If you've ever recommended a supplement to a client, an athlete, or your kid, the data below should change how you do it. The supplement aisle is not what most people assume it is, and the peer-reviewed evidence has been sitting in plain sight since 2014.
From the Bench
Cohen PA, et al. Presence of banned drugs in dietary supplements following FDA recalls. JAMA. 2014;312(16):1691–1693.
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2014.10308 · Free full text: dash.harvard.edu
Harvard researchers bought 27 supplements an average of 34 months after the FDA had issued Class I recalls on them - the agency's most serious recall category, used for products that can cause death. They tested what was actually in the bottles.
Two-thirds still contained the banned pharmaceutical drugs that got them recalled. Sibutramine, sildenafil, fluoxetine, anabolic steroids, a suspected carcinogen.
‼ 74% were made by U.S. manufacturers. The recall hadn't removed the product from the market — it had barely slowed it down.
The Take
The FDA does not approve supplements. Under DSHEA (1994), supplements are regulated as food, which means:
No premarket review
No efficacy testing
No safety verification
Manufacturers self-attest. The agency can only act after harm is reported. And as Cohen showed, even when they do act, the action is largely cosmetic.
For tested athletes - NCAA, military, anyone competing under anti-doping protocols — this is career-hindering in a tub of pre-workout. For general clients, it's a cardiac event hiding in a weight-loss capsule.
One rule does most of the work: if the label says "proprietary blend" without disclosing doses, put it back.
That's where adulterants hide and where underdosing happens. After that, buy third-party tested only: NSF Certified for Sport, Informed Sport, USP Verified. It's the only filter the consumer actually has.
Resource I use with my military and tactical clients for supplement safety: OPSS Scorecard.
On the Desk
Reading: Pathways to Illness, Pathways to Health - McGrady & Moss
PhD work: deep in allostatic load and chronic stress effects on immune function
Programming: a tactical hybrid block for a small group heading into selection
Building: a qualitative research survey for firefighters - if you're FD and interested in participating in research for publication and advocacy, reach out to Coach Cash at HTK Method
Forward this to one person who needs it. Hit reply and tell me what you want in №02.
- Cash
These are my two cents this week, if you want the whole dollar-