Dossier: Trend sports

Need pills to build muscle? Think again!

It goes without saying that doping is a no-go. But do supplements help with weight training? Who needs protein shakes, creatine powder and L-caritine and when they can be dangerous.

Text: Stefan Schweiger; photo: iStock

Sport and strength training are healthy, and having a toned body is currently all the rage. Initial success at the gym and compliments – on social media, for example – encourage people to stick with body building. But could you get results faster and with less effort? Advertising and social media give the impression that supplements in the form of bars, shakes, pills or even injections are the perfect solution for building muscles. Do dietary supplements work, or do they just put a strain on your wallet – and your health?

Protein products

How it works

Muscles need protein to build new mass. If they are challenged by stress, they adjust to the short-term overload and grow. In this case, proteins are required as a foundation for growth, but only as part of a training programme. If the muscles aren’t worked, they won’t grow, no matter how many protein shakes or bars are consumed.

When is it dangerous?

Too much protein for a short time isn’t a problem, but the body stores extra protein over time and, in the worst case, adds it to the fat reserves. And this isn’t the goal. The Swiss Society for Nutrition recommends that adults need 0.8 g of protein per kilogramme of bodyweight per day. Anyone who exercises regularly should increase their intake to around 1.2 to 2.0 g. And this is regardless of whether you do strength training or cardio.

Best source

Natural sources of protein have one big benefit over protein powders, bars and shakes – they are less expensive. And they don’t come with the, often unnecessary, added sugar or sweeteners. A balanced diet with natural sources of protein is often also sufficient for most competitive sportspeople. Natural sources of protein include dairy products such as quark and cottage cheese as well as eggs, fish and poultry. However, potatoes, nuts and pulses are also effective sources of proteins for vegans. It’s best to take on board protein throughout the day, with an extra portion just after training.

Creatine

How it works

If muscles are challenged intensively for a short period of time – for example when lifting weights or sprinting – they need a lot of energy quickly. That’s where creatine comes in. A high level of this carbon-nitrogen compound pushes muscle growth when training for fast strength, and you fatigue more slowly. However, the dietary supplements industry didn’t invent creatine. It is produced naturally by the liver, kidneys and pancreas.

When is it dangerous?

If bought from a reliable source, creatine products only pose a risk for people with kidney disease. Children and young people should also be careful, because taking creatine products also seems to have an effect on the hormonal balance. Otherwise, it is important to note that taking a lot of creatine causes water to build up in the muscles, which can cause weight gain in the long term. This water is taken from other areas in the body, so it is important to always drink plenty of water.

Best source

If you take on board more creatine than the body needs, you will replenish the supply in your muscles up to a certain amount. This can be done using pills or powders, but natural sources such as meat or fish are just as effective. The rule of thumb is: the more connective tissue, the more creatine. So, specific creatine products make sense particularly for physically active vegetarians. The more creatine the body takes in externally over time, the more it reduces its own production.

Carnitine

How it works

Sport + L-carnitine = double fat burner. The advertising for this supplement sounds great. And it’s true that this compound of amino acids does play a crucial role in metabolising fat and using it to generate energy: carnitine is essential for metabolisation. So, is it a good idea to take an extra dose in pill or powder form to burn more fat? Unfortunately not, according to scientific studies. It doesn’t increase the carnitine content in the muscles.

When is it dangerous?

Extra carnitine is expelled from the body through urine. So it’s not really dangerous, but an excessive dose can cause bad breath, diarrhoea and problems sleeping. And that’s not very enticing.

Best source

The liver usually produces enough carnitine itself. Food such as meat, seafood and, to a lesser extent, mushrooms and nuts can provide extra supplies if necessary. However, studies show that even vegetarians don’t usually have a deficit. So, L.Carnitine pills are more likely to streamline your wallet than your figure.

Anabolic steroids

How it works

Anabolic steroids promise massive muscle growth, loss of body fat and fast recovery. And what makes doping with this drug so tempting is that it does what it promises. And fast. Anabolic steroids stimulate protein biosynthesis, i.e. the formation of new proteins in the cells, and this accelerates muscle growth. However, you also need to train really hard to achieve results.

When is it dangerous?

Always! The list of side effects is long, ranging from acne, weight gain and liver damage to heart failure, mood swings and infertility. They can also lead to the “masculinisation” of women and breast enlargement in men. And most of these side effects are irreversible. This drug is particularly problematic in young people, because anabolic steroids can stop or slow growth. Surely getting a six-pack isn’t worth the risk!

Best source

There is simply no legal source of anabolic steroids for active sportspeople. Full stop. And every illegal source carries incalculable risks, because you don’t know what’s really in these products. Tests show that even supposedly harmless sports supplements, bought from dubious online sources, often contain illegal substances that aren’t listed in the ingredients to enhance the effect, for example anabolic steroids or the “pre-workout booster” dimethylamylamine (DMAA), also known as mehtylhexanamine. It’s best to just stay away from anabolic steroids.

Strength training for young people: better without pills

There is no evidence to support the myth that weight training is harmful for bone growth in children and young people. In fact, scientific sources today show that the opposite is in fact true. And that’s good, because going to the gym is very popular with young people today. Many fitness models and social media stars earn money from advertising powders, shakes and pills for weight loss or muscle gain. They claim that these products are needed to boost performance.

However, the gateway theory put forward by sports scientists indicates that this could start a fatal spiral. It’s easy to slip from harmless protein bars to illegal doping, with inhibitions dropping the further you go. The side effects of illegal doping, in some cases even of supposedly harmless substances such as creatine, are particularly dramatic for young people, because their bodies are still growing.

It can’t be said often enough – a balanced diet provides everything that muscles need, particularly high-quality protein from natural sources. In this case, it’s not only the muscles that grow, but also the pride that they’ve done it without dietary supplements.

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