Geschatte leestijd: 8 minutenThe doping authority has issued a warning about the use of the pre-workout Unstoppable from Dedicated Nutrition. The product contains nor-DMAA while this is not indicated on the label. Several athletes have reported “serious health complaints” to the doping authority [1].
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Unstoppable van Dedicated Nutrition Banned
It seems to be becoming a familiar story.
Athletes are very enthusiastic about a supplement, for example, a pre-workout, because they actually feel the effects promised by the manufacturer. Often, they have tried several pre-workouts before, but they didn’t feel the rush of energy and pumped muscles when going to the gym. If they do experience this feeling, they like to proclaim it.
Last time I got Unstoppable. I’m really going hard on that stuff, man!
That’s literally what someone said to me in the gym two days ago. The unfortunate part is that based on my experience over the past years, I automatically think: “A: It’s all in the head or B: There’s something in it that shouldn’t be there” (the supplement, not the head).
For Unstoppable, it turns out to be the latter.
Warning Doping Authority
Last month, the doping authority already warned about the use of Unstoppable from the brand Dedicated Nutrition [1]. Following these complaints, they also informed the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). Already known for a month about the specific case of Unstoppable, I will briefly discuss it and then move on to the phenomenon of contaminated supplements in general.
Nor-DMAA
DMAA (dimethylamylamine) is an “old acquaintance.” Dexaprine was also such a supplement that people “went hard” on. So hard that in some cases they even experienced palpitations. Last year, it was taken off the market in the Netherlands after about 11 people reported severe side effects, including serious heart problems, including one heart attack. In England, two deaths are said to be due to an overdose of Dexaprine. One well-known story is that of Danni Trip, the 20-year-old who became unwell and died after a night out [2]. However, she had also consumed alcohol and a lot of caffeine, so a one-to-one correlation is not certain. Meanwhile, there have been (initiatives for) several lawsuits regarding Dexaprine from iForce Nutrition [3].
Nor-DMAA is a derivative substance of DMAA that has now been found in Unstoppable. In the meantime, Unstoppable has been removed from the assortment of virtually every supplement shop after health complaints were reported.
Banned Supplements
It’s very contradictory. I have written several articles about contaminated dietary supplements that were banned. For example, about the weight loss product Iomax and the pre-workout Craze. In these articles, I discuss the dangers and reported side effects. The “funny” thing, however, is that almost every response I receive about this is whether the described products can be ordered from me or if I know where they can be ordered.
Even when you read the comments on various forums, it’s clear that precisely these kinds of supplements have a very strong appeal to some. It almost seems like these people see a “normal” pre-workout as a pill they buy from the smartshop before a party and don’t notice anything, while the “contaminated” supplements in that comparison seem like ecstasy. You also read various comments from people who are really angry at those who report complaints. These people are just using it wrong or are sensitive to it. Granted, the story of the young Englishwoman does show exceptional circumstances due to the combination with alcohol and a lot of caffeine, which reinforces this image.
There seems to be a large group of supplement users who appreciate the strong effects. Where another complains about insomnia, they see this as proof that the product works. In a certain sense, that’s true. The stackers with ephedrine and weight loss pills with phentermine also made you lose weight faster and feel an enormous amount of energy.
Supplement Industry: Be Honest!
I can also imagine that a part of this group also uses anabolic steroids. These are the realists who understand that a normal supplement has a limited effect and that if you really want spectacular results in the short term, you have to resort to other means. Apparently, they are more committed to their training goals and are willing to take certain risks for this that others do not find worth it. That’s a choice I don’t condemn, but I don’t share either. If it said “THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS SPEED” in big letters, sales would probably only increase.
But with a very important difference: Those who buy it know what they’re getting and are knowingly willing to use it. In the current situation, you have many customers who, for example, don’t want to use anabolic steroids but prefer supplements that come as close as possible to their effects without the drawbacks. In fact, an unrealistic expectation. It’s precisely this group that is incredibly happy with a pre-workout or fat burner that for once really gives a boost of energy. Especially because they think they can achieve this effect safely.
The producers of Unstoppable couldn’t of course say that Nor-DMAA is in it. That would only prevent sales. At the same time, they want to distinguish themselves from other brands and ensure that their customers “really feel something.” This is easier achieved with a substance derived from amphetamine than with, for example, caffeine, arginine, and fast sugars. So they secretly put it in. “Contaminated” is therefore actually the wrong term because that normally applies to unintended additions during the production process.
And that’s a shame. Of course, many want a “piece of the pie” that is called the supplement industry. A pie that is worth billions annually and of which too many parties want a part. But what happens to the rest of the pie when it becomes known that a piece of that pie turns out not to be good? Will we still dare to eat the rest?
These kinds of cases like Iomax, Craze (Driven Sports), Dexaprine, Detonate (Gaspari Nutrition), and now Unstoppable are, in my opinion, not particularly conducive to the reliability of the supplement industry.
“Self-regulation” is a word that the government likes to throw around when it feels that a certain sector should take care of its own affairs. I would also be in favor of that here. Supplement companies that are addressed by the sector for malpractices to protect the reliability of the entire industry.
Which Supplements Can I Still Trust?
Real trust is very difficult if you still want to keep it affordable. I have previously written about supplements that are batch tested specifically for IOC athletes. This prevents them from inadvertently using doping. The problem here is that these supplements, due to the costs of the tests, are often three times as expensive as comparable supplements from cheaper webshops.
“Proprietary Blend”, “Special Matrix”
Personally, I almost never buy supplements anymore where the quantities of the different ingredients in the product are not indicated. This is firstly from a kind of “I-don’t-like-to-be-fooled” attitude.
Under terms like “proprietary blend” and “special matrix,” manufacturers mention what they put in their product, but not in what quantities. Often the “chef’s secret” argument is used for this. Transparency about this would make it too easy for competitors to copy the product. However, the problem here is that if I pay €40 in a restaurant for “Fillet Steak” and I then get a watery soup in which apparently somewhere a piece of fillet steak has been processed, then I really feel cheated. In exactly the same way, you can pay a lot of money for a lot of rice flour, dextrose, and a small amount of amino acids, creatine, or whatever ingredients are prominently listed on the packaging.
“But Then There’s Not Much Left”
Seen in this way, many fall off, including some big names. It’s important to know that these mainly compete in the field of marketing. “How do I make sure that my product stands out more than the product of the neighbor that is actually comparable.” If it were clear what exactly is in it and to what extent, it would also become clear that many parties offer the same thing for very different prices. That would make the pie a lot smaller. Then competition would have to be purely on price/quality ratio, profit margins would decrease, price cutters would win the battle, and bodybuilders would lose their sponsor massively because it’s been competed out of the market.
Take the pre-workout Insane from Bodyenfitshop, for example. On the label, we see:
Insane Pre-workout Composition
Doses per package: 24
Contains per dose:
Insane Pre-Workout blend 16.50 mg
Creatine Nitrate 1000 mg
Creatine HCL 1000mg
Agmatine Sulfate 500 mg
Betaine 300 mg
N-Carbamyl Glutamate 500 mg
Beta Alanine 1500 mg
L-Citrulline 2500 mg
BCAA 4:1:1 1500 mg
Pycnogenol 10 mg
Caffeine 275 mg
Chocamine® 250 mg
Green tea extract 75.5 mg
Acacia rigidula (98%) 75.5 mg
Natural Geranamine 25.5 mg
Schisandra 225 mg
Content 396 grams
Neat. You see what’s in it and how much. Now compare that to the well-known 1.M.R. pictured to the right. Can you say anything meaningful about this? Granted, I trained well on it, but I have no idea if that was a placebo effect, or if I still associated it with that beautiful blonde lady at the expo who gave me the samples and therefore my testosterone was raised, or because it’s from Jay Cutler whom I first met shortly thereafter. That’s why my personal experience always interests me little. I might have eaten or slept better, for example.
In any case, there are a lot of ingredients that are interesting and a lot of ingredients that sound interesting. In theory, a whole team of scientists may have thought for years about the ideal composition of the various ingredients in the ideal proportions for a science-based, fair price.
It almost sounds like an ad. In practice, this story is almost impossible. Firstly, I sometimes have to compare fifty studies or more just to be able to say something about the effect of just one of those ingredients. As soon as you then add a second ingredient, you have to repeat all those studies, but tenfold. In addition to the fact that you would now perform the same studies with the combination, you also have to do this in various proportions. For example, in certain proportions, caffeine can nullify the effects of creatine, yet these two are often combined in a supplement.
By adding so many different ingredients, it is actually impossible by definition that this composition can be scientifically explained and justified. Then I still assume the best intentions of the makers regarding quantities.
Why so many? Let me answer that with a metaphor. In 1996, I was still a fan of Aikido, so I was a fan of Steven Seagal. So when the movie “Executive Decision” came out, in which he played, I had to see it of course. How cheated did I feel when it turned out that Seagal died after just about five minutes. After all, he was the reason I went to the movies. Now it turned out that I had spent 20 guilders (or whatever it cost) for 5 minutes of Steven Seagal. In the same way, probably thousands of people worldwide pay more than €20 for a few grains of creatine and other popular ingredients.
And yes, the price difference is also clear here. Insane and 1.M.R. concentrated formula both cost €19.90 at the time of writing. However, with 1.M.R., you only get 140 grams for this, while you get 396 grams of Insane, more than 2.5 times as much. Can you really call them comparable? No, since you can’t say much about 1.M.R., you have no idea which one is better. It’s then the Dutchman in me who chooses Insane, I know that I pay the least and what I pay for. It’s very possible that 1.M.R. works much better, but then nobody can actually prove it without comparing both in a randomized double-blind study.
Knowing What You’re Buying
That’s why I’ve often indicated that I prefer to buy only supplements with only one ingredient, or with only a few ingredients of which I already know the interaction. In the latter case, especially think of protein blends of whey and casein. I know the effect they have on each other because I know the studies on them. Even then, I only buy it if I know the dosing ratio.
I prefer to combine myself. Just plain creatine monohydrate (from Creapure), or plain whey and plain casein that I combine myself in the amounts that come out at that moment. The same applies to any loose amino acids or different fatty acids and also to various types of carbohydrates.
Even then you don’t know if something has been added that is not on the label like Unstoppable. However, by choosing the cheapest option in this respect, you at least have the batch that doesn’t need to add things for competition because they already win on price. And let’s face it, if big names in the supplement industry are caught with this kind of contamination, then an expensive name apparently also says little about quality.
There are plenty of good supplements on the market that I wouldn’t want to do without. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of supplements on the market that I wonder if they have any added value compared to the rest of the offer. The first step in this is to be critical.
References
- Dopingautoriteit.nl
- Dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2271309/Danni-Tripp-20-died-heart-attack-overdose-Dexaprine-DMAA-slimming-pills.html
- Schmidtlaw.com/dexaprine-lawsuit/
