SUPPLEMENTS

WHAT ARE SUPPLEMENTS

• Sports supplements (also called ergogenic aids) are products used to enhance athletic performance that may include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, or botanicals (plants) — or any concentration, extract, or combination of these.

CREATINE

• Creatine monohydrate could help with repeated short bouts of intense exercise.
• . It doesn’t seem to benefit players of other types of sports.
• not all studies show that creatine benefits athletes.
• most effective for athletes doing intermittent high-intensity exercise with short recovery intervals, such as sprinting and power lifting.

WHEY PROTEIN

• try to curb muscle damage and boost muscle growth.
• “There’s a window of about at least 30 minutes after you stop exercising during which you can take in protein and promote [growth] of lean muscle mass,” Sherman says
• A high-protein meal after a workout would do the job, too. Whey protein on top of that might give you an extra boost.

CAFFEINE

• 30 minutes before your race or game, it could improve your endurance.
• For long challenges, like a marathon, caffeineduring the event can help, too.
• Some studies show that caffeine can curb soreness after exercise, too. This means you could get back to your training sooner.

Beta-Alanine

• Used to take away the "burn"
• Athletes take beta-alanine in a capsule or a drink powder to curb that burn so they can push through the exercise.
• Cyclists and runners who took beta-alanine for 4 weeks improved their game in scientific studies.

Branched Chain Amino Acids

• building blocks of protein
• three amino acids that muscles can use for energy.
• Athletes take them after workouts in the form of tablets, soft gels, or drink powders to spur muscle growth
• could cut the amount of muscle you need to lose before you start to gain.

Androstenedione and DHEA

• Androstenedione (also known as andro) and dehydroepiandrosterone (also known as DHEA) are prohormones or "natural steroids" that can be broken down into testosterone.

FAT BURNERS

• increases metabolism
• lose weight or to increase energy

WILL SUPPLEMENTS MAKE ME A BETTER ATHLETE?

• Most won't make you any stronger, and none will make you any faster or more skillful.
• sports supplements may put you at risk for serious health conditions.
• instead of turning to supplements to improve your performance, concentrate on nutrition and training, including strength and conditioning programs.

NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES

• Creatine -high doses could cause kidney, liver, or heart damage, but it's unclear how much might be too much.
• Caffeine - Too much caffeine can cause headaches, irritability, stomach upset,dehydration, and trouble sleeping.
• Androstenedione and DHEA- can cause hormone imbalances in people who use them. may lead to dangerous side effects like testicular cancer, infertility, stroke, and an increased risk of heart disease. breast development and shrinking of testicles in guys

NEGATIVES CONTINUED

• Fat Burners- heart problems, stroke, and occasionally even death. high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and seizures. restlessness, anxiety, racing heart, irregular heart beat, and increases the chance of having a life-threatening side effect.

HOW TO BE SAFE WITH SUPPLEMENTS

• It's best to talk with your doctor before you take a supplement, even if it's natural, in case you have any conditions or take medications that the supplement could affect.

SOURCES

• Haiku Deck
• Sonya Collins WebMD Feature Reviewed by David Kiefer, MD
• Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD Date reviewed: January 2015 http://teenshealth.org/teen/