A mother of two who was preparing for a bodybuilding competition was found dead from a protein overdose, according to reports.
Meegan Hefford, a 25-year-old from Mandurah, Australia, was later found to have a urea cycle disorder, which blocks the body from correctly breaking down protein.
Her mother told Perth Now she was preparing for the competition by increasing her protein intake with supplements.
According to the report, Hefford had told her mother she was feeling tired and weird but had apparently been unaware of her disorder.
"I said to her, 'I think you're doing too much at the gym. Calm down. Slow it down," her mother told Perth Now.
Hefford was found unconscious in her apartment on June 19 and rushed to the hospital, where it took doctors diagnosed her with urea cycle disorder two days later.
By the time they were able to figure it out, it was too late.
The next day, she was declared brain-dead from a fluid buildup in the brain.
Coroners listed “intake of bodybuilding supplements” as a contributing cause of death, alongside the disorder.
“I know there are people other than Meegan who have ended up in hospital because they’ve overloaded on supplements,” her mother said. “The sale of these products needs to be more regulated.”
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