KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The owner of Hitch Fit, Micah LaCerte, has seen just about every workout supplement there is.
“A lot of companies are putting out products, some good, and in this case, some not so good,” LaCerte said.
LaCerte is talking about the supplement called “Craze.” He’s put up the caution sign after hearing that a group of researchers claimed they found the N-alpha DEPEA compound in the supplement- it’s a compound similar to methamphetamine.
“It’s scary. It’s scary you know?” said LaCerte.
Tama Sawyer, director of the University of Kansas Hospital Poison Control Center, agrees, saying the compound researchers say they found in Craze and the one in meth are so close, the body processes them the same way.
“I think chemically, structurally, you put that in, the body’s not going to be able to tell the difference,” she said.
Sawyer said the F.D.A. doesn’t regulate supplements, so manufacturers can make un-checked claims about their products and keep certain ingredients secret.
“So it’s like the old snake oil,” she said. “Things with the guy walking around with the little tent saying it’ll cure everything from your toenails to your hemorrhoids.”
Driven Sports, the manufacturer, says Craze does not contain the N-Alpha DEPEA compound, but has taken the supplement off the shelves until issues raised by the study are resolved.
