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Singer, Natasha, and Peter Lattman. "Workout Booster, and a Lawsuit." The New York Times. Nytimes, 13 Feb. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/business/death-after-use-of-jack3d-shows-gap-in-regulation.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&src=recg  Recently, GNC, a dietary supplements retailer, has been running a special on it's website for a supplement called Jack3d. However, due to a federal health issue last April, the FDA isued a warning on the stimulant called dimethylamylamine, or DMAA. This drug raises blood pressure and the heart rate, and has been linked to the deaths of two soldiers. In December 2011, after the deaths of two soldiers who used Jack3d, the Defense Department removed products containing DMAA from stores on military bases including more than 100 GNC stores. The parents of these soldiers have filed lawsuits against the producer, marketer, and seller of Jack3d. Although the lab that creates Jack3d has filtered out the DMAA, there are still sites everywhere that sell this supplement, now labeled a drug. It was originally made as an inhalant for nasal congestion. Now it's in what some people are eating. Just last month a woman running the London Marathon collapsed late in the race. The cause? DMAA "on the balance of probabilities, and in combination with extreme physical exertion, caused cardiac failure which resulted in her death." This drug needs to be taken off of the market completely, or other people could suffer the same fate.

My dad often use GNC products after he works out, and hearing that they sell a dietary supplement to make you stronger doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary. However, this doesn't seem like your average protein powder. Normally here at ASIJ after strength class, some people take protein powders. Knowing that companies are knowledgeably selling protein powders that contain a drug that can kill you is not something you want to hear about. This is an article that talks about drug use...but the people that buy it aren't the abusers. The sellers are. If people have the power to do what is right and not sell something harmful then that's the way it should be. Unfortunately, life is not like that.

"Aspartame's Hidden Dangers." Mercola.com. Mercola.com, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. . "Aspartame Is, by Far, the Most Dangerous Substance on the Market That Is Added To Foods." Mercola.com. Mercola.com, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. . Summary: This article covers the negative health effects that come with the human consumption of aspartame, a natural sweetener found in "diet" foods and beverages such as Coca-Cola Zero. Among the health risks are birth defects in pregnant women, worsening of diabetes, the development of brain tumors, epilepsy, and emotional disorders such as clinical depression. The consumption of aspartame can cause headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain, according to Mercola.com. Studies done on the adverse health effects of aspartame have often been altered to remove the negative results.

Personally, I find it sickening that the FDA is allowing this substance to remain on the market. The FDA has offered no statements regarding the countless adverse health effects caused by aspartame, even though they obviously exist. Hopefully, it will be banned sometime soon.