Researchers have warned that supplements, like herbal viagra, may contain hidden drug ingredients and lead to dangerous side effects.
The news of former Kardashian hubbie and NBA championship winner Lamar Odom going into a coma took the internet by storm. He was found unconscious at a brothel in Nevada after allegedly taking a cocktail of drugs, including about 10 herbal viagra supplements. The word “herbal” alone can give the false impression that these supplements are safer than other drugs, but researchers warn that they can contain hidden dangers.
Odom reportedly took a supplement called “Reload” over which the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning two years ago. It turns out there’s nothing truly “herbal” about the supplement at all.
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"Consumers should stop using this product immediately and throw it away," the FDA said bluntly. The agency claimed the supplement contained unlisted ingredients, like sildenafil which is the active ingredient in the prescription drug Viagra. Sildenafil can lower blood pressure and be particularly dangerous to men who are using other prescription drugs or those with heart disease or high blood pressure.
Dr. Nancy Simpkins, an internist, told the New York Post, “If you are using herbal Viagra, which lowers your blood pressure, and you add in another toxic substance to the heart, the risk of a fatal arrhythmia goes up exponentially.” (An arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat.) She says the combination with any other recreational drug can be deadly.
Taking herbal viagras like Reload and Libimax, another sexual supplement taken by Odom, can be somewhat like a game of russian roulette. According to USA Today, Libimax contains tadalafil, another drug for erectile dysfunction, but the problem doesn’t stop there. In fact, the FDA has found that around 300 other sexual supplements have unidentified ingredients that could pose a number of dangers to the user.
Some supplements contain ginseng, saw palmetto, horny goat weed, and yohimbine, which is made from the bark of evergreen trees and can cause hypertension and panic attacks. The most dangerous part of the issue is that products that market themselves as “herbal” aren’t required to undergo the same testing processes as prescription drugs before they’re distributed amongst the public. “There is no control over what is in these substances. It’s sold on the Internet. None of these products go through clinical trials. Absolutely zero,” says Simpkins.
Even more worrisome, “American Lab Proprietary Blend” was the third-to-last ingredient listed in Reload, according to GQ. A “proprietary blend” can contain a number of ingredients, but per law, the FDA doesn’t require the amount of each individual ingredient to be listed.
Thankfully, Odom came out of his coma and is reportedly making progress. Would the former basketball player have received as much viral press if he wasn’t tied to the notoriously overreported Kardashian family? Who knows. But his dance with the grim reaper has opened the door for a much needed conversation on just how dangerous and unregulated herbal supplements are.
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