Lewis 1 Jordan Lewis English 1103 Ms.

Ingram November 8, 2012 Sport Supplements Work Statistics show that half of the United States population takes some kind of vitamin or dietary supplement every day (Stobbe 1). This isnt surprising because taking a supplement is a lot more convenient than eating certain foods that contain the desired vitamin or are high in protein. For example, I do not like to eat oranges or drink orange juice so to get the recommended amount of vitamin C for me to be healthy I take a vitamin C supplement every morning with my breakfast. In 2009 Americans spent thirty four billion dollars on vitamins and supplements alone (Wilson 1). That is a lot of money to spend on anything but especially on something that is as controversial as health supplements. Some people claim that sport supplements do not work and it would be a major waste of money if that were true. So I decided to find out for myself what the benefits and side effects of taking a sport supplement, like creatine, were and if sport supplements really worked. Although some skeptics argue that sport supplements are not effective, research shows that using the sport supplement of creatine increases strength, muscle mass, and will reduce muscle soreness after working out. The use of supplements dates back more than five thousand years to the Chinese, Babylonians, and Egyptians. These cultures used supplements/ natural concoctions as a part of their rituals and traditions (Antonio 2). Although the Chinese were the first known people to use natural supplements at all, the first recorded people to use supplements as an aid in athletics were the Ancient Greeks (Antonio 2). Supplements back then were not the same as today, no

Lewis 2 manufactured pills or powders existed. In Ancient Greece, supplements were foods that athletes and trainers thought had spiritual benefits along with nutritional benefits. Gladiators would sometimes eat the heart of a lion because they believed that if they consumed it then they would be as courageous as a lion in battle (Antonio 2). Such practices were frowned upon and very controversial back then just like the use of some supplements are today. Although the use of natural sport supplements has been around for thousands of years the first manufactured supplements, vitamins, did not arise until the early twentieth century (Antonio 2). One of the first experiments conducted to test the effects that sport supplements had on performance was conducted by Harvard Medical School in the 1920s. Their experiment consisted of runners in the Boston Marathon and it concluded that the use of a supplemental carbohydrate was effective in decreasing fatigue (Antonio 2). Since the first sport supplement experiment in the 1920s there have been countless other experiments conducted testing their effectiveness and safety. One of the most effective sport supplements available today is creatine. Creatine was discovered by Michel Eugene Chevreul, a French scientist, in 1832 (Williams 6). Although creatine has been around for one hundred and eighty years it was not studied as an exercise and sport performance aid until the 1980s. Since then sport supplements have exploded in popularity and in number (Williams 3). With hundreds of sport supplements available how can you decide which one to choose? The most important part of using a sport supplement, or any health supplement, is choosing the right one. To make the right decision the consumer must educate themselves with unbiased information (Antonio 9). For education look at experiments and studies that have been conducted by doctors or specialists. For example, if you are interested in using the sport supplement creatine then you should look at some of the two hundred plus experiments

Lewis 3 conducted to test the effects of creatine, the benefits, and check to see what, if any, adverse effects that you might experience with creatine supplementation before using the product. I found that in a most of the experiments conducted concerning creatine the consumer experienced improvements in strength and sprint speed. Up to the year 1999 there has been over two hundred research studies that have evaluated the safety and effectiveness of both long term and short term creatine use (Antonio 51). Doctor Richard Kreider, a leading specialist in creatine supplementation, says that although research has generally indicated that many of these nutrients do not affect performance, creatine has consistently proven to be one of the most effective nutritional supplements available. A majority of these studies focused on the short term, one-two months, effects of creatine supplementation and found that it increased strength and muscle mass (Antonio 51). Richard Kreider, PhD, states that long term creatine supplementation, up to five years, increases strength, sprint performance, and reduces soreness of muscles. Although not all studies report ergogenic benefit, it is my view that, with the exception of carbohydrate, creatine is the most effective nutritional supplement for athletes (Antonio 51). It is common to experience some negative side effects with any drug or supplement. However there is no evidence of any adverse effects of creatine supplementation when the product is used correctly (Antonio 51). Although most supplements are beneficial there are some that can be harmful and may cause injury or illness. That is one of the prime reasons that critics give as to why they are skeptical of sport supplements (Bassit 2). To help consumers better distinguish between safe and unsafe supplements President Bill Clinton signed The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) on October 25, 1994. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act allows supplement manufacturers to market more products as dietary supplements but they have to

Lewis 4 provide information about the products benefits so that consumers can make an informed choice on whether or not to use that particular supplement (Antonio 4). I find the topic of sport supplements interesting, partly because I have used them in the past and was interested in finding out if I benefited from using them. This past summer I worked out four to five days a week and was using two supplements, one before working out and one after working out. My pre-work out supplement during that time period was a product I bought from Planet Nutrition called NO Shotgun MHF-1. About thirty minutes after taking this I began to feel the effects. According to the label this product is designed to give you more energy so you can get a better workout in and reduce recovery time after workouts. About thirty minutes after drinking it I began to feel the effects. It started with my chest and upper back becoming itchy and then progressed to a tingling sensation in my hands and fingers. This kind of worried me but I reasoned that this was an effect from the high amounts of caffeine in the product and sense I do not drink soda or coffee my body is not used to that much caffeine. After I was done working out I would go home and mix up a batch of my post workout supplement, GNC Pro Performance AMP Amplified Creatine XXX - Fruit Punch flavor. I did not experience/notice any adverse effects from taking this supplement. It tasted a lot better than my pre-workout supplement did as well. I experienced faster results over the three month period while I was taking these two sport supplements than I did the previous 5 months, during which I had the same workout schedule, not taking any supplements. So from personal experience I can say that taking a credible sport supplement is beneficial. After looking into the effectiveness of sport supplements and experiments conducted by doctors and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists I found that taking a sport supplement is beneficial. If you are interested in using a sport supplement you should do some

Lewis 5 research of the supplement you are interested in to see what results others have experienced with the product and to see how safe it is along with any reported adverse side effects. Follow the usage directions on the label to ensure that you are experiencing the most results and are using it correctly/ safely. If you use these tips about how to choose a good sport supplement for you and how to us it then you will get the desired results.

Lewis 6 Citations Antonio, Jose. Stout, Jeffrey R. Sports Supplements. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001. Print Bassitt, Cheryl. "3 Ways Supplement Companies are Killing You." Nutra Legacy, 10 2011. Web. Web. 08 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nutralegacy.com/blog/general-healthcare/3-wayssupplement-companies-are-killing-you/ Stobbe, Mike. "Vitamins: How Many Americans Use Them?" Huffington Post. (2011): 1. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/13/vitamin-use_n_848777.html>. Williams, Melvin H., Richard B. Kreider, and J. David Branch. Creatine: The Power Supplement. 1st ed. 1999. Print. Wilson, Philip. "Conditions & Treatments" Consumer News. (2009): 1. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. <http://news.consumerreports.org/health/2009/08/information-on-natural-medicinemoney-spent-on-alternative-medicine-alternative-treatments-vitamins.html>.