Nutritional Supplements On The Market Get A Warning From The F.D.A.

Federal regulators (Food and Drug Administration) warned consumers nationwide on July 28, 2009, not to use body-building products that are sold as “Nutritional Supplements” but may contain steroids or steroidlike substances, citing reports of acute liver injury and possible failure of the kidneys.


Tren Xtreme and Mass Xtreme are among the eight supplements cited by the F.D.A. as containing steroidlike substances. The FDA said it issued this warning because of increased medical reports of medical problems in men who had used such products currently and in the recent past. Except for naming eight specific supplements sold by a single company, the Food and Drug Administration did not provide much more instruction to consumers on what other products to avoid or to keep their eye on. The F.D.A. acknowledged that it did not know how many products in this category of concern its warning affects, so the idea is to be mindful of these products.

Generally, the F.D.A. said, consumers should beware of body-building products that claim to enhance or diminish (affect in anyway) the effects of hormones like estrogen, testosterone, or progestin. In particular, the agency said consumers should not buy products labeled with code words like “anabolic” and “tren,” or phrases like “blocks estrogen,” and “minimizes gyno.” The references to estrogen and “gyno” are meant to indicate the products do not have a potential of producing a feminizing effect on the body, like breast swelling or shrinking testicles, which can be unwanted side effects of steroid use in men. The F.D.A. cited eight (8) popular products from American Cellular Labs, including Mass Xtreme and Tren Xtreme, that the agency found to contain hidden and potentially hazardous steroids within the products. The agency sent a letter warning the company to make the products comply with federal regulations. Last week, federal agents in San Francisco, California, obtained search warrents for the company, and for a San Francisco outlet of Max Muscle, a chain of sports nutrition stores, some of which sold the products cited by the F.D.A.

The warning is part of a larger investigation into body-building products that contain hidden or undisclosed steroids, according to court documents in the American Cellular Labs case. A spokesman for Joseph P. Russoniello, the United States attorney for the Northern District of California, said he could not comment on open investigations. This may be a good trend as people really need to take more responsibility with their diets instead of always searching for a “silver bullet” remedy with nutritional support. What ever happened to just eating responsibly and making “healthy choices on your own?”