Supplement ingredients to avoid

Chromium is one of the 16 essential trace elements for maintaining human health. It is also an essential nutrient that helps control blood sugar levels and suppress cravings for sugar. Furthermore, chromium offers many other health benefits.

First, chromium assists insulin in metabolizing body fat. Second, chromium helps convert ingested protein into muscle and glucose into energy, thus reducing weight and increasing lean muscle mass. Furthermore, chromium plays a crucial role in metabolizing energy from glucose. Some studies even suggest that chromium supplementation can improve fat burning. Moreover, chromium plays a vital role in lowering harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increasing beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

If that's the case, why does the author list chromium among the supplements that should be avoided?

In 1995, chromium and chromium methylpyridinium esters were widely used. However, it was eventually discovered that the extensive use of chromium and chromium methylpyridinium esters was associated with chromosome damage and cancer in humans and animals. It was found that the methylpyridinium esters in chromium (not chromium itself) are harmful to the human body. According to a warning from the University of California, Berkeley, chromium methylpyridinium esters should not be taken by anyone. The most effective and safest form of chromium is chromium nicotinic acid (or polymerized nicotinic acid), such as chromium chelates.

According to the author, as long as care is taken to avoid using methylpyridine ester products, chromium is still a natural product that can enhance human metabolism and is still very beneficial to humans.

Androstenedione is a sex steroid, its precursor being testosterone. Currently, commercially available androstenedione is primarily used to increase testosterone levels in the blood; it is a natural anabolic steroid product. It is known that androstenedione can increase muscle volume, improve muscle strength, and increase libido (a sex hormone). However, some research indicates that androstenedione does not increase testosterone levels in the body.

Androstenedione became more common after a professional softball player claimed to have hit many home runs in the year he used it, breaking his career home run record. However, androstenedione is banned by the International Olympic Committee, the National Soccer Association, and the NCAA in terms of its legality in softball.

Even if androstenedione could indeed benefit athletes, it is a very dangerous supplement with a potential risk of death. If androstenedione does increase testosterone levels in the blood, it could very well lead to a range of side effects associated with androgen anabolic steroids, including damage to the kidneys and liver; acne; premature hair loss; prostate enlargement; reduced sperm count; and increased aggression. Furthermore, androstenedione may cause testicular atrophy, reduce the benefits derived from high-density lipoprotein (HDL), disrupt liver metabolism, and cause numerous endocrine system problems.

For these reasons, the author does not encourage anyone to use androstenedione supplements.

5-Hydroxytryptophan (ST) is an L-tryptophan that promotes human metabolism. It is extracted from a legume native to Africa. After ingestion, ST crosses the blood-brain barrier and enters the brain directly. In the brain, ST is converted into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects mood, sleep, appetite, memory, and learning ability. Although research on ST appears limited, it seems effective in treating anxiety, obesity, and depression because of its conversion into serotonin.

However, there appears to be a correlation between eosinophilic myalgia syndrome and the use of 5-hydroxytryptophan. Eosinophilic myalgia syndrome is an extremely rare disease that can cause muscle pain, lumps on the body, rashes, and even death.

In 1989, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discovered a shipment of L-tryptophan on the market. Prior to this, it was reported that over 1,500 people had developed eosinophilic myalgia syndrome (EMP) after taking LMP, and 38 had died from it. This outbreak was likely caused by contamination in the shipment of LMP shipped from Japan to the United States. To date, the root cause of such outbreaks-whether due to contamination in the LMP or the LMP itself-remains unclear. In this particular outbreak, approximately 95% of EMP patients did indeed consume this shipment of imported Japanese LMP, but some of these patients consumed LMP from other manufacturers. Furthermore, many people who consumed the contaminated shipment of imported Japanese LMP did not develop the disease.

Regardless of the circumstances, because eosinophilic myalgia syndrome is an extremely serious condition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the sale of L-tryptophan in the United States since 1989, but the sale of 5-hydroxytryptophan remains legal.

Because 5-hydroxytryptophan is related to L-tryptophan, and L-tryptophan has significant potential risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not designated 5-hydroxytryptophan as a therapeutic drug.