By JoLee Seaborn
Thousands of supplements are available that promise to increase athletic performance, strength, muscle mass and speed. These are called ergogenic aids or work-enhancing aids.
Most ergogenic aids are very expensive and ineffective, while others may cause physical harm or even death in those who chose to abuse them.
Carnitine is a nutrient that is commonly sold in athletic supplements. Carnitine carries fat from outside of cells into cells where it can be used for energy.
Advertisements claim that the more you have of it in your body, the more fat will enter your cells and be used for energy. There is no sound evidence to support that carnitine supplements actually increase the amount of carnitine in your muscles or that it improves athletic performance. Carnitine does, however, cause diarrhea in about half of the people who use it.
Another nutrient commonly used as an athletic supplement is creatine.
Creatine has been shown to improve the performance of athletes in fast-paced activities like sprinting and weightlifting. Supplementation of creatine has not been shown to improve the performance of endurance sports like cross-country running, although it does cause muscle mass gain.
Studies have indicated that creatine is safe for short-term use, but the safety of long-term supplementation has not been confirmed.
While protein supplements are expensive and can be dangerous for individuals with kidney disease, hormonal supplements are dangerous for everyone who abuses them. The most commonly used hormonal supplements are anabolic steroids, which are made from testosterone and cause abusers to develop exaggerated male characteristics, including increased muscle mass.
Unlike most other athletic supplements, anabolic steroids deliver on their promises of increased muscle mass and strength. They also cause terrible acne, cardiovascular damage, blood clots, permanent shrinking of the testes, liver damage, increased risk of cancer and permanent enlargement of female genitalia.
They also cause the occasional “’roid rage,” which involves psychotic depression, suicidal thoughts, and hostility. I think its safe to say that although anabolic steroids are effective, the drawbacks far outweigh the benefits.
Some athletes use dehydroepiandrosterone, which is also called DHA, or androstenedione, both hormonal supplements, instead of anabolic steroids. DHA and androstenedione have very similar side effects to anabolic steroids but have not proven to be effective at increasing muscle mass or strength.
Many ergogenic aids contain extremely large amounts of protein. Muscles are made of protein, so it seems almost like common sense that the more protein you get in your diet, the more muscle mass you will build. But human metabolism of protein does not work this way.
Your body uses the amount of protein from your diet needed to repair damaged tissue and maintain your body weight. Any extra protein you get that cannot be used will be converted to carbohydrates and then stored as fat.
Dietary protein needs of athletes are higher than people with a sedentary lifestyle. Supplement manufactures take advantage of that fact and provide formulas that grossly overestimate your actual protein needs to trick consumers into thinking their product is necessary to gain muscle mass.
To gain muscle mass, athletes need to get adequate protein from dietary sources like meat, eggs and milk.
Advertisement for ergogenic aids can be very convincing. Many manufactures cite scientific studies and use professional-looking figures to promote their product.
Remembering who funded the study and who is promoting the product is important when deciding if you think the advertisement is honest or not.
A balanced diet including adequate hydration, protein, fat and carbohydrate is adequate to provide athletes with everything needed to be effective competitors without the use of supplements.
JoLee Seaborn is a senior majoring in nutrition. Her health column runs on Wednesday.
