Fake Supplements in Lebanon: How To Protect Yourself

Is Your Protein Powder Genuine? Are You Drinking a Placebo? Or Worse, Toxic Pesticides?

 I was just hit by the news that some people were caught red-handed counterfeiting popular American sports supplements in Lebanon. To be honest, I'm not really surprised as this country is corrupt to the bones and even the brother of a prime political figure has been caught counterfeiting medicine for cancer and other chronic diseases and distributing them to the market.
 Those who know me, know that I import most of my supplements, such as pre-workouts, fish oil, multi-vitamins, etc, as I don't trust the local market. As for whey protein I buy most of it from here as it weighs too much to be worse the hassle to be shipped (shipping charges go up the roof.)
 While we can never be 100% certain of the authenticity of our whey protein if we don't have access to a lab and do an analysis, let me share with you a few signs:

 1- Go online, look at high-resolution pictures of the packaging, check for the manufacturers' seals and make sure they're identical.

 2- Release those olfactory senses and do check for any suspicious smell in the protein powder.

 3- Check the mixability: product should dissolve easily with a few shakes and no weird clumps should naturally form. Especially with products from companies like Muscle Pharm or Optimum.

 4- Let the whey shake rest for a few minutes after you mix it and check for any sugar or weird substances that settle at the bottom

 5- Suspicious taste?

 6- Listen to your body: Check how you feel after digesting the protein shake. You should not have a gastric stress, and digestion should be smooth.

 7- Does the product suddenly start giving you a lot of gas? That's not a good sign.

\.