EVERY morning as she gets dressed for her accounting job, Leanne Sparling hangs her son's military dog tags and a photograph of him in uniform around her neck. She wears the tags on the outside of her clothes, hoping to prompt strangers to ask about him. "When I do tell them what happened," she says, "they are in total disbelief."
Her son, Michael Lee Sparling, was a 22-year-old Army private when he died. But he wasn't killed by a roadside bomb or an ambush in Afghanistan. He collapsed while running in formation for about 10 minutes with his unit at Fort Bliss, Tex., went into cardiac arrest and died later that day, on June 1, 2011.
Private Sparling had recently graduated from basic training and was in excellent physical condition. Before the exercise, he had taken the recommended dose of a workout supplement called Jack3d, bought at a GNC store on the base, according to legal filings.
Pronounced "jacked," as in "jacked up," Jack3d contains a powerful stimulant called dimethylamylamine, or DMAA for short, which some medical experts and health regulators say has similar effects on the body as amphetamines. Among bodybuilders and in the fitness-obsessed culture of the military, Jack3d has acquired a reputation for bolstering workout energy and stamina. The product description on the GNC Web site promises as much: "ultra-intense muscle-gorging strength, energy, power and endurance."
Leanne Sparling and her husband, Michael, blame Jack3d for their son's death. It is the only way, they say, they can make sense of a healthy young man dying from cardiac arrest. Last month, they filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against USPlabs, the maker of the supplement, and GNC. They argue that the companies sold a defective product and failed to warn about its risks.
The case has united some military physicians, professional sports organizations and supplement researchers who say Private Sparling's death, and reports of at least four others, expose major weaknesses in federal protections for consumers. It also opens a very public challenge to GNC's image as a trusted supplier to athletes and bodybuilders.
The supplement industry is fighting back. Peter B. Hutt, a lawyer representing USPlabs, a Dallas-based company that markets Jack3d and other supplements, says the company is "unaware of anyone that died who has used the product in accordance with the labels' directions for use." He adds that there is no evidence that the product caused the deaths that have been reported.
"Let me give you an example," Mr. Hutt says. "Suppose I drank a soda pop and, 15 minutes later, died of a heart attack. Would you say that the caffeine in the soda pop caused my heart attack?"
Laura Brophy, a spokeswoman for GNC, said the company did not comment on pending litigation. But in a statement e-mailed to The New York Times two weeks ago, GNC said it had "no reason to believe that DMAA is unsafe."
Although the Defense Department in late 2011 removed products containing DMAA from all stores on military installations, including more than 100 GNC outlets, the GNC statement said the military had "yet to produce any scientific or medical evidence to support a safety concern." And, in fact, the Food and Drug Administration has not asked manufacturers to recall the products.
GNC continues to sell Jack3d in its consumer stores around the country, as well as on its Web site, where the product has been featured this month as a "hot buy."
Federal regulations make supplement manufacturers responsible for ensuring product safety, allowing retailers like GNC to rely on their vendors' guarantees. On that level, supplement retailers are treated the same as supermarkets. If spinach in the produce aisle arrives at the store contaminated with E. coli, the producer is held responsible, not the grocer.
But some industry experts argue that supplement retailers should be held to a higher standard because potential hazards might reside in the very ingredients or formulas of the products sold, not just in contamination or manufacturing error. Some researchers point to workout and weight-loss supplements as categories of particular concern, because they often contain a cocktail of stimulants that can raise blood pressure and heart rate, potentially leading to serious health problems. These experts say supplement retailers should take responsibility for following ingredient research and voluntarily withdraw products as a precaution after safety concerns arise.
Right now, "supplement retailers are no different than furniture retailers who sell defective cribs that later have to be recalled," says Edward Wyszumiala, general manager of dietary supplement programs at NSF International, a nonprofit organization that tests supplements for performance-enhancing substances banned by sports leagues. "They are not being held accountable."
Ms. Sparling says they should be, pointing to Jack3d as a cautionary tale. The assurances from USPlabs and GNC feel thin to her. She knows that the F.D.A. sent warning letters last April to 10 companies, including USPlabs, that made supplements containing DMAA. Regulators said that they had no evidence that the stimulant was a legitimate dietary ingredient and that it often increased blood pressure, potentially increasing the risk of heart attacks. She also knows that numerous sports associations, including the World Anti-Doping Agency and Major League Baseball, have banned DMAA under its alternate name, methylhexaneamine.
Considering all of that, Ms. Sparling is fierce in her condemnation of GNC for continuing to sell Jack3d. "I feel they have a responsibility because they sell it and they back it," she says.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Workout Supplement Challenged After Death of Soldier
Dengan url
http://healtybodyguard.blogspot.com/2013/03/workout-supplement-challenged-after.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Workout Supplement Challenged After Death of Soldier
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Workout Supplement Challenged After Death of Soldier
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar