{"id":36685,"date":"2025-04-20T22:07:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T22:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/36685\/"},"modified":"2025-04-20T22:07:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T22:07:14","slug":"popular-gummy-supplements-that-claim-to-build-muscle-and-boost-brain-power-wont-work-tests-suggest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/36685\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular gummy supplements that claim to build muscle and boost brain power ‘won’t work’, tests suggest"},"content":{"rendered":"

POPULAR fitness supplements that claim to build muscle and boost brain power won’t work, tests suggest.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ingredients list also reveals they\u2019re made with a low-calorie sweetener<\/a> currently banned in the UK.<\/p>\n

\"Hand<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Creatine gummies have surged in popularityCredit: Amazon\"Package<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Independent tests suggest Ovrload gummies contain less creatine than stated on the packaging.Credit: Amazon<\/p>\n

Creatine<\/a>, a long-time favourite among athletes and fitness<\/a> enthusiasts, is best known for helping to build lean muscle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The supplement<\/a> has recently broken out into the mainstream, as study after study suggests a host of benefits for the brain<\/a> – from improving memory and intelligence to reducing menopause-related brain fog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Google<\/a> searches for creatine gummies have more than doubled since the start of 2025, with a whopping 402 per cent spike year on year, according to Global Market Insights.<\/p>\n

But one particular brand, popular on social media<\/a>, might not live up to the hype.<\/p>\n

Ovrload, a UK-based supplement company which has over 47,000 followers on Instagram<\/a>, claims each of its gummies contains 1.5g of creatine.<\/p>\n

At that dose, consumers would need to eat around four a day to get the full 5g daily dose – the amount backed by studies for boosting strength, performance, and muscle growth.<\/p>\n

British personal trainer and influencer James Smith<\/a> sent the gummies off for testing – and claims to have found they contained just 0.084g of creatine each.<\/p>\n

That means to get your 5g dose, you would need to scoff more than 50 gummies a day.<\/p>\n

As a result, the company has launched an investigation and paused sales of the product.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take such allegations extremely seriously and have written to the third-party competitor in question to urgently demand further information as to the basis of their claims,\u201d a spokesperson told The Sun.<\/p>\n

To supplement or not- The top 10 vitamins and minerals that are vital for health – and the best sources for each one<\/p>\n

A rival supplement company, Known Nutrition<\/a>, also ordered tests on Ovrload\u2019s sour watermelon flavour.<\/p>\n

It claims to have discovered each gummy had just 0.76mg of creatine. That\u2019s 0.05 per cent of what\u2019s claimed on the label.<\/p>\n

“This is quite concerning,” Jess Hillard, a sports nutritionist, told The Sun. <\/p>\n

“If a supplement doesn’t contain the active ingredient in effective
quantities, you’re just wasting money.<\/p>\n

“But not just that, you\u2019re also wasting time and potentially delaying progress toward your health or fitness goals.”<\/p>\n

‘Underdosing is widespread within supplement world’<\/p>\n

Aisling Pigott, registered dietitian at The British Dietetic Association (BDA), said the test results suggested “rules clearly aren’t being followed”. <\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the food and supplements we consume go through safety checks – but here, it feels like there are gaps in that process,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt raises the question: are there other ingredients in there that haven\u2019t been tested or disclosed?\u201d<\/p>\n

In the UK,\u00a0supplements are regulated under the Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003, which align with EU and UK food laws<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They must comply with general food safety legislation and cannot make misleading health<\/a> claims.<\/p>\n

But, unlike medicines<\/a>, supplements are not as strictly regulated and do not undergo the same rigorous testing.<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, underdosing is a fairly widespread issue within the supplement world,” Jess said. <\/p>\n

\"James<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

British PT and influencer James Smith sent the gummies off for testingCredit: Shutterstock Editorial\"Table<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Rival supplement company, Known Nutrition, also ordered tests on Ovrload\u2019s gummiesCredit: Known Nutrition<\/p>\n

She added: “Scandals like the Ovrload Creatine Gummy case highlight just how important regular, transparent testing is in holding companies accountable.”<\/p>\n

The Sun has contacted the FSA and Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) for comment. <\/p>\n

The brand tried to defend itself on social media by posting images of third-party testing – but some details were blacked out. <\/p>\n

Its own testing revealed that each 2g gummy contains 37 per cent creatine.<\/p>\n

From this calculation, this would mean each gummy contains 0.74g of creatine – not 1.5g.<\/p>\n

\n

If we can\u2019t trust the label, what can we trust?<\/p>\n

Aisling PigottRegistered dietitian <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The ingredient list on Ovrload\u2019s creatine gummies includes allulose – a sweetener that is currently banned in the UK.<\/p>\n

Popular in the United States<\/a>, allulose is a low-calorie sugar alternative used in keto snacks.<\/p>\n

But here, it\u2019s classed as a novel food and hasn\u2019t been approved by the FSA – meaning it\u2019s illegal to sell in food or supplements.<\/p>\n

Ovrload told The Sun that allulose was never in the gummies, and its name was added to the label by mistake.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes you worry about what else might be in the product that isn\u2019t listed,” Aisling added. <\/p>\n

“If we can\u2019t trust the label, what can we trust?”<\/p>\n

Ovrload has since updated its website, temporarily pausing all sales of products after the tests and subsequent claims.<\/p>\n

Can we ever trust gummy supplements?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nutritionist Jess Hillard weighs in:<\/p>\n

“Gummy supplements certainly can be effective, but they come with a number of caveats. <\/p>\n

“First, they often contain additional ingredients, such as sugars, artificial colours, and flavourings in order to make them more palatable. <\/p>\n

“This can reduce their appeal for those trying to limit unnecessary additives in their diet. <\/p>\n

“More importantly, there are real challenges with dosing accuracy in gummy form, which the Ovrload scandal has brought to light.<\/p>\n

“It’s harder to evenly distribute active ingredients in gummies compared to powders or capsules, and stability over time may also be an issue. <\/p>\n

“While convenient and tasty, gummies may not always be the most reliable option for serious supplementation.”<\/p>\n

A spokesperson told The Sun: \u201cAt\u00a0Ovrload\u00a0we place customer satisfaction at the heart of our business. <\/p>\n

“It is as a result of this that we have taken the decision to temporarily pause all sales of our products.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt follows claims by a third-party competitor over the levels of creatine they contain.” <\/p>\n

They added: \u201cSimultaneously, and out of an abundance of caution, we have launched an immediate and thorough investigation with our manufacturing partner and appointed an external industry-accredited testing laboratory to determine the facts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdditionally, allulose has never been included in the formulation of any Ovrload product provided to our manufacturing partners. <\/p>\n

“A packaging error led to it incorrectly being listed as an ingredient in a small number of batches. This has now been rectified.<\/p>\n

\u201cProducing high-quality products and providing excellent levels of customer service and satisfaction are at the heart of our business and we are committed to this for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"POPULAR fitness supplements that claim to build muscle and boost brain power won’t work, tests suggest. The ingredients…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4318],"tags":[443,393,444,786,105,4434,437,182,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-36685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-diet-nutrition-and-weight-loss","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-fitness-and-exercise","11":"tag-food-and-drink","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-nutrition","14":"tag-section-healthnews-health","15":"tag-social-media","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114372571903020743","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}