Sports Supplements

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Sports Supplements
Athletes are competitive. They go out there to win. But, at all costs? Why are athletes willing to sacrifice their long term health in order to have one outstanding season? Will it be worth it when they are hooked up to machines in order to stay alive? Many athletes do not think that taking a supplement will harm them. They are strong, tough athletes, nothing can harm them, right? So, they start taking creatine or andro, or both. For most, they lose body fat, gain strength and muscle. That sounds great, but that is not always what happens. The use of over-the-counter sports supplements is dangerous and the FDA should take them off the shelf.
Supplements are supposed to be taken to make up for a deficiency in some aspect of a person’s diet. For example, if someone does not like milk and does not eat any foods that contain calcium, they could take a calcium supplement. But, athletes use supplements to lose body fat and gain muscle and strength. Once favored primarily by gung-ho body builders, products that purportedly add muscle and increase strength are now being snapped up by weekend athletes hoping to stay in top form, as well as older adults wanting to stay toned and healthy as they age. These sports supplements are not being used correctly, and this causes problems down the road for users. There are many different types of supplements.
Creatine monohydrate, generally known as creatine is a popularly used supplement. Creatine occurs naturally in muscles, but many athletes or body builders take it to increase their strength and size. When using muscles, a chemical called ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) is broken down into ADP (adenosine DI-phosphate) and an inorganic phosphate. The release of the phosphate is what gives the muscles energy. Creatine, the naturally occurring kind, or the kind that comes in a jar, combines with phosphate and can restore ADP back to ATP. Theoretically, this means more energy. But it does not come without a price. The manufacturers and advertisers for Creatine tell people they should use the product because muscles contain an average of 3.5 to 4 grams of naturally occurring creatine per kilogram of muscle. They say the good news is that up to 5 grams may be stored. So, by using their product, you can use your full potential of muscle energy. Basically what the company is telling you is to pay an outrageous a...

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...ing dangerous supplements. Michelle Smith de Bruin of Ireland won three gold medals in the Atlanta Olympics. Quite an accomplishment? Maybe if she had done it without the use of andro. She was banned from swimming for four years because of it. She ended up appealing the drug charges, but was not taken seriously because she spiked her urine sample with alcohol. In the end, she retired from swimming. The use of androstenedione is banned in almost every proffesional sport, the NCAA, and the Olympics, but not in professional baseball. There needs to be a unifrom drug policy throughout all sports, not just certain ones.
The use of sports supplements such as androstenedione or creatine is dangerous, and these drugs should require a prescription to obtain. The people who are using them are misinformed about the side effects that they might have. Athletes are willing to sacrifice their health and well being by taking androstenedione or creatine, in order to perform outstandingly for one season. The United States and the professional sports organizations need to tighten up legislation reguarding these drugs. If nothing is done about this, many people will develop serious medical problems.

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