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FDA urges caution about bodybuilding supplements

Its beach season and, while some might turn to bodybuilding supplements to get their body sand-and-sun-ready, experts said not all of these products are safe.

According to a consumer safety release from U.S. Food and Drug Administration, bodybuilding products that contain steroids or steroid-like substances are associated with potentially serious health risks, including liver injury. Some of the liver injuries were life-threatening, said Mark S. Miller, FDA regulatory review officer, in the statement.

In addition to liver injury, anabolic steroids have been associated with serious reactions such as severe acne, hair loss, altered mood, irritability, increased aggression, and depression. They have also been associated with life-threatening reactions such as kidney damage, heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs), and deep vein thrombosis (blood clots that occur in veins deep in the body).

These bodybuilding products are promoted as hormone products and/or as alternatives to anabolic steroids for increasing muscle mass and strength. Many of these products make claims about the ability of the active ingredients to enhance or diminish androgen, estrogen, or progestin-like effects in the body, but actually contain anabolic steroids or steroid-like substances, synthetic hormones related to the male hormone testosterone.

Some who use bodybuilding products engage in stacking, using multiple products (including stimulants or products providing false assurances of liver protection) to enhance results or gains. These combinations may put consumers at greater risk for serious and life-threatening reactions.

If youre taking any body building products that claim to contain steroids or steroid-like substances, the FDA recommends that you stop taking them immediately because of the potentially serious health risks associated with using them. The agency also recommends that you talk to your health care professional about any body building products and/or ingredients you have taken or are planning to take, particularly if you are uncertain about those ingredients. You should also talk to your health care professional if you are experiencing symptoms possibly associated with these products, particularly nausea, weakness or fatigue, fever, abdominal pain, chest pain, shortness of breath, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes), or brown or discolored urine.

The FDA encourages consumers and health care professionals to report adverse events or serious side effects related to the use of these products to the FDAs MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.

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FDA urges caution about bodybuilding supplements - CT Post