People are now conscious of their body image. Some take up bodybuilding to enter a competition and others for their image. Whatever the reason, protein powders and shakes are a part of their life.
Fabien Van Johnson began taking a range of vitamins and protein supplements in a bid to bulk up.
The 22-year-old had hopes of joining the Army and had applied to become a medical officer last year – but he had failed to make the cut.
Fabien’s mum Mary found her son dead at their family in their home in Ramsgate, Kent on June 1 this year.
She had become “concerned” that her son was using too much protein powder and tablets.
Mary said: “He started buying a lot of vitamin pills and protein powders to increase his build in the last year.
“I was aware he was taking it but he said he was taking just a bit and wasn’t having them every day.”
Fabian was trying to gain weight and muscle mass to increase his chances of being recruited by the Army and his mum said he had already passed the first stage of tests to join.
A post-mortem exam revealed that Fabien wasn’t suffering from any diseases and his cause of death was recorded as “unascertained”.
Coroner Ian Goldup told the inquest that he could not rule out the effects of the protein supplements as a contributing factor in his death.
He said that Fabien’s increased use of the products “seemed to be relevant” to his death.
Worryingly this isn’t the first time that fitness supplements have been blamed for contributing to the untimely death of a young person.
Meegan Hefford’s death made headlines earlier this year after it emerged that she died from a protein overdose.
The 25-year-old was rushed to hospital in June after she was found unconscious in her apartment.
She was pronounced brain dead and died in hospital two days later.
Tragically, doctors revealed that the Australian woman had an undiagnosed condition that stopped her body breaking down protein.
Meegan was suffering from Urea Cycle Disorder which leads to potentially fatal levels of ammonia in the bloodstream and excessive fluid in the brain.
Her death certificate states she died from an “intake of bodybuilding supplements” as well as the undiagnosed illness.
The mum-of-two – who had a five-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter – was unknowingly suffering from the incurable disorder which affects one in 8,500 people.
She had been eating a high-protein diet in preparation for a bodybuilding competition in September.
Our body’s recommended daily protein intake is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight which amounts to 56 grams per day for the average man or 46 grams for the average woman.
And according to experts’ protein powder are no more effective than a meal containing the same amount of protein and arguably less effective at building muscle if the protein shake itself is not combined with carbohydrates.
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