Bodybuilding supplements can cause liver damage in men: study



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The alley of supplements is filled with powders and pills that will help you develop your muscle mass naturally. But a new study says that these supposed gains can cost you a healthy liver.

Study participants taking over-the-counter bodybuilding supplements had liver problems, such as jaundice, yellowing of the eyes or skin, and stomach pain. Nearly three-quarters of men were hospitalized because of their symptoms.

The study, published in the journal Food and Therapeutic Pharmacologysampled 44 men enrolled in the Hepatic Liver Damage Network, a program that identifies liver damage associated with supplements, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications. Hepatic lesions were detected by blood tests, which examined various indicators of liver health, including bile accumulation.

All men admitted to having taken supplements in the hope of improving their physical condition, and tests revealed that many products contained anabolic steroids that were not on the etiquette. Synthetic steroids mimic testosterone, a male hormone, but they have very unpleasant side effects: liver damage, cancerous tumors, early baldness and smaller testes, to name a few.

All participants in the program reported jaundice and many study participants had other problems, including excessive itching, abdominal pain, and nausea. It is now time to note that the liver is your largest internal organ and that it fulfills over 500 functions that keep us alive, if we do not abuse it.

The study found that many products were incorrectly labeled. For example, Factor D, a supplement taken by a patient, did not list anabolic androgens. The tests revealed that it contained an unknown steroid as well as three other anabolic steroids: tetrahydrocorticosterone, stanozolol + and methyldrostanolone +.

How bad is it? Stanozol is classified as a controlled substance in the United States and is on the World Anti-Doping Agency's Prohibited List.

Sometimes doctors can prescribe anabolic hormones to men suffering from certain health problems, including anemia, but these substances are not recommended to ordinary men. However, this does not prevent some from turning to anabolic steroids – without medical supervision – to develop their muscles.

Lead author of the study, Andrew Stolz, MD of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, urges men to consult their doctor before buying an unregulated substance.

"Patients should inform their health care providers if they are taking any form of nutritional supplement and should be particularly attentive to bodybuilding supplements, which may contain illicit anabolic steroids or those controlled by the Drug Enforcement Administration."

Of course, some supplements can help you develop your musculature, like creatine, but this is a good reminder that the industry is not regulated, which means we do not know exactly what is wrong. there is in it. And of course, it is quite possible to increase muscle mass without a pill by consuming enough protein, calories in total and sleeping a full night.

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