CDC: Illness Linked to 'Total Body' Supplements
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-ap-toxicsupplement,1,838572.story
Friday, April 18, 2008
ATLANTA -- Health officials are investigating more than 180 re****ts of
illness in people who took dietary supplements containing toxic levels
of
the mineral selenium.
Last month, federal officials warned consumers about harmful doses of
selenium - a mineral considered healthful in small amounts - in
plastic
bottles of liquid Total Body Formula and Total Body Mega Formula.
The manufacturer recalled the product March 27, but re****ts of 184
illnesses
indicate many people are still taking it, health officials said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration found up to 200 times the label
level
of selenium in the products. The agency also found 17 times the label
level
of chromium but has not yet concluded if those levels are toxic.
Toxic levels of the minerals were in about 1,200 bottles distributed
in 16
states and over the Internet, said Dr. James Lando, who is leading the
team
working on the investigation at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Health officials are looking into an escalating number of illnesses in
10
states - Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana,
Michigan,
Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina.
No deaths have been re****ted. One person has been hospitalized.
Re****ted symptoms include hair loss, discolored and painful
fingernails,
muscle cramps, joint pain, diarrhea and fatigue. Victims have grown
ill five
to 10 days after beginning to take affected products. Death is
possible but
unlikely, health officials said.
The products are distributed by Total Body Essential Nutrition Inc. of
Woodstock, Ga. The company did not return a message Friday from The
Associated Press.
|
