2008 Woodie Awards
Supplement Use
David Chmura
Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Sports
Commonly used supplements that contain nitric oxide and creatine have now been proven to cause serious negative effects on the body if taken too frequently. Many competitive athletes in college now are using supplements in order to give themselves the "edge". Not all performance enhancers are illegal and like the ones listed above, are used widely among amateur athletes, yet none of them are regulated by the FDA.
Two prominent supplements commonly used are creatine and nitric oxide. Creatine is used often to give added volume to muscles. The body naturally produces and utilizes creatine, yet when taken in excess the muscles retain water in "water packets" resulting in bloated muscles.
Creatine itself doesn't produce a massive gain in strength, however it does expand the volume of the muscle giving the athlete better visual definition.
Nitric oxide, otherwise known as NO is a primary substance often included within an assortment of many other chemicals. NO's role in the body is to give elasticity to the vascular system. This is also known as vascular dilation.
By dilating ones circulatory system blood flow to the muscles increases substantially allowing more fuel to enter the muscle. With increased blood flow, athletes gain extraordinary pumps and more intense exercises. However, although all these benefits sound great and awesome, and are legal, both substances contain a dark side that can result in serious injury or death.
Though little is known about the long-term effects of substantial creatine use, physicians have agreed that overdosing on creatine can overload the kidneys resulting in kidney failure. Further, those who have used creatine consistently notice that once they stop, muscle volume drops considerably as the water packets dissolve leaving unsightly excess skin.
Nitric oxide is also produced naturally in the body, but like many other natural compounds, users increase the percentage unnaturally so to reach desired performance levels. Previous studies determined minimal negative complications from "correct doses". However, there are major risk factors that originate from the use of NO. People with low blood pressure are advised not to use NO because it can lower their blood pressure to fatal levels.
Two prominent supplements commonly used are creatine and nitric oxide. Creatine is used often to give added volume to muscles. The body naturally produces and utilizes creatine, yet when taken in excess the muscles retain water in "water packets" resulting in bloated muscles.
Creatine itself doesn't produce a massive gain in strength, however it does expand the volume of the muscle giving the athlete better visual definition.
Nitric oxide, otherwise known as NO is a primary substance often included within an assortment of many other chemicals. NO's role in the body is to give elasticity to the vascular system. This is also known as vascular dilation.
By dilating ones circulatory system blood flow to the muscles increases substantially allowing more fuel to enter the muscle. With increased blood flow, athletes gain extraordinary pumps and more intense exercises. However, although all these benefits sound great and awesome, and are legal, both substances contain a dark side that can result in serious injury or death.
Though little is known about the long-term effects of substantial creatine use, physicians have agreed that overdosing on creatine can overload the kidneys resulting in kidney failure. Further, those who have used creatine consistently notice that once they stop, muscle volume drops considerably as the water packets dissolve leaving unsightly excess skin.
Nitric oxide is also produced naturally in the body, but like many other natural compounds, users increase the percentage unnaturally so to reach desired performance levels. Previous studies determined minimal negative complications from "correct doses". However, there are major risk factors that originate from the use of NO. People with low blood pressure are advised not to use NO because it can lower their blood pressure to fatal levels.
Be the first to comment on this story