash puts it, “People will sell you anything.”
