50% of top Atheletes use amino acid creatine
Athletes know that if they improve their performance by even a tiny amount, it will make a big difference.
For top athletes its not longer enough to eat an everyday healthy diet - most use one or more food or vitamin supplements to boost their performance.
A wide array of perfectly-legal substances are taken to improve fitness and allow athletes to gain extra muscle.
Many feel they have to take the supplements simply to keep a level playing field between themselves and their competitors.
Supplements to improve performance are nothing new - sports drinks with added glucose and replacement salt have been around for decades for example eating baking powder helps to disperse lactic acid from the muscles.
But sports nutrition has entered a whole new level of complexity in recent years, with evermore sophisticated "ergogenic aids" marketed to athletes.
In a recent newspaper poll of top athletes, more than half had admitted taking the amino acid creatine, which is sold over the counter in powdered form. The majority of athletes feel that even the potential of the slightest improvement of performance is too great an opportunity to miss to gain that competitive edge.
Other popular supplements are:
- Glutamine - reduce fatigue, build muscle and boost the immune system
- Trypthophan or 5HT - increase production of adrenaline, the "fight or flight" hormone
- Protein powders - improve recovery after training and increase strength and muscle growth.
And athletes make extensive use of vitamins and minerals such as folic acid.
Based Upon article from http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/in_depth/2000/drugs_in_sport/859463.stm
Ref:
10/7/2008 | Back to news
