Weight loss supplements- a deadly dose of chemicals

Trying to shed those extra kilos by swallowing diet supplements? At the risk of sounding dramatic- these pills may not give you the figure you spent days wishing for, but it may kill you.

Several dietary supplements available in the US have been reported to contain a possibly dangerous synthetic stimulant that has never been tested on human beings. The presence of this stimulant known as DMBA has caused a furore among researchers and experts, who have turned to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This stimulant has been listed on dietary supplement ingredient labels under different names.  The research group scoured the internet for supplements that marketed ingredients with names similar to the chemical name of DMBA, 2-amino-4-methylpentane or 2-amino-4-methylpentanamine. “All the FDA would need to do is look at the labels of the products that we studied and they could immediately see . . . that this is not an ingredient that was previously in supplements,” said the study's lead author Pieter Cohen.

The team even search for terms like AMP Citrate, 4-amino-2-pentanamine, 4-amino-2-methylpentane citrate, Pentergy and 4-AMP. The 14 products that matched their search were sent to the lab for further examination.

Out of the, 12 supplements included DMBA or 1, 3-dimethylbutylamine. This synthetic stimulant is similar to DMAA, a compound that according to the FDA can lead to heart attacks. FDA issued a directive to agencies and asked them to stop selling DMAA-laced supplements in 2012.

However, experts suggest that this is most likely just a fraction of supplements in the US that include this artificial stimulant. Manufacturers use DMBA because it has the potential to function like DMAA at higher doses. DMAA was advertised as a body-building and weight loss supplement. The FDA got numerous death and illness reports connected to DMAA-laced supplements.

The products that the research team sent to lab for analysis were promoted as sports or weight loss supplements. Council for Responsible Nutrition has requested the FDA to ban the marketing of AMP Citrate as a DMAA alternative. CRN is worried that the consumers relying on these supplements are likely unaware about the effects of AMP Citrate. FDA has not received the complete paperwork for this potentially dangerous substance.

FDA will possibly take action against agencies selling supplements with DMBA and AMP Citrate. Manufacturers are responsible for the health and safety of their consumers and they should submit a new dietary ingredient notification before advertising.

GNC is a global supplier of health products and is said to have removed products containing DMBA from its website.

Consumers who use supplements should return products that have the name AMP on their product labels. People should avoid these weight-loss supplements like the plague. Users should also avoid taking supplements that claim to include elements that will soon be banned.

All weight loss and body-building supplements may not contain these compounds, however being cautious costs nothing.  

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