Devastated mother calls for regulation of protein shakes after her daughter dies at age 25

A heartbroken mother whose bodybuilding daughter died from a high-protein diet warns others of the potential dangers of fitness supplements.

Meegan Hefford, 25, died in June 2017 after paramedics found her collapsed on the floor of her room.

She did not know that she was suffering from a rare urea cycle disorder, which meant that her body was unable to properly digest the proteins.

But the mother of two had so much protein in her diet that she was training in the gym for hours every day.

She also washed her meals with protein shakes, which are known to contain small amounts of dangerous hidden chemicals.

Two days after arriving at the hospital, she was declared cerebral, and her mother, Michelle White, said goodbye for the last time.

Now she's talking about her daughter's death and is calling people to exercise caution with fitness supplements.

At first, Michelle was proud to see her teenage daughter take her exercises seriously and take care of her body.

She became pregnant at age 18 but still managed to find time to go to the gym after giving birth to her eldest daughter Alexa.

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Michelle says that she had no problem keeping her granddaughter to give Meegan time to work on herself.

But his love of exercise has turned into an obsession after the birth of his second child, Liam, reports the Mirror.

She was prescribed medication to deal with the debilitating post-natal depression she was suffering from, but that made her a burden.

Meegan was determined to lose weight again and started pumping as much as she could.

She was starting to panic if her mother and husband, Michael, were not free to take care of her children and would beg her to cancel her plans.

Meegan began wanting to participate in bodybuilding competitions and instituted a strict diet consisting of red meat, chicken, egg whites and, occasionally, steamed vegetables.

She always washed her meals with protein shakes, despite the doctor's recommendations to increase consumption naturally through diet.

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Michelle said, "I thought that she looked healthier than ever, so I did not think about the diet.

"It seemed like a healthy food because she ate a lot but avoided anything that was sweet."

One day, when she came to visit her, Michelle noticed that her daughter's hands were shaking as she drank another protein drink with her fitness supplements

Michelle suggested that she may spend a little too much time at the gym, but that was never enough for Meegan, who came out for another session.

Meegan felt exhausted when she visited her mother a few days later and followed her advice to take a day off at the gym to rest at home.

Two days later, Michelle was called by paramedics who told her that Meegan had been found lying unconscious on the floor of her room, and that she was buying two women doing an inspection of the rent.

Michelle said, "I calmed down thinking she was just tired, she was healthier than most people. I tried not to let panic settle down. & # 39;

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She "sobbed uncontrollably" when doctors officially declared her daughter deadly cerebral three days later.

Michelle added, "We did not know that her obsession with health would eventually kill her."

The next day, the doctors advised the family to disable life support.

The fact that the organs donated by Meegan saved four lives reassured the family.

After medical examinations, Michelle discovered that she and her granddaughter, Alexa, had the same genetic disorder.

But proper diet and proper medications can help avoid the harmful effects of urea cycle disorders.

Meegan's unknown condition caused an accumulation of ammonia in her blood as her body did not digest the protein well, leaving harmful waste in her system.

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She suffered permanent brain damage after the toxins reached her brain.

Hereditary disease is very rare and affects only 1 in 8,000 people. It also causes nitrogen build up in the blood.

Shortly after her daughter's death, Michelle found a high-protein diet written by a personal trainer in her daughter's car.

She felt "angry and desperately sad" after discovering protein supplements hidden in her kitchen cupboards in Perth, Australia.

Two years later, Michelle calls on the health sector to regulate the sale of protein powder and supplements.

She insists that people get checked before radically changing their food intake and that only certified nutritionists should offer dietary advice.

Following Meegan's death, the Australian Ministry of Health opened a national survey on supplements for body building.

Dr. David Cusack of the Primary Industries Department of the New South Wales Food Authority stated that investigations into certain products had revealed the chemical substance NADB, which had "structural chemistry very similar to methamphetamine".

This ingredient has been added to a list of prohibited substances found in training supplements, including DMAA, DMHA and DMBA, which can sometimes cause high blood pressure, vomiting, cerebral hemorrhage and stroke.

Doctors generally recommend increasing the intake of protein by means of appropriate foods.

Experts say you should carefully read the ingredients of shakes and other supplements and do your research before taking them.

All those who take them do not know that they sometimes contain small amounts of chemicals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and pesticides, which have been linked to health problems , especially cancer.

Nutritionists also warned that the calories of a serving of protein powder mixed with whole milk could be equivalent to those of a Big Mac and that it would take about 2 hours of exercise to burn.

Having too much protein in your diet has been linked to heart disease, kidney damage and even weight gain.

Protein supplements are also known to contain sweeteners, caffeine and sugar.

In the UK, illegal supplements, including some claiming to be "fat burners" or "slimming", have been linked to a small number of deaths.

Although it is illegal to sell, it is proven that these are still available for purchase online, mainly from suppliers established outside the UK.

2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) is a product that is sold illegally but still available online.

DNP is an industrial chemical that is unsuitable for human consumption. It is highly toxic and causes significant side effects, and has led to at least three deaths reported, according to the NHS.