Athletes supplements

The first study investigating the effects of CLA on body composition was published in 1998 and reported that 6.2 g CLA/day for 6 weeks on 24 North American bodybuilders increased their body weight and leg press but had no effect on BFM (7). Another study published in 2000 and comparing novice to advanced athletes supplemented... 

Products containing ephedra were used extensively by the American public for weight loss and to enhance athletic performance. Ephedra, a stimulant similar to amphetamine, increases blood pressure and heart rate after only one dose, significantly increasing a person s risk of heart attack, stroke, and death. Because ephedra is a dietary supplement, the FDA did not review its safety or efficacy before it became available to the American public. According to law, the FDA could only prohibit the sale of the dietary supplement if it was proven to present a significant or unreasonable risk of injury. 

Some athletes take the supplement called yohimbine because it increases muscle mass. There is some evidence, however, that the product causes problems ranging from headache and anxiety to high blood pressure, heart palpitations, elevated heart rate, and hallucinations. 

December 30 The Food and Drug Administration announces that it will ban ephedra, an herbal dietary supplement with amphetamine-like effects that has been popular with dieters and athletes. The government has included that the substance poses an unreasonable risk of illness and injury. ... 

As discussed prior, diuretics were often utilized by many of the competing athletes polled during AAS use as a means of controlling blood pressure elevation. Taraxacum was probably the safest product used for this purpose. Fortunately, it is a commonly found ingredient in many OTC weight loss supplements. 

Why is an herbal supplement in a book intended to report upon the things hardcore athletes have done It should be recalled that most AAS synthesis begins with a plant extract as does ephedrine, methamphetamine, and heroin. The point being that powerful things come from many places... sometimes. 

In order for any training or supplemental protocol to reap the greatest results, an adequate supply of calories are necessary... and in the right ratios. Not everybody is the same, but some basic guide-lines can be utilized concerning nutrition. Please read on as there is applicable information that follows useful to natural athletes as well... 

Calfee R, Fadale P. Popular ergogenic drugs and supplements in young athletes. Pediatrics. 2006 117 e577-e589. 

Millman RB, Ross EJ. Steroid and nutritional supplement use in professional athletes. Am J Addict. 2003 12(suppl 2) S48-S54. 

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) releases a list of permissible and nonpermissible nutritional supplements that institutions and coaching staffs may provide their athletes. Under the NCAA policy, only those supplements that are considered non-muscle building substances can be provided to an NCAA athlete by a coach or institution. Under the NCAA rules, creatine is considered a nonpermissible substance. 

Oral creatine supplements first gained popularity among athletes in the early 1990s following the publication of a Karolinska Institute study that found that subjects who took creatine supplements experienced a significant increase in total muscle creatine content. In theory, increased creatine stores would increase PCr stored in the muscles, which would in turn provide a larger power supply for anaerobic muscle activity and exercise (short bursts of exercise which don t require oxygen). 

Creatine was thrust onto the global athletic scene in 1992 when British sprinters Linford Christie and Sally Gunnel won Olympic gold in Barcelona after reportedly training with the aid of creatine supplementation. Since that time, a number of clinical studies have looked at both the ergogenic (output enhancing effect) and therapeutic benefits of creatine. 

Despite these issues, creatine remains well-known as a nutritional, performance-enhancing supplement used by athletes to improve high-intensity muscle endurance and performance. Bodybuilders and weightlifters supplement with creatine to bulk up muscles, and athletes involved in team sports train with creatine to increase their energy for sprints and other short and intense muscular tasks. Statistics show that the use of creatine by adolescent and adult athletes is growing. Yet research is still largely inconclusive on exactly how... 

Several studies and surveys have found that creatine use is on the rise among adolescent athletes in middle and high schools, with use of the supplement being reported in every grade from the sixth through the... 

The University of Wisconsin s Department of ports Medicine found that 30% of high school football players surveyed in that state used or had used creatine, and the use of the supplement tended to increase with age. Simi-larly, a survey of high school and middle school athletes in Westchester County, New York, reported creatine use among 44% of high school seniors surveyed. 

A 2001 National Collegiate Athletic Association report entitled NCAA Study of Substance Use Habits of College Student-Athletes revealed that among the 29.8% of NCAA athletes who admitted using dietary supplements in the past 12 months, creatine was taken by 25.8% (second only to protein supplements). Fifty-seven percent of these athletes first used nutritional supplements in high school. 

What do home run king Mark McGwire, French tennis champ Mary Pierce, international soccer star Zinedine Zidane, British sprinter Linford Christie, and NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe all have in common All have spoken openly to the media about their use of creatine supplements in athletic training. 

The full impact that the well-publicized use of supplements by sports icons has had on young athletes worldwide is difficult to determine. A 2000 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 73% of 10-17 year olds surveyed cited a famous athlete as someone they looked up to or wanted to be like. And while 55% were aware of Mark McGwire s use of andro, only 5% reported ever having purchased a dietary supplement because of a famous athlete. Yet the fact remains that performance-enhancing supplement use is at an all-time high among America s youth. 

Some athletes using creatine supplements for training have reported muscle cramping and gastrointestinal distress (i.e., diarrhea, stomach cramps, vomiting), particularly with loading doses. At this time, all reports are... 

Creatine supplementation causes water retention by muscle tissue, which may be the source of muscle cramps. It has also been theorized that athletes who experience this side effect have a fluid or electrolyte imbalance due to dehydration. In some cases, adequate water intake may eliminate the muscle cramping. 

Some of the SN/AEMS incidents involved creatine monohydrate that was mixed with or taken with other supplements and substances, so it is difficult to determine to what extent creatine played a role in these reactions. There have also been anecdotal case reports of hypertension (high blood pressure) and elevated liver enzymes in athletes taking creatine supplements. 

Dehydration may also be a risk for creatine users. Creatine causes skeletal muscle to absorb intercellular fluid from bodily tissues and into the muscle where it is retained. For this reason, athletes who are already losing fluid during physical activity may be further dehydrated by creatine supplementation. 

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