How To Spot: Fake Supplements
Introduction
If you’re an athlete or looking to improve their health, the odds are pretty good you’ve looked into supplements before. In fact you may be thinking…
“ Are supplements worth it?
Which brands do I even trust? “
There seems to be a mudslide of conflicting opinions on which supplements work and which do not. Surely there has to be some supplements that provide benefits…right?
In this guide, IntelliGrind is going to make it extremely easy for you to choose supplements that actually work! It all boils down to one word…
Step 1: Stick With The Scientific Evidence
Supplement companies can tout claims day in and day out without proven scientific results. Companies often sell garbage and any results are due to the
placebo effect.
noun
a beneficial effect, produced by a placebo drug or treatment, that cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient’s belief in that treatment.
Scientific results are not the same as a “doctor” standing in front of a camera touting claims.
REAL scientific results come from experiments performed under carefully controlled conditions which undergo an approval process — which then go on to be published by scientific journals that carefully scrutinize the scientific methods used.
The majority of supplement companies out there shy away from using this carefully scrutinized process for one specific reason:
Science will not support their supplement
Step 2: Learn from Other People’s Mistakes
Deer antler velvet, a very popular supplement in recent years. Deer antler velvet is exactly what it sounds like — literally the fuzzy hairs that sprout from deer antlers as they grow, these velvety hairs contain a pro-growth hormone IGF-1 that is also found in the human body.
IGF-1 stimulates the action of growth hormone (GH) within the body, which is of very specific interest to body builders and athletes in order to boost muscle growth, recovery, and performance. In fact, IGF-1 is on the list of banned substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Seems pretty straight forward and every athlete out there should be running to buy up as much of these fuzzy elixir hairs as they can, right!??
Well there is a little detail science has proven and these companies will not tell you… IGF-1 can be effective in improving performance just like anabolic steroids…as long as it’s injected into your blood stream.
When taken orally, the form offered in these supplements, IGF-1 is destroyed by your stomach acid and is not absorbed into the blood stream.
Credible scientific research on oral consumption of deer antler velvet shows no improved results:
Mistake Number Two
This extremely popular ingredient is in pre-workouts, energy drinks, and so-called “health” supplements is… wait for it… vitamin b12.
…no
Yes. The popular notion b6 and b12 supplementation boosts your metabolism and energy, has been debunked by scientific data for a very long time.
It’s true your body needs vitamin b12 and it plays a role in producing ATP energy from glucose. In fact very serious problems occur, such as anemia, when your levels are extremely low.
However, almost NO ONE in America is b12 deficient unless they have inherent problems absorbing b12 in the gut or are extreme vegans by choice. Any excess b12 that’s ingested and not used by the body is simply removed in your urine — that’s right…you’re literally pissing away your money.
Source: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/vitamin-b12-the-energy-panacea/
In fact, a very popular “energy shot” brand was recently sued for MILLIONS over false advertising because the scientific data didn’t support what they were claiming about the b-vitamins and other ingredients in their product:
Source: https://consumerist.com/2017/02/08/5-hour-energy-ordered-to-pay-4-3-million-for-deceptive-ads/
Conclusion
To recap what we’ve learned
- Stick with the scientific evidence: The only way to know for sure if you’re getting what you’re paying for is to do the research, and keep in mind the amount of effort and work you put in will always show more results than any supplement out there.
- Learn from Other People’s Mistakes: We taught you Deer Antler Velvet and B6/B12 supplements are fake boosters, but as you know there are hundreds of others which have no scientific supported claims. Always ask questions and learn from these supplements to better spot other false claims.
For more information about us and the research supporting our product IntelliGrind, visit: www.intelli-grind.com
