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Bodybuilding Supplements
The capsules are advertised with a warning. "Caution: HUGE gains, BIG bodies, and ULTIMATE power may result!"
It's a claim that any weightlifter gets accustomed to. But in the case of this product - 4-androstenediol - and others like it for sale on bodybuilding.com, the results are apparently real enough to make them the most popular and controversial muscle builders this side of anabolic steroids. 
Natural isn't always safer Because of the reported effects (and side effects) of this family of sports supplements, Paul Carson doesn't stock them beside the energy bars and tubs of protein powder for sale at his Powerhouse Gym. "It's not vitamin C. It's an aggressive supplement," said Carson, co-owner of the Berlin fitness center. But he's not one to preach to his members. "It's not a product I believe in, but I'll get it for you. ... If you're 21, if you're healthy, I'll sell it to you."
Within the week, however, Carson won't have to make that judgment call. As of Thursday, the supplements he has occasionally sold on the side will be considered illegal without a prescription under federal legislation signed into law last October by President Bush. A response to the doping scandal that has enveloped professional sports in recent years, the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 widens the scope of the law passed in 1991 to list steroids as controlled substances.
The supplements in question are called prohormones. Also known as steroid precursors, they're a chemical step away from human hormones. As the body breaks down these compounds, they get converted into testosterone, which manufacturers say builds muscles. American Andro
Mainstream America's first introduction to prohormones came in 1998, when home run phenomenon Mark McGwire said he recovered from weightlifting sessions by using androstenedione. "Andro," the term that tends to stand for all prohormones, was banned by Major League Baseball last year. People who don't know a nitric oxide gel from a glutamine powder may lump andro into the same category as creatine, another supplement McGwire used. But creatine, which is said to supply energy and hasten weight gain, will remain on the shelves after this week. "The side effects of creatine are minuscule compared to andro," said Dr. Carl Nissen, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Connecticut Health Center who has studied the use of sports supplements among the state's high school athletes. No clinical studies have been conducted to monitor the long-term health impact of andro. But even fans of the supplement swap information about its potential side effects, which mirror those from steroid abuse. Although doctors regularly prescribe steroids for other medical purposes, men who use them to bulk up tamper with their hormone levels, which can result in acne, enlarged breasts, premature baldness and a swollen prostate. Nissen cites such alarming symptoms when he confronts athletes he suspects of using harmful performance enhancers. "I tell them their [testicles] are going to shrink. That usually gets them to pay attention," he said.
But Nick, 21, who occasionally incorporates andro into his workout regimen, says he hasn't experienced any such thing. "I don't use it a lot, so I don't see it as having any adverse effect," he said in a telephone interview in which he would not reveal his last name. "Sometimes I'd feel aggressive or edgy during the day, but it's not like you feel completely different." In advance of the ban, Nick recently bought a 180-capsule supply of andro online for $80. The results, he said, can be measured in both muscle and motivation.
For long-term lifters, this quest for the next level poses a constant challenge. It fills the pages of magazines like Flex and Muscular Development, and it fuels the $19.8 billion nutritional-supplement industry, of which sports nutrition products (including andro) account for nearly $2 billion, according to the Nutrition Business Journal.
Drew Voight
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