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The Mesa Press

The independent student news site of San Diego Mesa College.

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The Mesa Press

The Mesa Press

Supplement Use

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.

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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.

This occurs because NO dilates the vascular system lowering the blood pressure; if combined with already low blood pressure, one can die of heart failure.

A new study by Dr. Michale Colgan (famous Nutritionist) has indicated extended use of concentrated levels of NO can eventually lead to brain damage. Unbalanced levels of NO in the brain chemically cook the brain and in severe cases lead to retardation.

What may seem unusual is that while many athletes know the possible outcomes of using supplements and the harmful effects that can happen, they continue the use.

Personal Trainer Saroum Verng, after being asked if he would recommend supplements to athletes, answered:

“.athletes who are serious should be able to take them to tone themselves up. But creatine is bad if you don’t stay consistent in using it. ”

These ideas are very prominent among a lot of youth looking to move up into the upper levels of competition.

The best way to protect oneself from the dangers of supplements is to carefully regulate what is put into the body. Familiarize yourself with the chemicals you put in your body and do research on it before making the decision to use. Weigh both the positive and negative and think of how it will impact your life in the future. What enhances the body today may severely injure or kill you later on.

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