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Arnold Schwarzenegger's Muscle Supplement Might Pump You Up with Banned Drugs

Amid accusations of counterfeit products and the threat of illegal and possibly lethal ingredients, Arnold Schwarzenegger just had to pull his weightlifting supplement from European shelves.

If there is one thing the non-corporeal ghosts of celebrities of yore will be happy to tell you, it's that nothing puts the brakes on a shadowy bid for global conquest quite like an illegitimate child, a failed marriage, and several box-office bombs.

And just when everyone's favorite coconut-scented muscle-sheen enthusiast Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make his big comeback in this month's Terminator Genisys, he can add yet another scandal to the long and illustrious list of missteps mentioned above.

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So, what did our favorite Austrian bodybuilder and former governor of California do this time?

Well, aside from endorsing a product with what is very likely the shittiest name in recorded history, the celebrity superstar just had one of his muscle-building supplements banned from the whole of the European Union.

We're talking about Arnold Iron Dream Concentrated Night Time Recovery.

Amid accusations of counterfeit products flooding the market—along with the threat of illegal and possibly lethal ingredients—the sleep and recovery formula for athletes will no longer be sold in any member states of the EU.

The problem really comes down to something called DNP, a toxic fat burner also known as 2,4-dinitrophenol. Used as an antiseptic, pesticide, and—in this case—diet aid, the substance in high doses causes severe side effects and sometimes even death.

I know you're concerned: Can you buy Arnold's Iron Dream Concentrated Night Time Recovery in the US? Yes, you can—and it comes in a tasty grape flavor! But in Europe, standards are evidently higher.

Manufactured by MusclePharm in the US and distributed in the EU by a company called Prometheus, the product has been yanked from the European market entirely, despite claims that the tainted products were counterfeit and not the authorized brand. The manufacturer, distributor, and regulators then devolved into finger-pointing and name-calling. Finally, the product was pulled from shelves.

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"The product name has been damaged by the health authorities to such an extent that further continuation has no point," said the CEO of the European distributor.

And it will not be back.

In addition to the dreaded DNP, the product also contains other ingredients that may be illegal in the EU, include some surely health-promoting ones like mucuna (which is some kind of tropical vine), magnesium aspartate, and calcium silicate. Let me be the first to offer my heartfelt condolences to the man who inspired Rainier Wolfcastle.

And just in case all this talk of abs and intrigue didn't curb your Arnie enthusiasm, why not take a snark-fueled trip down memory lane with the trailer for the 1994 classic Junior. I doubt any sane person could resist the sensual magnetism of a pregnant Schwarzenegger whispering to Danny DeVito about his "sore nipples." Your soon-to-be confused crotch will thank me!

July 17 Update:

Kalina McGregor, MusclePharm's executive vice president and general counsel, provided the following statement to MUNCHIES:

"At MusclePharm, we adhere to most stringent testing and quality control to ensure the content and quality of our products. There are no MusclePharm products that use DNP and the product in question by Musclefactory is counterfeit. We are currently working with the appropriate authorities and plan on taking the appropriate legal actions against the company."