Exam 15: Nutrition and Physical Activity: Keys to Good Health

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An ergogenic aid is a substance taken with the intent of improving exercise and athletic performance. Athletes will also take erogogenic aids to help prevent or treat injuries or disease and improve their physique.
Some ergogenic aids can improve physical performance; however, many are not beneficial. Furthermore some ergogenic aids are associated with serious health risks. For the safety of athletes and the ethical conduct of sporting competitions, the use of ergogenic aids needs to be closely regulated.
I would place anabolic steroids on the banned substance list.
Anabolic steroids, such as testosterone, build muscle and increase strength; providing an unfair advantage to the athletes that would be using them.
There are also significant health risks associated with anabolic steroids.
Chronic use of anabolic steroids has been found to increase the risk of infertility. In younger athletes, they can also cause early closure to the plates of the long bones. This can permanently stunt growth. Anabolic steroids can also affect the sex organs. They can cause the testicles to shrivel and enlarge the breast tissue. Generally, they can cause feminization in males and masculinization in females.
Anabolic steroids also increase the risk of cancer, liver damage, and hypertension. They also affect the individual's mental state causing depression, delusions, and extreme anger.
Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB)is considered to be an alternative to anabolic steroids and is used with the intent of building muscle.
I would place GHB on the banned substance list because there are significant side-effects associated with its use.
GHB has been found to cause dizziness, tremors, and vomiting. Furthermore, some users experienced seizures and died as a result of using the substance.
Creatine is a natural substance found in meat and fish. Our body can also produce and store creatine in the muscles. Creatine is used to quickly regenerate ATP and has been found to be beneficial in short-term power activities.
I would not place creatine on the banned substance list. Firstly, it would be difficult to ban a substance found naturally in foods and produced by the body. This would also make it difficult to detect supplementation. Secondly, although creatine has been found to improve physical performance, it seems to be a relatively safe product for athletes to use. In this case, creating an environment where creatine use is fairly common should not negatively impact the athletes' health.
They myth that creatine causes cancer has been disproved. Furthermore, the theory that creatine increases the risk of muscle cramps, injuries or other side effects is not supported by scientific evidence. Provided athletes follow the proper supplementation procedures, it is a relatively benign substance.
Caffeine acts as a stimulant that increases alertness and makes people feel energized. Caffeine also increases the use of fat as a fuel and therefore may be beneficial for endurance athletes. Although caffeine is a drug, it is omnipresent in our current culture.
There are side-effects associated with high intakes of caffeine particularly in certain demographics such as young children.
Side-effects of caffeine include: dehydration in those not habituated to caffeine, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, dizziness, insomnia, headaches, gastrointestinal distress, and anxiety.
The question of a caffeine ban is controversial and in some cases the solution has been to set a maximum level, which athletes cannot exceed.
I would not place a complete ban on caffeine; however, athletes should be well informed of the risks and amounts which they should not exceed. I would also consider placing it on the banned substance list for athletes under the age of 18 years.
Carnitine is a compound made from amino acids. It serves to help move fatty acids into the mitochondria, where they can be metabolized to produce ATP. For this reason, it has been proposed that carnitine supplements can help improve the use of fat as a fuel source and act as a "fat burner".
I would not place carnitine on the banned substance list, as its use has not been associated with negative side-effects nor has it been found to improve physical performance. In light of this, however, I would inform athletes that it is ineffective and they are likely wasting their money by consuming carnitine supplements.