Why Is This Important?
Because these findings may be a game-changer for the fitness industry.
The Real Story
From professional bodybuilders to high-school sports teams, millions of men have been taking muscle-building supplements for many years. However, a recent study published in the British Journal of Cancer claims that taking muscle-building supplements results in an increased risk of testicular cancer.
The results of the study included pills and powders containing creatine or androstenedione, and stated that men who started taking supplements before the age of 25 had a higher risk of developing cancer. While much more research needs to be done on testicular cancer, the relationship between supplement use and cancer was strong, according to the study. Nearly 900 men from Massachusetts and Connecticut participated in the study.
Accounting for race, age, and other demographics, researchers still found that men had a 65-percent greater risk of developing cancer when they were supplement users. The percentage increased for those who started taking supplements before the age of 25, and for those who took multiple supplements.
“If you used at earlier age, you had a higher risk. If you used them longer, you had a higher risk. If you used multiple types, you had a higher risk,”said Tongzhang Zheng, who led the study at Yale University.
Will this, coupled with the news that some supplements contain untested amphetamines, scare you off these types of products?
Own The Conversation
Ask The Big Question: Have supplement companies know this all along?
Disrupt Your Feed: It’s yet another argument for vitamins and supplements being subject to FDA approval.
Drop This Fact: The supplement industry contributed $61 billion to the US economy in 2009.
Expand Your Expertise
- Muscle-Building Supplements ‘Increase Risk of Testicular Cancer’ [Newsweek]
- Study Finds Troubling Link between Use of Muscle-Building Supplements and Cancer [Washington Post]
- Muscle-Building Pills and Powders Linked with Cancer Risk [Yahoo Health]
- Workout Supplements Could Be Causing Testicular Cancer [GOOD]
via Askmen
