Steering clear of dangerous body building items

  • Published
  • By By Lt. Col. James Freese
  • 509th Medical Group medical director
Summertime and the living' is easy. Party Cove is hopping, and individuals are "buffing" up for the show. But beware. Multiple, dangerous supplements are out there to ruin your fun.
Two dangerous items on the market are NO-Xplode™ and Clenbuterol™. NO-Xplode™ is marketed as an extreme nitric oxide and creatine surge. The bottle states it will amplify mental focus, performance, strength and training intensity.
It does this by dilating the blood vessels - allowing an increase in blood flow to the muscle. Sounds good, but that is not all it does.
The bottle does list the ingredients, one of which is a NO-Xplode™ Proprietary Blend: 20,500mg worth of ingredients.
Unless you go on-line and dig fairly deep, you will not find out what exactly is in the "proprietary-blend" ingredients.
Don't worry; this has been done for you. One of the "hidden" ingredients in this blend is an herb called rutaecarpine. This ingredient is an alkaloid isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine, evodia rutaecarpa.
Studies have shown that this ingredient, rutaecarpine, can affect the P-450 enzyme system of the liver. Bottom line, it can cause serious damage to your liver and lead to devastating consequences.
We found out about it's affect on the liver when we found abnormally elevated liver enzymes on a few patients during routine evaluation and laboratory testing, which there was no apparent explanation or exam findings to correlate the lab results.
After more in depth questioning, we found the patients had been using the supplement. After one month of remaining off NO-Xplode™, the livers had completely returned to normal.
NO-Xplode™ was initially available only on-line at about $40.00 for 1.8 pounds of the compound. Now, it is available in the BX.
As the medical director for the 509th MDG, I highly recommend all to refrain from using this supplement. I would also like to stress the importance of letting your healthcare provider know of any and all supplements you are taking.
Clenbuterol™ is a second item that I want to discuss. Clenbuterol™ is an illegal medication that has gained popularity as a diet, slimming aid.
It has come under scrutiny lately as it seems to be fairly popular with the Hollywood faction. But, this is a prescription medication for horses. It is not for human consumption.
This medication is specifically a beta2 adrenergic agonist that is used to treat horse asthma. Remember, horses weigh upwards of 1,200-1,500 pounds depending on the breed, and the medication was formulated for such.
For people who consume this, it will cause their blood pressure to rise, heart rate to increase and core body temperature to rise.
It is very similar to ephedrine - remember a young baseball player who dropped dead during practice? Ephedrine was found to be the cause.
However, in the middle of heartland Missouri, where last year we had over six weeks of more than 100-degree temperatures, this can lead to serious complications that can be life threatening.
It is available on-line, but it can only be obtained through foreign countries such as Thailand or Mexico for purchase, because it is illegal in the states without a prescription from the veterinarian.
If you are concerned about your body physique or your waistline, then I recommend you contact the health and wellness center. No referral is needed.
The HAWC can devise a specific work-out and diet plan to help you accomplish your goals. The HAWC offers healthy weight classes and personal exercise prescriptions to assist you in meeting your goals.
The staff includes a registered dietician for personal calorie prescription and an exercise physiologist for a specific exercise prescription. For more information, call 687-7662.