How Safe is Your Workout Supplement?

Work out supplements are supposed to give you a boost and put you in peak physical condition, but recent developments indicate that they might do just the opposite. DMAA (dimethylamylamine), which is used in products like Jack3d and Hemo Rage Black, is marketed as a fat-burning, energy boosting supplement, but health regulators and other critics are concerned about its safety.

The product first raised concerns after the substance was linked to the deaths of two soldiers, which prompted the Department of Defense to ban sales of DMAA products in military base commissaries.

FDA Warnings  

The issue was refueled in April, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent out warning letters to 10 manufacturers, stating that the safety of their DMAA products has yet to be proven. If a product contains an ingredient marketed after October 15, 1994, then the manufacturer has to submit it as a “New Dietary Ingredient” (NDI) with supplementing materials that demonstrate its safety; the FDA stated that this was not done.

In its warning letter, the agency said that DMAA could narrow the blood vessels, which can lead to elevated blood pressure and subsequent cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks. The product is also associated with side effects such has panic attacks, dizziness and seizures.

Dispute over DMAA

Not everyone agrees with the FDA’s assertion. GNC Holdings, for one, has defended the use of DMAA products (although it was not one of the companies who received a letter). The company that owns and operates GNC Health and Wellness stores insists that DMAA products have “the same effect on the body as drinking two cups of coffee.”  GNC and Vitamin Shoppe have refused to pull the supplements from their shelves.

DMAA advocates tout the supplement as a natural ingredient derived from geranium, but a report in CNBC indicated that seven studies failed to show this relationship.

Should DMAA Products Be Banned?

A Harvard Medical School researcher has advocated for a ban on all DMAA products. In a letter to the Archives of Internal Medicine, Dr. Pieter Cohen states that “manufacturers and distributors should immediately recall all DMAA-containing supplements”, given the potential dangers.

Meanwhile, some manufacturers have already begun to modify their DMAA products. MuscleMeds, who manufacturers CodeRed, no longer has the product on its website and customer service representatives state that it is being reformulated. Similarly, Lean EFX manufacturer Farenheit Nutrition has removed DMAA from the listed ingredients.