Axis Labs – an Example of Fraud

Axis Labs is a prime example of how a company fraudulently sells supplements. This is a small company trying gain a foothold into the sports nutrition market. Don’t in the least be fooled by their name, they are not a lab in any stretch of the imagination. They do no research. They have no innovation. They are a knock-off company – they copy existing supplements, give them a new name and attempt to put their spin on them. So in order to get people to buy their supplements they need to make them sound unique and better than anything else. They need to lie about how good their supplements are and what they can do for you.

If they didn’t do that, if they didn’t lie about their supplements, if they didn’t make the unsuspecting think they were getting something special, why would anyone even consider buying anything they sell?

Case in point with their Creatine Ethyl Ester. We already know creatine ethyl ester has not been shown to work. In fact, it’s been shown extremely unstable. One look at the existing research on stability and the total lack of any science on it’s effects and any company with any credibility and concern for the science absolutely would not sell it. But that’s not how things work in the sport supplement industry. It’s not how good a supplement works it’s how good you make people think it works that generates sales.

Here is the bullshit Axis Labs uses to sell their creatine ethyl ester straight from their website.

Creatine Ethyl Ester HCl Highlights:

• Dramatically stronger than other forms of creatine

Complete lie. To make a statement like this there would have to be a comparative study. There is none. So there is no evidence whatsoever to support this lie.

• Huge gains in lean mass through increased protein synthesis

Again, complete lie. No evidence to show it has any effect on muscle growth at all much less “huge gains.”

• Directly penetrates the muscle cell

Just because an ester molecule is attached in no way means it penetrates the muscle cell. In fact, creatine has it’s own shuttling pathway in the human body. Adding an ester molecule to creatine doesn’t change that. And with how unstable creatine ethyl ester has been shown to be very little even has the ability to make to muscle tissue.

• Smaller dose that provides more results than regular creatine monohydrate

Again, complete lie. What data do they have that proves this? None. It’s a total lie. And if you look at the research, creatine ethyl ester degrades rapidly so a much higher dosage would be needed to match creatine monohydrate. But again there is no evidence that creatine ethyl ester even has the potential effects as creatine monohydrate. As far as we know it could be incapable of even entering the muscle cell. Much like supplementing creatine phosphate does not increase muscle creatine levels, creatine ethyl ester may not either. That’s why clinical studies are so important.

This is false advertising. A definite mark of a worthless company whose purpose is to rip you off.

• Rapid results, feel the power in the first serving

Just marketing bullshit

• No loading, bloating, cramping or dehydration

Again, no data, no science to support this. Just because they say it doesn’t mean it’s true. In fact, everything they say to sell this product is a completely untrue.

• No need to cycle off

Why would this be any different than any other creatine. Here again they have nothing to support this either way. Another lie to sell an inferior product.

Now they even take it a little further. They have mocked up a bogus graph to “prove” their bullshit.

 

They mock up this graph with make believe data. The only way you could honestly have a graph like this is to do a study to gather the data. They don’t have this. They simply made up this graph with fraudulent data to make you believe their product is superior.

Now to show how full of crap this company is, at the bottom of their web page for Creatine Ethyl Ester they list about 30 scientific references. They do this to make you think there is a wealth of science supporting their product. This couldn’t be further from the truth. And what is ironic is that out of all the references they list not a single one is for creatine ethyl ester. All the creatine references they list are for Creatine Monohydrate, the very creatine they claim is inferior. I guess they think you are too stupid to realize this.

Axis Labs is a company built around their ability to bullshit people into buying their supplements. Don’t put up with. Tell them where they can stick their supplements and their bullshit. And if you see it on a store shelf tell the store manager he’s selling bullshit supplements.

What should GNC do about BSN?

I was asked this question and can give you an answer without hesitation. They should immediately pull all BSN products off the shelves. They should offer anyone who purchased any BSN products full, no questions asked refunds. They should refuse to ever do any further business with them. There is no excuse for mislabeling products and ripping off consumers. And GNC shouldn’t try the “act dumb” approach.

GNC – General Nutrition Center – is the largest seller of supplements in the United States. They owe it to their customers to fully substantiate all the products they carry. And they should gather this substantiation prior to selling any product. They do not do this. They have never done this and more than likely never will. It’s simply not good for the bottom line.

GNC is notorious for selling any supplement when the demand appears high enough. Demand is created through marketing. The more a company hypes a supplement in their advertising the greater the demand will be. Exaggerate the claims (lie about what the supplement will do) and you create greater demand.

At any given time GNC caries dozens if not hundreds of supplements that are marketed deceptively and fraudulently. And to be fair, GNC is not the only company that does this. Virtually all vitamin stores and discount online stores engage in this without a second thought. Even stores like WalMart do it.

It’s like they are all in on this “don’t ask don’t tell” code of silence. These big retailers know what products are fraudulent especially from the marketing standpoint. And if they don’t know then they are even worse – stupid.

So even though GNC and other retailers don’t market the supplements deceptively themselves, they knowingly and willingly cash in on the fraudulent marketing by the companies of the products they sell. They are just as complicit in the fraud. In fact, they are the ones you hand your money to in exchange for the product. They are the final connection of the fraud.

It’s all about the money.

Supplement Company and Owner Sued for Fraud

In an earlier post I talked about the creatine scams many supplement companies are involved in. Basically, if a company is selling a creatine other than creatine monohydrate and they are claiming it’s better than creatine monohydrate then they are lying to you. If you buy their creatine based on their superiority claims then you are falling for their lies. You’re being bent over.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against the supplement company BSN and the owner, Chris Ferguson, for just that and a few other things. The lawsuit alleges that BSN claims their product Cellmass contains Creatine Ethyl Ester Malate (they call it CEM3) when in fact laboratory analysis revealed it does not contain Creatine Ethyl Ester Malate. BSN claims to have a patent pending for creatine ethyl ester malate when they do not.

Here’s the problem, BSN has grown substantially over the past few years and they have done so by making fraudulent superiority claims about their products such as this. People have been duped into buying BSN products because they were led to believe they possess superior effects based on the marketing and information BSN has been putting out about their products. The fact is BSN supplements have not been shown to be as good as a glass of milk much less superior in any way to other supplements.

First off they claim they have a certain form of creatine in their product when they don’t. Then they claim that this form of creatine is better than creatine monohydrate when it isn’t. They are claiming the form of creatine they DON’T have in their product but claim they do is better than the creatine they actually do have in their product but say they don’t. They are selling their products based primarily on an ingredient that’s not even in there. But you know what the really sad part of all this is, beside you being ripped off, is that if they did have the creatine in there they claim they do it would be far less effective.

Then they also make the patent pending claim to fool you into thinking their product is so good it’s getting a patent. More bullshit according to this lawsuit. No patent application exists.

“If we say it’s better and throw a bunch of big sounding words the suckers will pay top dollar for it.”

This is typical spin doctoring that’s commonly used in the supplement industry. It amazes me that companies do this but what amazes me more is that most of them get away with it. BSN made up an ingredient and then made up lies about this ingredient so they could make their supplements seem better than other supplements so they could sell them. In other words, they obviously didn’t feel they could sell their supplements unless they made up lies and fraudulent claims in order to dupe people into buying them.

Normally I’m not a fan of class action lawsuits. The lawyers are the ones that come away with all the rewards. However, in this case this company would get away with ripping off people forever if it wasn’t for this lawsuit. You see the government has no interest or manpower to devote to issues like these. They are not watching your back. BSN and companies like them will fleece you year after year because no one is policing the wide spread fraudulent marketing of sports supplements.

Even if tests showed that their product contained Creatine Ethyl Ester Malate they would still be guilty of fraud because their claims that Creatine Ethyl Ester Malate is a superior form of creatine is a lie.

From this lawsuit one can easily deduct that BSN is a company built completely on fraud and deception. If the accusations are true BSN should be squashed a like bug. The owner and any others involved should go to jail where they belong. There is nothing worse in this world than a lying, cheating, crooked scumbag who says and does what ever it takes to rip you off.

Unproven Creatine Claims – Surprized?

Creatine is one of the most effective performance supplements ever. It’s the most researched supplement ever. Creatine Monohydrate that is.

Let me make one thing very clear, of all the differently types of creatine, only one has been shown effective at increasing muscle mass and strength in humans or even in animals for that matter and that type is Creatine Monohydrate. Only creatine monohydrate has been shown in scientific studies to increase lean muscle, strength, and numerous physical performance markers. It’s also the only type of creatine used in medical research studies.

What? I know, I know. What about creatine ethyl ester? What about Kre-Alkalyn? What about creatine malate, creatine ethyl ester malate, creatine serum, effervescent creatine? What about the claims of superior absorption? What about – what about . . . How about this – what about the science?

“New” Creatine – “No” Science

One word – bullshit. There are no scientific studies showing any other form of creatine is superior in any way to creatine monohydrate. And I’ll go one further, there are no studies showing any other type of creatine is anywhere near as effective as creatine monohydrate. In fact, comparative studies performed on the “new types” of creatine have consistently revealed that they are far inferior to the gold standard creatine monohydrate.

Creatine ethyl ester and Kre-Alkalyn have both been shown to degrade rapidly in the acidic environment of the gut. Creatine Monohydrate has be shown virtually 100% stable under the same conditions. Creatine ethyl ester and Kre-Alkalyn have not been shown to enter the muscle cell when taken as a supplement. In fact, under every circumstance creatine monohydrate has been shown to be the superior to all other creatine supplements. No other creatine compound has been shown to be as effective as creatine monohydrate much less more effective.

Creatine supplements with no creatine

Some studies and analysis have revealed these “new” creatine types contain very little if any creatine at all. One product, Creatine Serum, produced by a scam company called Muscle Marketing has been shown through analysis to contain virtually no active creatine and high levels of the waste product creatinine. Yet through clever marketing and companies like GNC stocking their shelves with it, it sold like crazy and at one time could be found in in just about every Junior High schooler’s gym bag. All this from a completely worthless and bogus product.

A supplement does not have to work to sell well. Hell, it doesn’t even have to contain any active ingredients. The placebo effect is alive and well in the world of supplements. It’s when these supplements are put under scientific scrutiny that they fall flat on their face.

How is it companies can make grand and specific claims of effectiveness when it’s clearly unsubstantiated? Even more dumbfounding, why do consumers accept these claims when the only scientific support are the big words used in the fraudulent ads?

Don’t be stupid

The reason companies can pass bogus products like these over and over again is because the average consumer of sports supplements is ignorant of the science and very gullible to the marketing practices these companies use. And to make matters worse, these consumers think they know what’s going on. They think they are smart because they spend time on an internet forum – the blind leading the blind. Consumers are so desperate for the easy fix that they become easy pickings for the supplement shysters. They want to believe in miracles especially if it means they can achieve unrealistic results with little effort.

Think about it, you have a naive and gullible consumer looking for the easy road. You have unscrupulous companies unburdened by any reasonably enforced regulations. When you fall into this category you are asking to be fleeced and these companies are all too willing to fleece you. So smarten up or bend over and take like a chump!

New Year – New Scams

A new year is almost upon us. With the new year comes New Year’s resolutions. What is the most popular New Year’s resolution? Weight loss.

This is the time when supplement shysters come out in full force. Be prepared for ad after ad of miracle weight loss products. No doubt about it, weight loss scams are the biggest money maker in the supplement business. Weight loss is an emotional trigger that these pill pushers know how to pull. Just remember, when it comes to losing weight, if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

New Whey or No Whey?

If the name of a protein supplement is “New Whey” you would assume that it’s main protein source is made from, well, whey. Right? Well in typical sports nutrition hocus-pocus fashion a company called IDS Sports sells a nifty little liquid protein supplement and pulls the ol’ slight of hand to do so.

Though it’s called “New Whey” it’s main protein ingredient is, now get this, collagen protein. You heard me right – collagen protein! That’s like the hot-dog of proteins. In fact, collagen protein is such a poor source of protein I can’t remember it ever being used in a protein supplement. It’s like they have gone back into the stone ages with this one.

But what exactly is collagen?

Collagen is an insoluble fibrous protein which is the principal constituent of connective tissues and bones. The principal raw materials used in collagen production today are cattle bones, cattle hides, and pork skins. Extraneous substances, such as minerals (in the case of bone), fats and albuminoids (found in skin), are removed by chemical and physical treatment to give purified collagen. Collagen is probably the single worst protein source you can consume. I know of no study that shows consuming collagen protein has a positive impact on muscle repair or growth.

The ingredient panel lists the protein source as the following: patent pending blend of enzymatically hydrolyzed collagenic protein isolate, whey protein isolate and caseine protein isolate. FDA regulations require that the ingredients must be listed in order of quantity. The most abundant ingredient must be listed first. However, the regulations don’t require a quantity breakdown on the separate components. This allows companies to sprinkle minute amount of ingredients in a product in order to get them listed on the label. Sneaky huh?

So why would they call it “New Whey” when whey is a minor protein source in the product? To capitalize off of the popularity of the best and most effective protein source. We call this smoke and mirrors. Whey sells because it works and is scientifically validated to support muscle growth. Collagen doesn’t sell because it doesn’t work. Use “whey” in the name and most will be none the wiser.

Smoke and mirrors. Slight of hand. Misleading. Hey, if you can’t sell it for what it is then sell it for what it isn’t.