Does your performance supplement contain some of Viagra’s main ingredients? According to the FDA, it may.
A recent warning from the Food and Drug Administration warns that a supplement widely sold to men has tested positive for prescription drugs that can have dangerous side effects. Products are often promoted as “all natural.” Some claim to improve physical strength and energy, while others promote sexual performance and virility. Many people claim to do both.
Through testing, the FDA detected undeclared ingredients in ZoomMax, ZapMax, PeakMax, and Vitafer-L Gold, including sildenafil and tadalafil, the active ingredients in prescription erectile dysfunction drugs Viagra and Cialis. Other drugs that have been discovered include diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug similar to ibuprofen, and even a diabetes drug.
The companies did not respond to requests for comment.
Dr. Jesse Mills, a urologist and director of the Men’s Clinic at UCLA Health, calls the dietary supplement a “truckstop Viagra,” and says that people who improve their erectile dysfunction with the supplement are more likely to develop early heart disease. I am concerned that such opportunities are being missed.
“Erectile dysfunction in many men is an important sign that they are at increased risk of coronary artery disease,” he said. “So if you’re purchasing a supplement that actually contains a drug to treat ED, you may be missing out on an opportunity to treat your heart disease before it succumbs to a heart attack.”
People taking nitrate drugs for heart conditions should also be careful, as combining them with sildenafil or tadalafil can cause blood pressure to drop dangerously.
Dr. Peter Cohen, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School who studies supplement regulation, described the proliferation of performance supplements as “confusion.”
The FDA does not approve the sale and marketing of dietary supplements in the United States and does not regularly test and verify manufacturers’ claims about what is in their dietary supplements.
“Companies are not required to notify the FDA before introducing a product,” he said. “There is no FDA approval process for any supplement, and companies can introduce whatever they want.”
The products’ names often include words like “Max,” “Miracle,” and “Macho,” and they can be easily purchased without a prescription online or in some stores. It’s unclear what’s in it, and the package may list various vitamins and other ingredients.
“We don’t know what’s in the supplement until it harms people or there are reports of side effects. Then we start investigating,” said Mahtab Jafari, a professor of pharmacy at the University of California, Irvine. Ta.
The past decade has seen an explosion in the number of supplements, especially online. The FDA issues numerous warnings about hidden ingredients in premium products.
They can send warning letters to supplement manufacturers, but it’s up to the companies to decide whether to issue a recall. Cohen co-authored a 2018 study that found that supplement manufacturers recall products about half of the time after being notified by the FDA, and many adulterated supplements have been found to be on the market. pointed out the research done.
Promises “good effects” with no side effects
In his practice, Mills sees men of all ages using supplements to improve energy, performance, and libido. Patients often mistakenly believe they are safe because they are taking supplements rather than medicines, he said.
“There’s still a lot of mistrust in the pharmaceutical industry in this country,” he says. “So many men believe that if they take a supplement, it’s natural, it’s all good, and there are no side effects.”
Some men may be embarrassed to talk to their doctor about their sexual desires or other personal issues.
Cohen, who works as a primary care physician, said many people rely on supplements because they don’t have health insurance.
Patients often hear about the benefits of online supplements through online marketing and male influencers in the fitness and health fields who regularly promote supplements to build muscle, grow hair, and increase sex drive.
In the TikTok shop, sellers promote their positive experiences with specific supplements and earn commissions from purchases.
“I’ve had people come in with moving boxes of 15 to 30 supplements a day and want me to review them with them,” Mills said.
Duffy McKay, senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the supplement industry’s Council for Responsible Nutrition, said the way consumers obtain products has changed in recent years.
“At one point, these kinds of products were really limited to dark shadows,” he said.
The proliferation of websites selling supplements is making it difficult for regulators to respond, he added.
According to the Johns Hopkins University Medical Research Institute, men in their 40s who have erection problems have an 80% risk of developing heart disease within 10 years.
Mills said he’s not against all supplements, but there are some he sometimes recommends to his male patients, such as citrulline, an amino acid that improves blood flow and helps with training.
He talks to patients about the supplements they take as a way to build trust.
“It’s an easy way to ignore patients by just saying this is ridiculous and they’re spending $300 a month on these things that don’t do anything,” Mills said.
what to look for
Cohen says it’s important to be wary of products that make excessive claims.
Mills said that while there are supplements, such as L-arginine, that have shown some promise in treating erectile dysfunction, they are often studied at much higher doses than commercially available products.
“Even if they are effective, we are concerned that there are effective medicines out there that are not listed on the label, which could pose unknown harms to our health,” Cohen said. said. Regarding this category of virility-enhancing supplements, I recommend that they not be used by my patients. ”
McKee said companies promote herbal ingredients that consumers believe will help with energy and virility, and “then add the drug so that the consumer gets the full range of sensations and experiences that the drug provides.” said.
Jafari says whether a supplement has been evaluated by a third party, such as by the United States Pharmacopoeia, which is published by a nonprofit organization that tests whether over-the-counter supplements contain hidden ingredients or ingredients listed on the label. He said people should check to see if it has been done. Tested products often have a stamp on the label, she said.
At the end of the day, the most important thing is to find a doctor you can trust and work with to test the products on the market.
“Patients would bring bags of nutritional supplements and I would sit down and review them with them,” Jafari said. “At the end of each consultation, we send them home with about two people instead of 20 because we didn’t need them.”
