New York, NY – Oct. 16, 2013 – The National Advertising Division has recommended that Maximum Human Performance, LLC, which markets the dietary supplement MYO-X Myostatin Inhibitor, discontinue the advertising claims and testimonials at issue in NAD’s review.

NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation. It is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

As part of NAD’s routine monitoring efforts, and in conjunction with an initiative with the Council for Responsible Nutrition designed to expand NAD’s review of advertising claims for dietary supplements, NAD requested substantiation for claims that appeared in print advertising, on product packaging and on the advertiser’s website, including:

Express Claims:

• “Research has shown that a reduction in serum myostatin levels is likely to result in clinically significant muscle gains. In my work with elite athletics I have seen firsthand the muscle enhancement impact of MYO-X when used in conjunction with intense weight training. These athletes have made vast improvements in muscle size, strength, performance and improved recovery.”
• “Backed by more than a decade of evolutionary bench work and published scientific research showing it can truly reduce human myostatin levels!”
• “The most exciting muscle building breakthrough the world has ever seen!”
• “Clinically shown to reduce myostatin in 100% of human test subjects by an average of 46% in only 12 – 18 hours.”
• “Clinically tested and shown to suppress myostatin in 100% of human test study subjects and reduce blood levels of myostatin by an average of 46% in only 12 – 18 hours!”
• “The World’s Only Clinically Tested Natural Myostatin Inhibitor.”

Testimonials:

• “A new breakthrough in muscle building and body transformation science.”
• “A monumental advancement in muscle enhancement and performance nutrition. MHP is once again leading the industry into a new frontier.”
• “I’ve never experienced anything like MYO-X. This stuff has extremely powerful muscle building and recovery efforts.”
• “If you’re looking to get bigger and stronger, you need MYO-X. It truly activates muscle growth and speeds recovery faster than anything I’ve ever taken.”

By way of background, the advertiser explained that MYO-X is a beverage mix dietary supplement formulated to reduce the levels of a biological molecule called myostatin, which inhibits muscle differentiation and growth.

As support for its advertising claims, NAD noted, the company relied on scientific literature and studies that did not address whether ingesting the product did in fact reduce myostatin levels in a manner that resulted in “clinically significant” muscle gains or muscle performance benefits.

NAD noted that while the evidence in the record “shows promising results in support of the theory that ingestion of MYO-X will reduce human myostatin levels and result in a muscle enhancement impact, the evidence fails to establish the causal link necessary to support the claims at issue.”

Following its review, NAD recommended that the advertiser discontinue express claims and testimonials at issue.

The company, in its advertiser’s statement, said it “appreciated the opportunity to participate in the self-regulatory process, however, the company and the leading researcher on the benefits of Myostatin suppression disagrees with the NAD’s assessment of the underlying science and initial studies behind MYO T-12.”

However, the company said, it “will modify its claims to conform to NAD’s decision and will develop claims based on the outcome of future clinical studies.”