Health Canada has seized eight unauthorized health products from Better Bodies Supplements, a local bodybuilding and meal replacement health food store.
According to a release issued by Health Canada, the retail location was selling variations of Nutrex Research Hemo Rage and West Pharm Hydro-lean and ThermaLean.
The packaging for the “Sucker Punch” flavour of Hemo Rage reads, “(Hemo Rage) may be way too intense for some individuals. For those who dare and seek an experience unlike anything else we advise to proceed with extreme caution.
“Do not take more than one scoop under any circumstances.”
But the products contain combinations of ingredients that can cause serious health risks, according to Eric Morrissette, a senior media relations advisor with Health Canada.
“The (products) seized from Better Bodies Supplements contained a combination of ingredients,” he said in an email to the Airdrie City View. “Sypnephrine (and) ephedrine taken in combination with caffeine can cause (health risks).”
According to Morrissette, those health risks include symptoms ranging from dizziness, tremors, headaches to seizures, heart attacks and stroke.
“To be licensed in Canada, health products must be safe, of high quality, and carry detailed label information to let people make informed choices,” he said.
The products also contained L-dopa (also know as levadopa), an ingredient typically found in anti-Parkinson’s medications. Symptoms of L-dopa include uncontrollable movement of the body, severe nausea and vomiting, as well as “unusual” changes in mood and behaviour.
Nutrex Research Hemo Rage and West Pharm Hydro-lean and Thermalean have been found “a number of times” in different stores across Canada since 2006, according to Morrissette.
“These products are not currently authorized by Health Canada and therefore cannot be sold in Canada,” he said.
Requests for comment from Better Bodies Supplements staff were not returned by press time.
