Recently, protein shakes and dietary supplements like Gatorade and Musclepharm have become very popular among athletes. According to kidshealth.com, “sports supplements are products used to enhance athletic performance that may include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, or botanicals.”
On Aragon’s campus alone, students can be seen carrying around and drinking regularly from their protein shakes bottles. Some even claim that protein shakes are sufficient enough for lunches.
But are there serious health concerns involved with taking such dietary supplements?
In general, the use of supplements is a heavily debated topic. The most common sports supplement is protein, which is commonly used for muscle gain, weight loss, and energy boost.
According to nutrientexpress.com, various proteins such as whey, casein, egg-white, and soy all have different purposes. For example, whey is ideal for pre- or post- workouts and muscle-building, while casein is taken before bed and has more long-lasting effects.
Sports supplements are categorized into three groups. Pre-workout boosters include caffeine, 3, 4-Dimethoxy-N-methylamphetamine (DMMA), and Ephedra. Most alarmingly, consuming DMAA will run a risk of stroke or heart attack. Muscle builders could cause liver problems, In general, recovery powders are the safest to consume.
Overall, sports supplements offer both benefits and harms. According to livestrong,com, they can promote increased muscle mass and strength, fat burn, blood flow, but could also lead to gastrointestinal problems, insomnia, and kidney damage. In addition, a multi-vitamin listed on the label could actually be nothing more than a sugar pill.
Senior baseball player Gabriel Marchand believes that sports supplements are beneficial, saying, “I feel that [supplements] help my muscles recover faster. You won’t be sore after your workout, and you can get stronger faster and it helps your muscles recover. But on the other hand, sometimes they make you overly tired.”
Marchand also warns, “Ones that do not include creatine [a muscle building protein] are much safer than those that do include it.”
Junior basketball player Weber Su shares a similar stance, saying, “I drink supplements only right after I lift and it helps me to recover from an injury and also become stronger. But too much protein will turn into fat, because our body can only consume a limited amount of protein.”
All in all, definite research has yet to provide concrete evidence for whether or not to consume sports supplements. In the end, it comes down to the athlete and his/her willingness to possibly enhance his/her performance while running the risk of potential health concerns.
