40 percent of sports supplements do not contain the ingredients on the label

According to an American study, 40 percent of the labels on sports supplement products are incorrect. The ingredients written on the label are not included in the product. Evaluating the results of the research, Pharmacology Specialist Prof. Dr. Okan Yıllar said that the products produced by well-known, large industrial organizations should be used in consultation with a physician. Pointing out that the figures are very serious, Prof. Dr. Yıllar said, “It must be in the content written on the label. In some of them, there are products that the FDA does not approve and finds objectionable. These are strong amines. When a person uses this, their sympathetic systems are stimulated. Blood pressure rises, heart palpitations occur. Appetite disappears, sleep problems develop. If people who do heavy sports use such supplements, they may have a heart attack or cerebral hemorrhage.”

The health organization Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School conducted a study on sports supplement labels, ingredients and the presence of substances banned by the FDA. Published on July 17, the study was led by physician Pieter Cohen and colleagues.

The team purchased 63 products and analyzed 57 products that met their criteria. Accordingly, it was found that 40 percent, 23 of them, did not contain the ingredients written on the label. The actual amount of the products ranged from 0.02 percent to 334 percent of the amount on the label. Only 6 out of 57 products, i.e. 11 percent, were found to contain an ingredient amount of 10 percent of the amount on the label.

PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES FOUND

7 out of 57 products contained at least one illegal additive banned by the FDA. 1 product was found to contain 4 banned ingredients. The labeling of all products examined stated that the supplement had performance-enhancing properties and contained one of five herbal compounds. These substances have been present in dietary supplements since a stimulant called ‘ephedra’ was banned in 2004.

FOUND NOT TO MEET BASIC PRODUCTION STANDARDS

Commenting on the research, Cohen and colleagues wrote in their article, “The FDA does not pre-approve these ingredients, or any supplement ingredients, for efficacy or safety before they go to market. However, FDA inspections found that supplement manufacturers often did not follow basic manufacturing standards, such as determining the identity, purity, or composition of the final product.”

“ORGANIZATIONS MOVED FREELY AFTER THE LAW”

Prof. Dr. Okan Yıllar, Dean of Beykent University Faculty of Health Sciences, warned that spot supplements must be used under the control of a physician and said, “In 1994, a law was passed in the USA. With this law, nutritional supplements came out of the control of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A new phrase ‘it is not a drug, it is a food supplement’ came out. Of course, organizations that got rid of the FDA started production. Of course, I am not talking about big organizations that do their job properly here. Those who want to make easy money stepped in. As such, the label and content problem emerged. Organizations were relieved to get rid of FDA control. Previously, permission was obtained and production was made. Now, on the contrary, if there is a problem, it goes to the FDA. Supplementary nutrients used by athletes are also large in size. They are also very widely used.”

“WHAT’S ON THE LABEL MUST BE IN THE CONTENT”

Prof. Dr. Yıllar said, “The ingredients written on the label of the product must be in the content. Athletes or normal people take omega-3, royal jelly, vitamin D, vitamin C. In sports supplements, the ingredients written on the label should be in the content in the same proportions and in the same way. Universities bought 57 different brands of products from the market and conducted a research. They looked at the label and found that the protein and amino acids written on the label were not in the content of the product. There are very advanced devices that measure these. You can easily determine what is in the product. There are also some products that the FDA does not approve and finds objectionable. These are strong amines. When a person uses this, their sympathetic systems are stimulated. Blood pressure rises, heart palpitations occur. Appetite disappears, sleep problems develop. Some people use them to lose weight under the supervision of a physician.”

“THEY DECEIVE PEOPLE”

Stating that consultation with a physician is a must, Prof. Dr. Yıllar said, “If people who do heavy sports use such supplements, they may have a heart attack or cerebral hemorrhage. It is absolutely necessary to use these products in consultation with a physician. Sometimes the content is not written on the label at all, and the person can take and use it without knowing it. Only 10 percent of those who use them develop a negative effect, but for those people this means 100 percent. This is also deceiving people somewhere. For example, you want to take vitamin D, it is written on it, but there is no such thing in it.”

“PREFER THE PRODUCTS OF LARGE INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS”

Stating that products produced in the Far East should be avoided, Prof. Dr. Yıllar said, “There are small companies in the Far East, they sell in fancy boxes as tried plants specific to that region. They are also very inconvenient because you need to standardize something. When you put extracts from the plant, you need to know what and how much you need to put. You need to look at what the active ingredient is, this is the biggest problem in nutritional supplements. A person plays soccer and dies of a heart attack. You should see a doctor before using sports supplements. Show the products you will buy to your physician. According to the research, we will no longer be able to trust labels. Take care to use the products of well-known, large industrial organizations. Stay away from fancy brands, especially from the Far East.”