Mario Teran

Consuelo Salas
RWS 1301

The Supplement Use in

Athletes
Mario Teran
Consuelo Salas
RWS 1301
12/6/2015

Abstract

Athletes want to be at their best of their abilities and one thing that

helps them pick up an edge is supplements. Supplements are vitamins and

nutrients that the body needs to function but are they healthy. During my research I
will be providing what supplements consume and how they function in the body and
how they help the body recover. I will also be providing research of real athletes
consuming these products and giving feedback on their experience consuming
them. To finish it off I will be giving advice on whether you should or shouldnt
consume the products.

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Consuelo Salas
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Now a days athletes want to be bigger, stronger and be able to boost their
performance in any way possible to help reach their goals. Lets face it, you work
hard to reach your athletic goals, you stick to your training program and to your
nutrition plan and now you want an edge over the competition. Is there a
supplement that could give it to you? The supplement industry has grown
tremendously in the past thirty years, dosages are becoming more and more
powerful and I believe athletes are abusing of them and do not know the
consequences of consuming them. Most people assume that if a product is available
on store shelves, it must be okay. But supplements are not required to be evaluated
or proven safe or effective before theyre sold. When scientists study these
products, mixed reviews are pretty common. Also, most research focuses on highly
trained or pro athletes, so your results might be different. But if your healthy and
have no problems with your heart, kidneys, or liver, the most popular sports
supplements are safe and inexpensive. So, what are supplements? Why did athletes
begin taking supplements?
Supplements are multivitamins, and sports drinks that are used to improve
athletes health and performance. Some ingredients that are provided in the
products are caffeine, creatine, amino acids and protein. To begin, caffeine gives
you a pick me up in the morning, and it can pick up your game, too. If you take it
about thirty minutes before your race or game, it could improve your endurance. To
give you a better idea of how caffeine improves your endurance, Glycogen is the
principal fuel for muscles and exhaustion occurs when it is depleted. A secondary
fuel, which is much more abundant, is fat. As long as there is still glycogen
available, working muscles can utilize fat. Caffeine mobilizes fat stores and
encourages working muscles to use fat as a fuel. This delays the depletion of

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muscle glycogen and allows for a prolongation of exercise. For example, every year
in the United States there is a big competition called the Ironman Race. For this
particular competition the exercise studies on caffeine involved endurance testing
of approximately 2 hours, so there is no specific information related to ultraendurance races. Pre-race caffeine may be beneficial though, because the longer
the race, the more important fat is as a fuel. During the race, caffeinated soft drinks
are one of the choices at the aid stations in an Ironman. Whether this source of
caffeine is useful is unknown, but these soft-drinks do supply necessary
carbohydrate. Because longer races have a greater baseline risk of dehydration,
nausea and abdominal cramps, it is very important to consider the side effects of
caffeine. You can get caffeine from energy drinks and shots, tablets, chewing gum,
sport gels, and sprays. Each product will give you different doses, so read the label
before you take it. You dont need all that much caffeine to get the effect, and it is
possible to overdo it. Too much caffeine can cause headaches, irritability, stomach
upset, dehydration, and trouble sleeping.
A few good examples of the side effects of caffeine was when a friend of mine
consumed over 1400 mg of pre workout, 30 minutes before his exercise. At first he
felt an extreme tingling feeling from around his eyes to around his fingers which is a
sign of the supplement activating in his body. He also felt supper jittery, where he
could feel all his blood pumping and couldnt have any control over it. During his
exercise the caffeine was supposed to help him get through his workout, but ended
up not being able to focus, gave him anxiety and was unable to complete his
workout. When he got home, he started feeling sick with a sharp pain in his stomach
which is a symptom of food poisoning. He was also unable to sleep all night and
unable to eat because it would cause his stomach to be naucious. We all know that

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saying of we all learn the hard way so always be aware of what you are doing
while you are on supplements. Pay attention to the directions and amount of
servings to be on the safe side.
In addition, another ingredient in supplements are creatine. Creatine
monohydrate could help with your intense exercises and help you recover from all
your hard training. It doesnt seem to benefit players of other types of sports and
like studies of many supplements, not all studies show that it benefits athletes. Your
body makes creatine naturally, and your muscles use it to do high intensity
exercise. So why would you want to take a creatine supplement? Well a supplement
boosts the amount your body has to work with. Experts consider creatine safe for
healthy people. Some people take a higher dose to load their muscles with the
supplement. Some studies have shown that creatine could increase fat and not
muscle, which I disagree on. Creatine has many positive sides. Due to the fact that
creatine helps athletes and bodybuilders maintain their endurance and muscle
strength and in its turn maintain more overall muscle mass, this supplement is
awesome because it will help you lose fat not to make you fat. Theres also
evidence that high doses could cause kidney, liver, or heart damage, but its
unclear how much might be too much. I have always believed that everything we
consume can be bad if taking too much of it, whether it is vegetables, one certain
vitamin, or drink, overall anything you consume.
Every kind of supplement is used to increase testosterone levels in the body,
thereby to also build lean muscle mass. Other nutritional supplements are used to
increase the amount of energy available for workouts or competition. The side
effects of nutritional supplements are not as well studied but are presumed to be
similarly dangerous. What are the consequences of athletes taking supplements?
Well just as an example, a 2004 study found that %18 of nutritional supplements

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purchased in the United States contained undeclared anabolic androgenic steroids.
The FDA warned consumers about supplements laced with dangerous levels of
selenium and chromium. In 2009, college baseball player Jareem Gunter told a
Senate hearing that he ended up in the hospital with liver failure after taking a body
building supplement. There was an investigation in the army if supplements
containing Dimethylamylamine, or DMAA, a stimulant that can narrow blood vessels
and arteries, were involved in the deaths of two soldiers and liver and kidney
damage in others. Given these dangers, why on earth would athletes take
supplements? Jareem popped the pills expecting them to help her recover after
training. So which supplements actually help your body recover?
The body recovers from many vitamins and minerals like Omega 3 Fatty
Acids, also known as Fish Oil, are probably one of the most commonly used
supplements on the market today and for good reason. When high quality fish oil is
taken in large enough amounts, it provides the biggest bang for the buck as far as
supplements are concerned. Most people know about the improved cardiovascular
health and function, improved lipid profiles, improved brain function and mental
acuity, and its powerful anti-inflammatory properties without harmful side effects
like over the counter products. But what people dont know is that every fish oil isnt
made the same. Depending on the size, type, or natural habitat of fish used and
how it was processed can determine the quality and levels of toxins present. So
besides looking for the cGMP seal, look for brands that use small, cold- fish like
anchovies or sardines vs. larger fish like tuna or those harvested in warmer waters.
On the label, impurities are stated look for those measured in parts per billion
not parts per million. Athletes and those with body composition goals should start

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with 3,000 mg of fish oil spread out in 2-3 servings, it only lasts in the body about 8
hours, and work toward taking up to 6,000 mg per day.
Another great recovery vitamin for the body is B-Vitamins which increases
energy production and are neurotransmitter cofactors so they help improve our
mood, and they help us detoxify which we need after exercise (and binging). The
process of building and repairing muscle like processing protein depletes B-Vitamins
so if youre lifting heavy or damaging your muscle tissue in your workouts or job,
you need to take extra B-Vitamins to help the rebuilding (strengthening) process
because you are burning through them at an alarming rate. Look for Riboflavin-5Phosphate (B-2), methylcobalamin (B-12), Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate (B-6), and
Benfotiamine (B-1) on the label as they are the absorbable forms your body can
use. Avoid any of the B Vitamins in the hydrochloride (HCL) form as it is cheap and
un absorbable by your body. Definitely take this supplement in the morning as the
B-12 will keep you awake. Dont be afraid to take thousands of the US RDA. Your pee
may be yellow, or even orange, so dont freak out because once you switch to nonHCL forms of the B-Vitamins, your pee was actually less yellow which means you are
absorbing more.
In continue on recovering, magnesium is probably one of the top three
recommended supplements for athletes as it is an essential element in biological
systems and most athletes are likely deficient. Ive seen recent studies stating that
85% of Americans are deficient and we all know that most Americans most certainly
lead the typical sedentary, American lifestyle so imagine the deficiencies in the
trained and even arguably over-trained population. Magnesium is important to
athletes because it regulates heart rhythm, allows muscles to contract and relax
properly, reduces blood pressure, and is necessary to produce ATP (the main source
of energy in our cells) which must be bound to a magnesium ion in order to be

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biologically active. Check your bottle to avoid Sudden Poop Onset (SPO) here:
Supplements based on amino acid chelates, such as Mg glycinate and Mg malate
are much better tolerated by the digestive system and much more absorbable by
the body the other (cheap) forms of magnesium such as Mg oxide or Mg carbonate.
This is best taken post-workout on an empty stomach. Sedentary individuals need
600 mg a day and larger athletes in heavy training mode could do up to 2,000 mg a
day.
Another well-known vitamin is Vitamin D, which is more like a hormone than a
drug. It is produced by the body when exposed to sunlight and most of us dont
produce enough even if we frequently are out in the sun. It would take you prancing
around, practically naked for a couple hours a day to produce those levels of
Vitamin D and most Americans are deficient. Vitamin D level is measured by
hydroxyvitamin D the chemical form in the blood and normal levels are stated
to be 35 but that is considered by many to be a maintenance level and that levels
upwards of 70-90 are ideal, especially for athletes. Besides working with calcium to
improve bone density, Vitamin D helps reduce inflammation, risk of colon and
breast cancer, improves mood and upper respiratory health by aiding the fight
against infections from viruses and other pathogens, and allows the brain to release
melatonin so we can fall asleep easier like when youve been out in the sun all day
and are tired as soon as night falls. This is why Vitamin D is most effective when
taken at night, about an hour before bedtime and liquid drops taken sublingually are
the best form especially if you can hold the liquid under your tongue for 30 seconds
before swallowing so it can really soak in and start to work before it has to be
digested. According to Dr. Robert Seik at Triton Nutrition, Vitamin D supplementation
up to 30,000 units to be safe and there are European studies that show 150,000

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units for three days to treat upper respiratory tract infections that may be viral in
nature.
Last but not least Protein, which is the most well-known ingredient of all, if
taken within 10 minutes of training, it will reduce the amount of stress hormones
released. This has a huge implication on belly fat. But dont overdo it, too much
protein leads to body acidity which leads to many other problems. But the right
amount of protein besides providing energy repairs tissues and reduces muscle
soreness. Protein should be eaten from primarily animal sources throughout the
day and most certainly within ten minutes of training. Whey protein is a highly
marketed protein and is fairly inexpensive so it is frequently used by athletes. Many,
however, have an intolerance to whey such as gas, bloating and postnasal drip. Soy
protein is not a good option because 100% of soy is genetically modified and it is
very low in branch chain amino acids which are necessary to build muscle. It
increases estrogen levels in the body the opposite of what someone trying to build
strength wants and many also have a food intolerance to soy. Casein is dairy
derived so if you have an intolerance to whey, you may have an intolerance to
Casein as well. Vegan protein that combines a wide variety of sources can be good
options because they are less likely to produce allergies. So should athletes keep
taking supplements? and the answer is yes.
Supplements can always be healthy if you follow a good diet and follow the
directions provided on the labels. All the information I just provided for you pretty
much says that our bodies are a system and need the proper nutrients in order to
function at its best, that where the supplements and diet come into place. For
example, if youre eating right, training right, staying hydrated and resting enough,
everything will connect and will lead to no problems. But if you just take
supplements just to take them, there are some side effects like kidney stones,

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dehydration, diabetes, high caffeine intake, and all the sugars and ingredients in
supplements will turn into fat or worse cause, death. Another piece of advice is that
you need to be more smart about the decisions you make before consuming an
unknown product. Like for example, just because I take this one supplement and I
get good results from it, that doesnt mean your body will have the same effect on
it. Remember that we are all different physically and our bodies function differently
as well and you need to take that into accounted for. Dont go by what people tell
you or what you see, take some time to do research on what you want to take or get
with your doctor and find out if the supplement you are taking is safe, then if it is
safe, ask the doctor how you should consume it. If you are interested in consuming
other supplements the doctor can tell you where to buy the products and look into
them, for example, like Walgreens at their pharmacy area. Everything in that
pharmacy is FDA (Federal Drug Administration) approved, that means real doctors
tested and checked all the products to make sure they are safe and legal for the
world to consume. This is your body and you are going to have it for the rest of your
life so do your best to take care of it.

Mario Teran
Consuelo Salas
RWS 1301

References
Aljaloud, S.O., & Ibrahim, S.A. (2013). Use of Dietary Supplements among
Professional Athletes in Saudi Arabia. Journal Nutrition & Metabolism, 1-7. The
article by Aljaloud and Ibrahim is a study to understand the usage patterns of
dietary supplements among professional athletes. The survey consisted of being
divided into four categories, use of supplements, reason for consumption of
supplements, and behavior. Results showed that athletes are consuming sports
drinks vitamin C, and multivitamins respectively. A majority of athletes indicated
that their use of supplements was for the purpose of improving their health and
performance. The questions what are supplements? And why did athletes begin
taking supplements? Are being answered by the article saying that supplements are
multivitamins and sports drinks, also that they are used to improve athletes health
and performance.
Millman, R.B. & Ross, E.J. (2003). Steroid and Nutritional Supplement use in
Professional Athletes. American Journal on Addictions, 12(S2), S48-S54. In this
article the author talks about two categories of substances available to modern
athletes, anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) and nutritional supplements. Every
kind of supplement is used to increase testosterone levels in the body, thereby to
also build lean muscle mass. Other nutritional supplements are used to increase the
amount of energy available for workouts or competition. The side effects of
nutritional supplements are not as well studied but are presumed to be similarly
dangerous.
This article Is helping answer two of my questions in what are supplements? And
also should athletes continue to take supplements? By providing a false fact that
that supplements are used to increase testosterone levels in the body, which is not
true because not all supplements have testosterone boosters in them. Also the
article provides us with side effects of nutritional supplements that are not as well
studied but are presumed to be similarly dangerous, which can give the audience an
idea if athletes should athletes continue to take supplements.
Sport-supplement dangers. (2001). Consumer Reports, 66(6), 40. In this article, the
author offers the audience with information on the dangers of sport supplements.
Studies on dietary supplements which suggests that they are wither ineffective or,
at best, produce only slight changes in performance; use of the supplements by
youth; information on the side effects of androstenedione, creatine, and ephedra,
also known as mahuang. This article is helping me answer the questions what are
supplements? And what are consequences of athletes taking supplements? By
providing more information on what ingredients supplements have in them and the
side effects of consuming them. The article also helps answer my question of what
are the consequences of athletes taking supplements by providing research of
young athletes consuming supplements at a young age and what side effects it
does to them.

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Christie Aschwanden. (2012). Health and Medicine explained. 0-54(349). In this
article the author provides us with information about supplements on what
ingredients they actually have in them and how the substances they contain can be
obtained in food. The author also provides an argument about how supplements are
expensive, and that they dont improve performance and that they might make you
test positive for dope. Which this helps answer my questions on should athletes
continue to take supplements? And what are the consequences of athletes taking
supplements?