Today's topic, and last discussion about specific nutrients, is all about supplements. Over the years, more and more supplement use has entered into our daily diets, used for things like improving health, fighting diseases, and even enhancing performance. Supplement use is especially prominent in the world of sports, in both positive and negative ways. Football players have been known to take anabolic steroids, cyclists to participate in blood doping, weight-category athletes use diuretics to drop weight fast, and even distance runners participate in carbohydrate loading. When we as a society see our sport heroes performing at such top levels, we desire to know their secret and will follow right in their footsteps. In terms of marketing, this is a very tactic to use to sell a product!
Many different kinds of supplements exist, but they mainly fall into two categories: ergogenic aids (like caffeine, blood doping, growth hormones, etc) are substances that increase or improve work, and ergolytic aids which decrease work.
These substances can then be studied in two main ways: through effect studies where testimonials, self reports, and after-the-fact reporting is collected and analyzed, and through control studies; in which just the subject can be blind to what they are receiving or both the subject and the researcher are blind to what the subject is given, whether the actual supplement or a placebo. For the rest of this discussion, I am going to be looking at individual supplements and drugs and discussing their effects and what they are commonly used for:
To begin, amphetamines increase mental alertness, blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose and free fatty acid levels, and muscle tension. They are often used in order to enhance speed, power, endurance, concentration, and fine motor coordination. However, amphetamines can also be highly addictive and can trigger cardiac arrhythmia or death!
Beta Blockers are often used to improve accuracy, especially with shooting sports because they prevent the binding of norepinephrine to its receptor, thus decreasing sympathetic nervous system effects. While they decrease Aerobic capacity, they have no effect on strength, power, or muscular endurance. If an individual were to use beta blockers for an extended amount of time, they can actually cause bradycardia, heart blockage, hypotension, bronchospasm, fatigue, and decrease motivation.
Caffeine is a substance that we all know all too well. It is used mostly to improve performance (in sports because it may improve sprint and strength performance) as well as for its ability to increase mental alertness and concentration. Caffeine also increases catecholamine release, mobilization and use of free fatty acids by the muscles, and increases lipid breakdown. It does have negative effects on us too though when we ingest too much of it; such as nervousness, insomnia, tremors, dieresis, and it leads to dehydration to those individuals who are responders to the effects of caffeine. (Not everyone actually responds to caffeine's effects)
Diuretics are often used for weight reduction for weight-category sports as well as for their ability to mask other drugs during drug testing. Diuretics increase urine production and excretion, thus causing weight loss through water loss. They do have dangerous side effects though: including dehydration, impaired thermoregulation, and electrolyte imbalances.
Another extremely commonly used supplement/drug today is Alcohol. While alcohol provides 7 calories of energy per gram, it also inhibits our metabolism (mostly in high amounts). Alcohol has the ability to dull pain sensation and reduce anxiety through suppressing the release of ADH, which further leads to dehydration. It also impairs psychomotor function through affecting the frontal lobe, used for decision making. It does not, however, have any ergogenic effects on strength, power, speed, or endurance.
The drug cocaine is used mostly for its ability to mask fatigue and pain. It is actually believed to be more of an ergolytic than an ergogenic drug. It increases feelings of euphoria, alertness, and self-confidence through blocking the reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine by the neurons, but it is extremely addictive. It can cause intense psychological problems and it also compromises heart function.
Marijuana can actually act as either a stimulant or a depressant of the central nervous system (your brain) depending on if you are a responder or a non-responder to the drug. More commonly, it acts as a depressant, helping to induce sleep. Marijuana impairs performance requiring hand-eye and motor coordination, fast reaction times, tracking ability, and perceptual accuracy. If you are a strong responder and with too high a dose, it can also lead to personality changes, memory impairment, hallucinations, and psychotic-like behavior. If smoked, it also poses the same risks to your lungs as cigarette smoking.
Nicotine (cigarettes) are most often used to increase alertness and for their ability to calm nervousness. Because nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, it will increase heart rate, blood pressure, autonomic reactivity, ADH and catecholamine secretion, blood lipid levels, plasma glucose, glucagon, insulin, and cortisol. Nicotine is highly addictive and is known for causing various cancers and cardiovascular diseases!
Different hormonal agents have also become popular in use over the years. Today I want to mention five of them.
First, anabolic steroids, which are identical to male sex hormones, are taken in order to increase muscle mass and strength. They do have a very large number of negative effects though; including testicular atrophy, reduced sperm count, prostate and breast enlargement in men, breast regression and masculinization in women, personality changes, liver damage, and cardiovascular disease. In addition to these, anabolic steroids may also shorten the life span of high dosage users.
Androstenedione is another hormonal agent that is used to increase muscle mass, however it does so through stimulating production on endogenous (in the body) testosterone. But again ,this could have many of the same effects on the body as anabolic steroids.
Growth hormones can be used for both the health of individuals as well as for sport performance enhancement. Growth hormone stimulates bone and cartilage growth, enhances fatty acid oxidation, and reduces glucose and amino acid breakdown. Too much growth hormones can lead to gianticism and acromegaly.
One of the hormonal agents that has become a worrisome trend is DHEA, or Dehydroepiandersterone. DHEA claims to boost testosterone, bolster the immune system, preserve youth, decrease fatigue and joint pain, slow aging, and invigorate sex life. However, DHEA right now is an unregulated compound that has an uncertain safety, meaning it is unwise to take DHEA with the possibility of unknown risks.
A final hormonal agent are oral contraceptives. These are used to control the menstrual cycle in women, delay PMS and dysmenorrhea, and alleviate symptoms on competition days for athletes. Oral contraceptives can, however, cause nausea, weight gain, fatigue, hypertension, liver tumors, blood clots, stroke, or heart attacks. So always consult your doctor before starting on a new contraceptive!
With the up rise in use in chemical supplements and drugs, a new field has also emerged in the last decade with the use of herbs as nutritional supplements; such as guarna which is a more potent caffeine substance.
While drugs and supplements can be used for any number of reasons, it is important to remember that all can have harmful and even potentially fatal effects. Therefore, always talk to your doctor about the supplements and drugs you are taking. With their help, we can stay as healthy as possible and for those who are addicted to some negative drug, doctors and other people can help you to break our habits and get back on a healthy track.
I will be talking far more and in depth about drugs and medications during the month of November. So until then, I hope these summaries will suffice.
Today's Workout: I am currently still in my period of rest after being sick. If you are feeling well today, Thursdays are swim days. So go back to any post from a Thursday and use that for you're daily workout today!
Today's Food Tip: Today my boyfriend, Aaron made a delicious roast over his stove and I wanted to share the recipe with you! Next time you are in the store (especially if a sale is going on), pick up an English Roast and then put it into your freezer until you are ready to make it. The morning before you cook the roast, set the frozen meat out on the counter in order to thaw out during the day. After it is completely thawed, rub some cooking oil (preferably olive oil) on the meat and season it with salt, pepper, and whatever other spices suit your fancy (we used thyme). Another great seasoning is some minced up fresh garlic. Then, put this seasoned chunk of meat into a large stew pot. Next, chop up some carrots, celery, and onions to put in the pot with it. Fill the pot itself with a few inches of water, then cook it all over medium heat for a couple hours; until browned and tender! Then enjoy with a side of mashed potatoes or rice! Roast beef is especially good to make because it makes enough for a couple meals. So although a roast can coast anywhere from 8 to 12 dollars, it will feed a single person or a couple for a week! Well worth the cost.
Today's Relaxation Activity: During your down time today, I want to encourage you to take a step back from your day to make a list of everything you want to accomplish in the next week. I find that making lists not only relaxes me by relieving the stress of figuring out what I want to do, but it also helps to motivate and focus me. Often times, I will even carry a mini notebook around with me to jot down additions to my lists when I think of them. So tonight before you sleep, make a mini list of the stuff you want to do tomorrow, or even this weekend! Then spend the next couple days attaining those tasks! You will feel like you've been productive and it will give you a sense of accomplishment.
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