What is a Supplement?
A supplement is something added to complete a thing, make up for deficiency, or strengthen or extend the whole. The top three supplements that are used by men are whey protein, creatine, and glutamine. Whey is a high quality-complete protein with adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids. This supplement allows muscles to quickly repair, which whole foods would take longer to repair. Creatine is one of the most widely used supplement because researchers have found positive results from this. The more creatine that is the muscles, the faster and more explosive one's inital energy can be. Glutamine aids in muscle repair and growth, as well as energy production through gluconeogenesis. Glutimate is also the most prolific amino acid in our muscles, as it compromises 60% of a muscles amino acid content.
Why Do People Use Workout Supplements?
People use workout supplements because they believe that they will form them into living a healthy lifestyle. Also, the depletion of essential nutrients is a big factor because of the health choices that we make today. People believe that dietary supplements will make them lose weight, but not dieting or training properly will not show results of these supplements. In order for any of these supplements, not just dietary supplements, to have a major effect on the body then people need to train and diet properly. Athletes may use supplements in order to increase performance, but athletes need to be careful to what they are putting into their bodies so they do not break drug policy rules. There are also people who take supplements in order to increase levels in their body that they may be low in. For example, some people take steroids prescribed by a doctor based on diseases they have.
How Supplements Affect the Body
In over 300 studies that have investigated creatine for its ability to enhance athletic performance, about 70 percent have found statistically significant gains. As seen creatine makes muscles work harder for high intensity, but for a short period at a time. The only affects shown from creatine have been muscles cramps and stress injuries. This could be caused by dehydration and the lack of a warm-up, not necessarily due to the creatine. No long term health risks have been found during studies involving creatine, which is a positive for the people who take or want to take creatine. A supplement called L-Arginine increases the production of nitric oxide, which is thought to increase blood flow to muscles for a greater exchange of nutrients. There is only a tiny bit of supportive evidence that shows this supplement increases performance. A study done by a professor from the University of Oklahoma shows that this supplement can cause heart attacks in men with known and unknown heart disease. This product is not worth the risk of taking for anybody no matter the age. Testosterone boosters have been known to cause hair loss, prostate enlargement, gynecomastia, acne, testicular atrophy, and increased estrogen levels all in men. Pre-workout and fat burning supplements show side affects of nervousness, irritability, insomnia, addiction and dependency, heart palpitations and rhythm abnormalities, weight loss, tremors, mild hypertension, hallucinations, convulsions, and heart attacks. This is because these supplements have large doses of caffeine and other stimulants.
Conclusion
Overall, all workout supplements have their positives and negatives no matter what form of supplement they are. Each persons body reacts differently to supplements and show side affects or gains. From the research that I have done, if you are looking to take something I would suggest taking creatine because the gains are great and the side affects can most likely be prevented.
Bad Side Effects of Muscle Building Supplements. (2013, August 16). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/24679-bad-side-effects-muscle-building/
Muscles in a Bottle? (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/muscles-bottle
Bodybuilding.com - Supplement Guide For Dummies Super Feature. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/supplement_for_dummies.htm#2
I think this article is very informative and contains a lot of information. You could possibly have touched more on the effects of these supplements. This article could also maybe have listed a few other alternative supplements. In the affect of the body paragraph you briefly mention pre workout but should maybe add more about what exactly it is.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! It was very informative on the positive and negative effects of supplements. I enjoyed learning about the side effects of supplements, especially since I am an athlete and ingest supplements regularly. I thought you did an excellent job of informing the reader about the different supplements in the market today. Since women are beginning to use supplements, what are some side effects in women that are different to men? What is L-Arginine comprised of? Are most of the side effects in supplements irreversible or permanent? Overall, I thought it was an informative and helpful blog entry for men and athletes. Good job!
ReplyDeleteGreat Article! I think this article was very informative and relatable to me because i knew so many people who think they would be strong as body builders by just taking protein by itself. I like the way warned people that supplements can be dangerous. i just thought you could have wrote on how to help people differentiate good products from the bad ones.
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