Report: Bodybuilder, unaware of condition, likely killed by protein supplements

PERTH, Australia — A mother of two 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 prepping for the competition by upping her protein intake with supplements.

According to the report, Hefford had told her mom she was feeling tired and weird but was apparently 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.

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By the time they were able to figure it out, it was too late.

She was declared brain dead from a fluid build-up in the brain the next day.

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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