Q: I read that the Food and Drug Administration warns against using scores of muscle-building supplements because they can be bad for your health. What substances should I avoid? Is there anything out there that’s safe and will help get me ripped?
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A: Over the past 24 months, the FDA has received 15 reports of serious health problems — including strokes, liver problems, and pulmonary embolisms — associated with body-building supplements. The government has warned against the use of several products that contain steroids. (You can find a list at Fda.gov.) But even the FDA is in a race to keep up with what’s out there. I visited Don Catlin, founder and former director of the Olympic Analytical Laboratory at the UCLA, who showed me how scientists search for the newest designer steroids. Often, the lab hasn’t even heard of a new drug when they detect it on highly sophisticated instruments. Unethical manufacturers of some of these supplements are always looking for ways to sneak potentially harmful steroids into their products so that the consumer sees results and buys more. If you are going to use such products, look for code words such as “anabolic,” “tren,” “blocks estrogen,” or “minimizes gyno.” These words indicate the potential presence of steroids. Eschewing these types of things altogether, I stick to a weight-training program with a professional trainer, and eat lean protein. That way, I know what I’m getting.
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Email your questions for Dr. Bob Arnot to dr.bob@mensjournal.com.
This article originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.
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October 16th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
The thing is that all this can be avoided if you follow a healthful diet and acquire all the needed minerals and vitamins from your cooking. Not merely is it more effectual as of the natural sustaining nutrients that exist in the cuisine which you consume, but as well it is costing you less and is going to produce better results.
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November 12th, 2009 at 5:43 am
There was no such thing as exercise ‘machines’. They used multi-jointed, compound free weight exercises that not only increased their muscular size, but also make them incredibly strong. So, if you look at that way it can be done and you don’t need any supplements.
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