BSN Lawsuit
January 20, 2009
Oh no, not another BSN lawsuit! Well this particular BSN lawsuit started a few years back, when supplement giant BSN claimed to have a novel type of creatine called “Creatine Ethyl Ester Malate” (BSN calls this “CEM3″) in their 3 lead products - Nitrix, N.O. Xplode and Cell Mass. But a few supplement insiders said the CEM3 molecule was impossible to manufacture. Chatter began on the bodybuilding forums as self-professed chemists debated whether this molecule existed or not, and then one of them stepped up to challenge BSN with a lawsuit!
Michael Rivera Challenges BSN
A man named Michael Rivera decided to challenge BSN with a lawsuit on their claims of having CEM3 in their products (click HERE for more details). To do this, he launched a lawsuit against them, challenging them to refute his claim that CEM3 does not exist. To help his case, he brought a specialized chemistry professor from the University of California named Richard Chamberlin to battle BSN! According to court documents: “Chamberlin is one of the foremost experts in the study of small molecules and what they contain or could possibly contain.” Michael brought another chemical expert named Jonathan Vennerstrom to assist with the legal challenge.
Jonathan Vennerstrom Court Testimony
According to court papers, Jonathon had this to say to support the claim that CEM3 does not exist:
“… to form CEM3, one would first have to form the free base of creatine ethyl ester. And to do that you would probably start with the hydrochloride salt. In so doing, unfortunately, what instead happens is cyclization to form creatinine. So they you really – it’s really not possible to access or to form the creatine ethyl ester free base from which one would form these various salts, such as the salt with malic acid, which is the claimed structure for CEM3. It is impossible to form the free base of creatine ethyl ester. Since you cannot form the free base, it is therefore not possible to make various salts out of the free base.”
Vennerstrom testified that he based his opinion on his interpretation of a variety of laboratory test results produced by BSN and on his own test in which he followed the process described in the actual patent application filed by BSN on CEM3.
Court Verdict
“Rivera has provided sufficient circumstantial evidence at this point for the Court to find that the trier of fact might reasonably infer that the plaintiffs relied on false representations. In addition to the labels, advertising campaign, and declarations, Rivera has put forth evidence that the year after BSN starting advertising CEM3 in its products, sales of Cellmass increased 1,578%, sales of Nitrix increased 512%, and sales of N.O.-Xplode increased 177%. The trier of fact might reasonably infer that the sales increase was due to BSN’s representations regarding CEM3. In addition, the court finds that a jury could conclude that a reasonable person presented with a label listing CEM3 and/or advertisements regarding the superiority of CEM3 would have relied on those representations. Therefore, if the trier of fact finds that such representations were in fact made to the plaintiffs, an inference of justifiable reliance by each class member would arise.”
SOURCE OF NEWS STORY: NutriSuppLaw
SOURCE OF COURT DOCUMENTS: Click HERE.
Cheap (Yet Very Effective) Pre-Workout Supplement
June 1, 2008
Go to any drug store and ask the pharmacists if you can buy some empty capsules. They will sell them to you for just a few cents each (you need to buy at least 30). On your kitchen counter (clean the surface first!) take ordinary baking soda, stuff the capsules with baking soda until you have 30 in total. Before your next high-rep training session, take all 30 capsules 30 minutes before training on an empty stomach.
Chemically speaking, baking soda is a “base” which means it will neutralize an “acid”. Since high-rep training produces acid in the muscle you are training in the form of lactic acid, taking a “base” will neutralize the acid and allow you to not experience the “burn’ that normally comes with high-rep training. Be careful though because you don’t want to push a muscle too far past the point where you normally stop because of the pain associated with the burn, as you dong so could injury your muscle. But if you monitor it closely, you can notice an immediate imporvement in stamina (the number of reps you can get on a set). Stack this with some Sugar-Free Red Bull or REDLINE EXTREME energy drink or one serving of NO XPLODE and you’re in for a hell of a workout!