Olympians Using the Wrong Supplements Could Result in Cancer

By Posted August 12, 2016

• Discover which supplements some Olympians are using to combat the dangers of Rio’s “latrine bay”
• Living Well health researcher uncovers unbelievable scandal about this Olympian-approved pill. Find out more…
• Plus, the only certification to look for when shopping for this powerful supplement.

Dear Reader,

Mattresses, cars, washing machines, trees, tables, dead horses, dogs, cats, couches, televisions, chairs and at least four human bodies.

This is a list of the alarming things sailors have seen while training in Rio’s Guanabara Bay.

Because of these contaminants, sailors competing in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games have been training to navigate a wide variety of unusual pollutants.

Just a glimpse of what sailors are up against in Guanabara Bay. Unfortunately, the gravest dangers aren’t visible to the naked eye. Source: sportsnet.ca

But back in March, members of the British Olympic Sailing Team adopted a different strategy to help protect themselves against the various health dangers of the Rio games.

And these precautions didn’t just include learning to dodge submerged furniture or how to alert Brazilian authorities to a washed-up body.

Instead, these sailors were preparing their bodies for the dangers lurking in the Brazilian waters that aren’t visible — the onslaught of bacteria and viruses they would face during their Olympic experience.

You see, in addition to the endless barrage of dangerous physical pollutants, Guanabara Bay is full of raw sewage. In fact, it’s so full of feces that Brazilian biologist Mario Moscatelli called it “a latrine.”

And he’s right — it’s teeming with human waste, dangerous bacteria and hazardous viruses that can all lead to serious illness.

So what do the Brits have up their sleeves to protect themselves as they sail through the sewage?

Supplements.

Good for the Gut

According to the British Sailing Team manager, Stephen Park, “The sailors are on various supplements to mitigate against it, but we can’t do anything about the water.”

While brand, strain or dosage information wasn’t divulged, it was reported that some British sailors are taking a combination of probiotics and fish oil to “strengthen the gut.”

Probiotics are live bacteria that are beneficial for your digestive system and overall health. Probiotics are naturally found in your gut but can also be found in cultured foods and supplements. These little organisms are sometimes referred to as “good” bacteria. Researchers think that probiotics help balance the “good” and “bad” bacteria in the gut.

Supplementing with probiotics is a good choice for the sailors.

Research indicates that some probiotics are effective at combating infectious diarrhea and shortening the length and frequency if they do end up infected.

And since the Guanabara Bay is fraught with infectious diarrhea-causing bacteria and viruses and the sailors will undoubtedly come in contact with the “latrine” water during their events, this precaution may pay off for the Brits.

But the fish oil part is a bit confusing…

There’s no doubt fish oil has plenty of important health benefits like heart and brain support, but I’ve struggled to find research (in humans) indicating fish oil can “strengthen the gut” or, more specifically, strengthen the gut’s “good” bacteria.

Perhaps since fish oil is so rich in other health benefits, the addition of fish oil may enhance their overall well-being, not just their gut health.

The only problem is if they are taking a low-quality fish oil, they may have more to worry about than a case of infectious diarrhea.

Diarrhea Over Cancer

You see, recently, one of the health researchers here at Living Well discovered a set of little-known court documents revealing that some of the top fish oil products sold in grocery stores and health food stores tested positive for toxic chemicals called PCBs.

PCBs are suspected carcinogens.

The U.S. banned these nasty chemicals over 30 years ago. But before the ban, 1.5 billion pounds were manufactured, and incredible amounts have made their way into the world’s oceans and into the organisms living there.

This includes the fish used to make fish oil supplements.

I don’t know about you, but I would rather deal with diarrhea than cancer.

To avoid fish oil that’s not contaminated with PCBs, select a supplement that has been through a unique form of purification called molecular distillation. This process removes PCBs and other contaminants to below detectable levels.

The best way to do this is to select a fish oil supplement that comes from a member of the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3, or GOED.

GOED sets strict standards for concentration, freshness and limits for any toxic heavy metals or PCBs.

You can look for an oil that has been awarded the rare 5 Star Certification from the International Fish Oil Standards program. This program is the leading third-party testing and certification program for fish oil supplements and has the world’s highest standards for purity, potency and freshness.

Knowing the incredible health benefits from clean, certified fish oil, the Living Well research and development team spent months searching for the best oil. And we’re proud to say we’ve finally found it. It’s called UltraOmega and it’s now available to you.

The concentrated source of omega-3s in UltraOmega comes from wild-caught Alaskan Pollock. The oil is molecularly distilled and purified in Ohio — making it 100% American-made.  Not to mention, the company who purifies our oil is a member of GOED, and they actually have stricter standards for contaminants than GOED. It’s also be awarded the five star certification from the International Fish Oil Standards program.

Plus, it comes in small, easy to swallow softgels and you won’t get any fish burps.

To discover more about this pure, potent and fresh fish oil supplement, click here.

Hopefully, the Brits chose a high-quality fish oil supplement. If not, they may be swallowing more than dirty bay water this summer.

Contaminated water isn’t just a problem in Rio. There are contaminated lakes and streams all over the world. In fact, when I did some testing for a public health project, I quickly discovered that urban streams in the U.S. can contain dangerous bacteria levels way above the EPA-allowed levels.

Because of this, my program director shared a little tip with me — always carry mouthwash when around urban waters.

While I was never actively drinking the dirty water I was sampling, there were certainly times I ended up with a mouthful of it (think overturned canoe).

When this would happen, I would immediately spit out the water and gargle the mouthwash as soon as possible. This would prevent me from swallowing any contaminated water and kill off any leftover bacteria.

And it seemed to work — I never once fell ill after taking an accidental dip.

As it turns out, this practice isn’t just something adopted by an urban stream researcher. Olympians are using it this summer as well!

So anytime you want to hit the water near an urban area, be sure to pack a bottle of mouthwash too. It might just save your stomach.

Live well,

Natalie Moore
Managing editor, Living Well Daily Insider

Sources

^[1] SAILING THROUGH THE TRASH AND SEWAGE OF GUANABARA BAY

^[2] Sailors’ nightmare in Rio Games: Plastic bags, trash in water

^[3] What Are Probiotics?

^[4] Probiotics for treating acute infectious diarrhoea.