Are Fitness Supplements Safe?
You’ve probably put it down to endless hours at the local gym huffing and heaving over weights. But though a gym rat, you has found a quick fix to being skinny-a small, insignificant-looking carton of powder.
Neither illegal nor addictive, supplements (not to be confused with drugs and steroids) are the latest fitness formula that can set you on the fast track to brawn and beefcake. Bodybuilding requires major work, time and dedication. Small wonder then that supplements are pulling rank in fitness circles. If taken correctly, these can bulk you up in weeks and have you looking toned and chiseled. With such results, it’s easy to see why almost every fitness fiend worth his Nike sports shoes is downing them with a vengeance – all in pursuit of muscular magnificence. Are they safe? That’s tougher to answer.
There’s no question about it fitness supplements are a booming trend. Several products (both local like Hercules and Tara’s, as well as imported) currently cram the shelves of fitness studios across the country, each promising more energy, fat reduction and a leaner body. Most are dietary add-ons and these are usually vitamin or food-based.
Creatine, the most popular of these, is an amino acid that occurs naturally in the body. Produced by the liver, pancreas and kidneys, it finds its way to the body’s muscles through the blood stream. Whey Protein, another popular pump-up product has essential amino acids that the body needs to repair muscles after a workout. Then there are others like Amino Mass, a blend of essential and non-essential amino-acids that strengthen the immune system and provide nitrogen balance by increasing protein-synthesis, and chromium-based supplements. Besides the impressive results that most promise, whafs attractive is that you don’t need to burst a blood vessel to buy them-most supplements cost anything between several hundred to a couple of thousand dollars.
Supplements aren’t considered drugs. Thus with no strict standards to conform to, nobody really knows what’s inside. Health boosters could be spiked with anabolic steroids as well as addictive and/or lethal amphetamines. Some manufacturers even repackage supplements nearing their expiry date, and sell these to naive wannabe hunks.
Some supplements can even be deadly if misused. Moreover, creatine needs to be combined with adequate protein, carbohydrate and fluid intake or else muscle cramping and stomach bloating could set in. You could also end up with a disproportionate body as the build-up could be due to water retention.
A safer alternative to creatine could be whey protein, provided you’re a regular gym-goers. This power booster gives high-quality protein without any fat. And there are no side effects.
For those looking to pump up, Preetom advises two whey protein shakes: one in the morning or evening and another, 20 minutes after a workout. But then, even too much can be harmful. Extremely high consumption of whey protein could overload your liver and cause serious damage.
At the end of the day, side-effects or not, as long as they’re out there, physical fitness fans will continue to load up on supplements. After all, when in a matter of months, you can have six-pack abs and glutens so tight you could bounce a buck off them, it’s hard to resist. What’s essential though, is that you remain informed about your intake and muscle in on the truths behind fitness supplements before they catch up with you.
