Liver Damage From Supplements Is on the Rise

Wetcoaster
Wetcoaster Posts: 1,788 Member
edited November 13 in Food and Nutrition
Green-tea extract and bodybuilding pills pose a particular risk, study finds

http://www.consumerreports.org/health/liver-damage-from-supplements-is-on-the-rise/

Replies

  • littlebritttfit
    littlebritttfit Posts: 72 Member
    Karb_Kween wrote: »
    Huh. .. well good thing I don't take those and just drink a lot

    LOL
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    Karb_Kween wrote: »
    Huh. .. well good thing I don't take those and just drink a lot

    :smiley:
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    Karb_Kween wrote: »
    Huh. .. well good thing I don't take those and just drink a lot

    /thread :laugh:
  • Wetcoaster
    Wetcoaster Posts: 1,788 Member
    Karb_Kween wrote: »
    Huh. .. well good thing I don't take those and just drink a lot

    I like you.
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  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    Green tea extract. What a shocker. How long was Dr. Oz hawking that particular miracle-du-jour? :|
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  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    I think i read something similar recently about people damaging their liver by consuming insanely high amount of b vitamins and niacin in energy drinks. What used to be a once in a while thing is becoming a replacement for water.... yikes. I think someone drank 4-5 in a 48 hour period and that was enough to cause some serious damage.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
    But in the new analysis, the researchers found that two substances did stand out as posing unique threats to the liver: anabolic steroids, which are are sometimes illegally added to bodybuilding supplements; and green tea extract, which is found in many weight-loss supplements.

    Which supplements include steroids?
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    Not surprising. The pervasive attitude toward "supplements" in both bodybuilding and weight loss is "if a little is good, more moar MOAARRR must be better!!1!!". If you say that 500 mg of caffeine will help with weight loss, many will say "Then just think what 5,000 mg will do!".

    It's not just bodybuilders that take dangerously high dosages of supplements, have you ever seen the recommendations that the cults of vitamins D and C recommend? C is, at least, water soluble so in all but the most extreme doses will just give you expensive urine, but D is fat soluble and can present a lot more problems.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    Green tea extract. What a shocker. How long was Dr. Oz hawking that particular miracle-du-jour? :|

    What doesn't he flog? One of his main "experts" was a chiro convicted of fraud, go thing he does his research on both products and experts </sarcasm>. Problem isn't the tea you drink but the highly concentrated, and dubious, extracts.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    kwtilbury wrote: »
    But in the new analysis, the researchers found that two substances did stand out as posing unique threats to the liver: anabolic steroids, which are are sometimes illegally added to bodybuilding supplements; and green tea extract, which is found in many weight-loss supplements.

    Which supplements include steroids?

    The problem is that you can't know until it's too late. There have been a few manufacturers known to add steroids and pro-hormones to their products but because the supplement industry has so many law makers in their pocket the FDA can't even investigate unless their is some type of suspicion first.

    From what I've seen the most common supplements found with illegal substances are things such as pre workouts and those claiming anabolic effects.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    I like how they group green tea in with anabolics. Makes sense. Not
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    I like how they group green tea in with anabolics. Makes sense. Not

    It does in context of the article, which is that certain supplements are causing liver damage. Obviously, we aren't talking about people taking the green tea extract for hypertrophy.
  • crackpotbaby
    crackpotbaby Posts: 1,297 Member
    In the pretty small hospital I work in I have personally seen 3 cases of liver derangement/failure put down to use of various supplements/pre workouts in young men aged 19-35.

    'Have you been taking any workout supplements?' is one of the questions posed to any fit young person presenting with liver derangement or jaundice, right up there with 'any recent overseas travel?'.

    It is certainly a consideration of doctors during medical workup for this kind of presentation.

    ..............

    I have also seen 2 cases of decompensating liver failure in peri menopausal women using over the counter 'herbal remedies'.

    ...............

    One huge problem with supplements is that the industry is entirely unregulated and not subject to the same evidence based, safety and efficacy testing as regulated pharmaceuticals. Just because something is non prescription certainly does not mean it's safe

    Liver failure is a particularly awful way to die.
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
    Someone at work mentioned that she had abnormal liver enzyme elevation and they believe it was from these
    protein supplement program drinks.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    I like how they group green tea in with anabolics. Makes sense. Not

    It does in context of the article, which is that certain supplements are causing liver damage. Obviously, we aren't talking about people taking the green tea extract for hypertrophy.

    But the extent to which these supplements cause liver damage is miles apart. There are certain oral "supplements" that if run for more than 14-28 days can cause permanent liver damage. Green tea damage is probably caused by chronic use as people believe it helps them burn fat.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited November 2016
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    I like how they group green tea in with anabolics. Makes sense. Not

    It does in context of the article, which is that certain supplements are causing liver damage. Obviously, we aren't talking about people taking the green tea extract for hypertrophy.

    But the extent to which these supplements cause liver damage is miles apart. There are certain oral "supplements" that if run for more than 14-28 days can cause permanent liver damage. Green tea damage is probably caused by chronic use as people believe it helps them burn fat.

    I agree completely here. The biggest problem is that when the supplements are adulterated you have no idea what you are taking nor the dosage taken. Likely the dosage is rather small for oral anabolic steroids or pro hormones so it's likely not going to cause damage as quickly as someone taking massive dosages of Dbol intentionally but it would could cause the same damage over a year. I imagine the green tea extract damage is going to take much longer but I haven't seen any studies to indicate the effects of dosage to time liver toxicity. These types of toxicology studies are required in pharmaceuticals but god forbid we make the supplement industry pony up money to prove that their products are safe and effective. No, let's let them police themselves because that always works.
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