Supplement labels for caffeine called inaccurate

Diet supplement labels may underestimate the caffeine content, a small U.S. study suggests.

Excessive caffeine consumption may cause abnormally low potassium in the blood, a potentially life-threatening breakdown in some muscle fibres and heat-related injuries in military personnel and athletes, especially combined with other stimulants, doctors said in Monday's issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, formerly Archives of Internal Medicine.

People aren't able to tell if a supplement can be safely combined with other products containing caffeine, U.S. researchers say. (iStock)

Dr. Pieter Cohen of Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Mass. and his co-authors found six of 20 dietary supplement capsules tested contained high amounts of caffeine, ranging from 210 to 310 milligrams per serving. The products included herbal ingredients known to naturally contain caffeine.

In comparison, Health Canada recommends a maximum caffeine intake of 300 milligrams per day for women who are planning to become pregnant, are pregnant or are breast feeding.

"Given the lenient legal framework and inaccurate labels, military personnel are unable to determine if a supplement can be safely combined with other products or foods containing caffeine," the study's authors wrote.

"To ensure consumer safety, accurate information on caffeine content should be provided on all dietary supplement labels."

Doctors also need to be able to tell how much caffeine is in a product by reviewing the label to be able to tell if an adverse reaction may be associated with caffeine in a supplement, the researchers said.

Yet less than half of the supplements tested, nine, provided "clinically useful" information on the caffeine content.

Laboratory tests found five of the 20 products listing caffeine on the label actually contained different amounts ranging from 27 per cent to 113 per cent of what the label indicated.

The researchers acknowledged that they only tested one sample of each supplement.

Caffeine intake has increased over the past decade. In a previous study, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 45 per cent of service members consume energy drinks daily.

The research was funded by the Center Alliance for Dietary Supplement Research at the U.S. Department of Defence. The group has previously surveyed service members about their use of weight loss and body building supplements. One of the authors is a member of a not-for-profit, nongovernmental group developing U.S. standards for dietary supplements.

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