Be careful about performance-enhancing products

People doing physical exercise to lose weight or stay in shape search for better ways to take nourishment to boost their performances. Because of this, they expect miracles from everything they lay their hands on. There is scientific information suggesting that these performance-enhancing products are necessary for sportsmen during heavy or long training. However, this does not include people who exercise to lose weight or those trying to maintain their muscle mass. In other words, people who do physical exercise to lose weight just need a little more carbohydrate, protein and health nutrition than people who do not exercise.

As a dietician, I maintain my life with regular exercise besides consuming healthy nutrition. Every other day I take a walk and protect my muscle mass through fitness, and I do not need any herbal product or fat-burners. After witnessing frightening eating habits, vitamins, fat-burners and protein powders in gyms, I decided to write this article.

There are products that enhance sport performance in the market. According to studies I have conducted, 51 percent of men and 29 percent of women in Turkey use these products. When I ask their reasons for using these performance enhancers, they said that they use them to boost their endurance during exercise, get rid of fatigue after exercise, increase muscle mass, cleanse their bodies of toxic substances, burn fat and accelerate the weight loss process. I learned that vitamin-mineral complex, creatine, amino acid mixes, Vitamin C, L-carnitine, pollen, L-glutamine and special sports bars are the most popular performance enhancers among gym-goers. The people I talked to also added that trainers, certain magazines and drug company representatives offer these products. During my study, I found there are many side effects of these products. People usually complain about the increase of fat mass in their bodies, a decrease in sexual performance, a drop in blood pressure and allergies after using certain drugs and performance boosters. Upon these discoveries, I conducted research on the active ingredients of these products and their effects on people who do physical exercise through scientific studies. Here are the truths about performance enhancing products:

Creatine: As an amino acid, creatine can be found in meat, fish and chicken. It is usually used to increase muscle mass. This amino acid is activated during heavy and repetitive exercises; however, it is dangerous for those who do normal physical exercise to stay healthy. Long-term creatine usage leads to liver and kidney damage as the creatine that is normally synthesized by the body is suppressed. Moreover, it causes electrolyte failure, an increase in blood pressure, digestive system problems and muscle cramps.

Caffeine: Caffeine, which is a stimulant, is usually used by sportsmen to regulate muscle contractions, minimize fatigue, increase concentration, boost endurance and burn fat cells in the blood. The use of this substance might cause headache, an increase in urination and cardiac arrhythmia.

Sodium bicarbonate: This substance, which is sold under the title of alkaline salts, is used to prevent lactic acid accumulation that causes fatigue after a workout. Stomachache, digestive system problems, muscle spasms and cardiac arrhythmia are the most common complaints caused by sodium bicarbonate usage.

Glutamine: As an amino acid, it is used to prevent muscle breakdown in people who do physical exercise. Furthermore, it is known that glutamine is useful to regulate you immune system. During heavy exercise, the amount of glutamine in muscles and blood decreases due to stress. It is offered to sportsmen to prevent illness. Though it is a harmless amino acid, the ideal dosage is unknown.

Antioxidants: During heavy exercise, the increase in oxygen production causes oxidative stress – in other words cell deterioration. Every healthy person should take antioxidants through natural nutrition. However, scientific studies show that antioxidants have no effect on performance during exercise.

Amino acid or Protein Powders: They are used for boosting muscle strength and muscle sizes. Many American sportsmen who use protein powders believe that these substances enhance sport performance. Scientific studies indicate that the muscle mass of body-builders increased after using 400 grams of amino acids daily. Although this dosage is not healthy for a normal person under normal circumstances, it has been revealed that muscle mass can be increased with a protein based diet. Moreover, branched-chain-amino acids, which are very popular among sportsmen, have no effect on one's sport performance. However, experts warn that although these substances increase muscle mass to some extent, long term and excessive usage can cause fat cells to grow.

Therefore, you should watch your diet, exercise regularly, sleep well and integrate a healthy lifestyle into your daily life if you want to enhance your performance during your exercise to lose weight. Is the use of these products healthy, safe or even legal for people who only exercise to lose weight? To find answers for these questions, you should consult a doctor or a dietician.