At first look, anyone with built, lean muscle mass might personify the best of healthy lifestyle. But, in reality, it is not easy to achieve such a structure without a strenuous workout and strict diet.

Despite all their efforts, some men just can’t achieve the muscular frame. And, there are those who can’t wait for months to get a toned body. In such scenarios, they obviously seek bodybuilding supplements to help acquire the looks. While they are completely legal and a lot of professionals use them, the issue arises when people start misusing them for all the wrong purposes.

A team the from California School of Professional Psychology set to out find the truth behind body supplements and came out with shocking results. At first, men who work out on a regular basis use them to boost results. However, with time, the research team found that more than 40 percent of these men tend to increase their supplement usage.

Instead of consuming them at intervals, they sometimes use creatine powder, protein bars and glutamine capsules as diet replacements. Supplements were never made and marketed to be used instead of a healthy diet. Instead, they were promoted to help bodybuilders boost protein level in their body and keep fat under control. Consuming them in large quantities, on a regular basis could not only lead to eating disorders but can create adverse health effects, warned the research paper.

Over 195 men who used supplements and visited the gym regularly were interviewed by the research team out of which 22% admitted they used supplements instead of food and 8% had serious health issues that their doctors advised them to stop using them immediately. At least 3% faced kidney or liver damage due to regular consumption of supplements.

Out of the 40% who used it regularly, over 29% of men were fully aware that the bodybuilding supplements have altered their diet and have been causing side effects. Yet, they refuse to stop using them and resume a normal diet. Social pressure and increased stress on men to look their best in the selfie age is said to be one of the important reasons behind this drastic change.

The supplements are also widely promoted and are available almost everywhere including college book stores, grocery supermarkets and nutritional food outlets. Such easy availability has also prompted a majority of men who had no intentions of going for such powders and capsules, but were lured into doing so boosted by the fancy marketing strategies.