Does the primary element in Viagra have a side effect in your performance supplement? The FDA says that it may.
The Food and Drug Administration has recently issued warnings that supplements that are often marketed to males are testing positive for prescription medications that may have harmful adverse effects. “All natural” is a common marketing slogan for the items.
Some are marketed to enhance virility or sexual performance, while others promise to increase strength and vitality. Many say they do both.
Through testing, the FDA found that ZoomMax, ZapMax, PeakMax, and Vitafer-L Gold included unreported substances including sildenafil and tadalafil, the active elements of prescription drugs for erectile dysfunction like Viagra or Cialis.
Other treatments have been discovered, such as diabetic meds and diclofenac, a pharmaceutical anti-inflammatory that is comparable to ibuprofen. Requests for comment were not immediately answered by the firms.
The head of UCLA Health’s men’s clinic and urologist, Dr. Jesse Mills, refers to dietary supplements as “truck stop Viagra” and expresses concern that those who use them to treat erectile dysfunction may also be passing up chances to detect heart disease early.
For many men, erectile dysfunction is a sentinel occurrence that would indicate a higher risk of coronary artery disease, he added. “Therefore, you might have lost the chance to treat your heart conditions before you die of a heart attack if you go and purchase a supplement that contains a medication that treats your erectile dysfunction.”
Individuals who are taking nitrate drugs for heart disease should also exercise caution since sildenafil or tadalafil might cause a severe reduction in blood pressure.
The spread of performance pills is a “hot mess,” according to Dr. Pieter Cohen, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School who specializes in supplement regulation.
The FDA doesn’t routinely test and verify manufacturers’ claims about what’s in dietary supplements since it doesn’t authorize their sale and marketing in the United States.
He stated that the corporation is not required to notify the FDA prior to launching a product. “Companies can introduce anything they want to, and there is no FDA approval process for any supplements.”
The products are easily purchased online or at some retailers without a prescription, and their titles usually contain adjectives like “Max,” “Miracle,” or “Macho.” It’s unclear what’s in them because the package occasionally includes a number of vitamins along with additional components.
Mahtab Jafari, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California Irvine, stated, “You don’t know what is in the supplement until they start harming people or unless people report side effects and then we start investigating.”
Over the past ten years, the number of supplements has increased dramatically, particularly on the internet. Numerous warnings regarding hidden substances in performance goods have been released by the FDA.
Manufacturers of supplements may get warning letters from it, but recalls are the responsibility of the businesses. Cohen cited a 2018 research that he co-authored, which revealed that supplement manufacturers only recalled their goods around half the time after the FDA gave them notice, leaving a large number of tainted supplements available for purchase.
Assurance of “good effects” devoid of adverse repercussions
Men of various ages use supplements in Mills’ practice to increase their sex drive, vitality, and performance. According to him, patients frequently believe that because they are taking supplements rather than prescription medications, they are harmless.
“In this country, there is still a great deal of mistrust towards the pharmaceutical industry,” he stated. “A lot of men think that taking supplements is all natural, has all the benefits, and has no negative side effects.”
Speaking with their doctors about libido or other private matters may make some guys feel ashamed. Cohen, a primary care physician, stated that a lot of patients consume supplements because they lack health insurance.
Online marketing or male fitness and health gurus that frequently recommend supplements to increase libido, develop hair, and build muscle are common ways for patients to learn about the advantages of using supplements.
Sellers on TikTok Shop promote the benefits of certain supplements in exchange for commissions on sales.
“I have guys who want me to go over 15 to 30 supplements with them every day, and they will bring in a moving box full of them,” Mills stated.
The method customers obtain the goods has evolved in recent years, according to Duffy MacKay, senior vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, which represents the supplement industry.
“These kinds of products were really restricted to the dark shadows at one point,” he stated. He noted that it has been challenging for authorities to keep up with the growth of websites that offer supplements.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, men in their 40s with erection issues had an 80% chance of experiencing cardiac issues within ten years.
While Mills does not reject all supplements, he did say that he occasionally suggests several to his male patients, including citrulline, an amino acid that enhances blood flow and may be helpful during exercise.
To gain trust, he discusses the supplements his patients take with them. It’s easy to turn off a patient by just stating, “This is dumb, and you’re spending $300 a month on these things that do nothing,” Mills said.
What to search for
Any product that makes exaggerated promises should be avoided, Cohen said.
Although certain supplements, like L-arginine, have shown some promise in treating erectile dysfunction, Mills noted that they are frequently researched at considerably larger levels than those seen in over-the-counter medicines.
“If it’s working, we’re worried that there’s an active pharmaceutical drug that’s not on the label, which could have unidentified negative health effects,” Cohen stated. I advise my patients not to utilize any of the sexual enhancement pills in this area.
According to Mackey, businesses advertise herbal elements that people think boost virility and vigor, and “then they add the pharmaceutical so that the consumer has whatever sensation or experience that the drug might give them.”
According to Jafari, consumers should verify if a supplement has been reviewed by a third party, such the U.S. Pharmacopia, which is produced by a charity that checks over-the-counter supplements for hidden substances and to make sure they include the ingredients listed on the label. According to her, products that have undergone testing will frequently have stamps on their labels.
Finding a doctor you can work with and trust to discuss any available goods is ultimately the most crucial step.
“I would sit down and go over the bags of dietary supplements that patients would bring with me,” Jafari explained. “We send them home with maybe two instead of twenty at the end of each consultation because they didn’t need them.”
