Creatine Supplements and it’s Health Concerns

In the late 1990s three college wrestlers died during training in a six week time period. The first suspect for the cause of death was a fairly new nutritional supplement called creatine that the three young men were believed to have been taking. Being a relatively new supplement, was it fair to point the finger at supplemental creatine use? Or was the possible side effects too much to look past? The New York Times article talks about college wrestling and the extreme efforts that the athletes take to cut weight.

Being a creatine supplement user myself this incidence was one of my initial concerns while first using the supplement six years ago. However, I believe by simply drinking plenty of fluids during and after training and eating properly while using creatine supplements, side effects are avoidable.

The article begins questioning the strenuous techniques and supplements used for college wrestlers to achieve extreme weight loss. It then discusses the three young men who died while training and their causes of death. The first case was November 9th, 1997, when 19 year old Billy Saylor, of Campbell University, died of cardiac arrest attempting to lose 6 lbs. He was also not drinking fluids. The second case was November 21st, 1997 when 22 year old Joseph LaRosa, of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse died of heat stroke trying to lose 4 lbs. He was wearing a suit made out of rubber and riding a bike. The third case was December 9th, 1997 when 21 year old Jeff Reese, of the University of Michigan died of heart malfunction and kidney failure. He was also using a rubber suit to lose weight; in a 92 degree room. (Litsky, WRESTLING; Collegiate Wrestling Deaths Raise Fears About Training, 1997)

The article then goes on discussing...

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...ferent than another’s.

Overall young athletes, especially high school athletes take a higher risk of using any type of supplements because of the pressures they receive from outside sources. On that note, if a person can follow the instructions labeled on the creatine supplement bottle or package, I believe by simply drinking plenty of fluids during and after training and eating properly while using creatine supplements, side effects are avoidable.

Works Cited

Creatine. (2011, April 9). Retrieved November 7, 2011, from University of Maryland Medical Center: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/creatine-000297.htm

Litsky, F. (1998, May 2). PLUS: COLLEGE WRESTLING; Creatine Ruled Out In Athletes' Deaths. The New York Times , pp. 1-1.

Litsky, F. (1997, December 19). WRESTLING; Collegiate Wrestling Deaths Raise Fears About Training. The New York Times , pp. 1-3.