Brazilian Synthol Craze to the Max – Arlindo de Souza
Okay so this isn’t really about synthol at all, but like synthol this is about Site Enhancement Oil or SEO. SEO is all the rage in Brazil. brazilian synthol Arlindo de Souza was the most recent example of this and his 29 inch arms spread across the web quickly with different reactions. Most of those reactions in traditional bodybuilding countries was that this is site enhancement oil gone way to far. However in Brazil apparently the women love it, according to Arlindo’s brother [1]:
“The women around here and in other places admire him. They think he looks nice.”
So we all agree his brother is full of shit. Or if what he’s saying is true, nobody wants to deal with these crazies that think he looks good. Nonetheless the Brazilian SEO craze continues on, which is evidenced by this most recent case study published in the International Society of Nephrology Journal [2].
SEO Kidney Failure
A 22 year old man was admitted to the ER. He was muscular and had “toned muscles” as the doctors call it (high reps tones the muscles brah). He complained of the following symptoms:
Vomiting
Upper abdominal pain
He had a history of anabolic steroid use, and approximately 1 year earlier suffered from a kidney stone. Blood work showed the following:
Low Hemoglobin 7.8 g/dL (normal range 13.8 to 17.2 gm/dL)
High Calcium 13.8 mg/dL (normal range 8.6 to 10.3 mg/dl)
High Lipase 218 U/L (normal range is up to 160 U/L)
Low Parathormone 1 pg/mL (normal range is 10 to 55 pg/mL)
As a result of his high lipase level he was diagnosed with pancreatitis (inflammation). And a kidney ultrasound showed he had one large kidney stone. They put him on an IV to increase hydration while also giving him a diuretic. This is a normal treatment for a severe kidney stone. Meanwhile his kidneys continued to fail, and he went through 6 sessions of hemodialysis.
His calcium levels continued to stay elevated so they gave him prednisone (30mg/day), which is also a treatment option for kidney stones. After 4 days of this, his serum calcium levels finally started to fall. So what does all this have to do with site enhancement oil? Here’s where the cool, or perhaps odd shit gets explained.
Vitamin D Overdose from SEO Oil
The physicians were trying to narrow down the cause of his high calcium levels, and subsequent kidney failure. Upon questioning the brazilian bodybuilder they found that he was injecting a Vitamin D oil for the purposes of site enhancement. Of course, to get enough oil in his body for it to appear larger he had to inject A LOT of Vitamin D. He purchased a vet grade injectable Vitamin D. This Vitamin D was dosed with 50,000 IU’s of Vitamin D per milliliter. Guess how much he was injecting?
brazilian syntholThe brazilian bodybuilder was injecting over 50 mL’s of this Vitamin D per month! Those of you who supplement with oral Vitamin D know that even 5,000 IU’s of Vitamin D is a lot, and this guy was injecting at least 10 times that amount each day! I cannot help but laugh a little at the stupidity of this bodybuilder.
To top it all off they completed a CT scan on his shoulder and chest. They could literally see large calcium deposits as a result of this Vitamin D injections. His Vitamin D levels were 160 ng/ml, which is at least three times what one might consider optimal.
What we can learn…
You know I never write these horror story case studies without trying to take away something we can learn. In this case it’s simple. Know what you are putting in your body! You might love how your delts look after smashing 3 cc’s of oil into them, but keep in mind that oil is composed of something.
