When Jim Magidson started a serious weight-lifting program seven years ago, he was “scared to death” of taking any dietary supplement to build muscles or lose fat. By mid-1999, he experienced a plateau in his training–and a dramatic change of mind. He decided it was time to try the same supplements he never imagined taking.
Like the queues that form in a health club weight room by 5 p.m., Magidson is just one of growing number of Americans who are lining up for dietary supplements to get pumped up. Muscles are in, and nothing appears out of the question to get them.
In earlier generations, little boys imagined themselves looking like Charles Atlas by merely following his exercise program. Nowadays a balanced diet and regular exercise no longer seem to be enough. Taking multivitamins or stocking up on protein powder are foregone conclusions.
Americans are paying serious cash for performance-enhancing and muscle-pumping supplements such as creatine, androstenedione (made famous by baseball slugger Mark McGwire) or ephedra (promoted as a fat burner) that frankly don’t stand on much scientific research.
That hasn’t stopped many people.
“I have CPAs, lawyers and doctors among my clients,” said Michael Venice, a personal trainer based at Sharper Fitness in downtown Chicago. “They are still buying into the market hype. They want to believe in fat-blockers or ‘exercise-in-a-bottle’ supplements. They want an edge.”
Problem is, sometimes the edge is more than what’s bargained for. Venice said some clients are using preworkout supplements with such stimulants as ephedra (also known as ma huang) and caffeinelike substances that actually make them “edgy.”
“That’s good if you are planning to throw some weights around,” he said, but maybe not so good for your mood or if you want to avoid throwing your personality around. Some experts say a strong cup of coffee will do the same job with less harm.
Ephedra is a main ingredient in many natural weight-loss and fat-burner products but a prime example of what doctors and medical reasearchers mean when they say “natural” doesn’t always mean safer or better.
Though the 1994 Dietary Supplements Health Education Act might be considered landmark legislation by consumers who want unlimited access to vitamins, herbs and other supplements, others say the law’s flexibility is its weakness.
“The 1994 act puts the burden of proof on the Food and Drug Administration to show a substance such as ephedra [also widely used in its synthetic ephedrine form] is not safe, rather than for companies to prove it is effective,” said Wilkie Wilson, professor of pharmacology at Duke University Medical Center and co-author of “Pumped: Straight Facts for Athletes About Drugs, Supplements and Training” (W.W. Norton, $14.95). “Congress made it safe to sell anything.”
Ephedra is among the most controversial supplements, rating more than 1,200 complaints filed with the FDA. Those reports include 70 deaths and many cases linking strokes, heart attacks, seizures and hypertension to the herb and its variations. Many lawsuits have been filed against manufacturers, yet muscle-magazine ads are still quick to show men and women with bulging physiques and touting hundreds of products containing ephedra.
Another problem that ephedra illustrates about the downside of the lenient 1994 dietary supplements act is the inconsistency in manufacturing.
The University of Arkansas College of Pharmacy has evaluated the labels of ephedra supplements and found that 20 percent differed in actual content from what was listed on the label. Some were superpotent and others barely contained the herb; others were made with synthetic ephedra, though claiming to be natural.
Wilson said his research shows that products with ephedra and caffeine do actually help boost metabolism by 5 percent to 10 percent. He questions, however, whether it is worth the potential risk to one’s cardiovascular and central nervous systems, especially because there are decidedly safer ways to boost metabolism, such as exercise.
It’s an important point in the debate over performance-enhancing supplements to build today’s version of the Charles Atlas body in both male and female versions.
Most people–a majority are men, but women increasingly are eyed as the next market–who take the capsules, liquids and powders haven’t maximized the other resources available to them. Those are weight training and proper nutrition (beyond a balanced diet, two key strategies are eating more frequent but smaller meals and making sure to get some carbohydrates and protein immediately after a workout).
For instance, University of Florida researchers have looked extensively at how many sets of weight-lifting exercises are optimal for building muscles, both size and strength. Results show that one set is enough to make significant gains and fit into a busy schedule. But doing second and third sets will bring incremental gains that are noticeable to the dedicated lifter.
That would be the natural approach, as opposed to seeking out a doctor who prescribes shots of human growth hormone. A stop at the performance-supplements shelves could be interpreted as an over-the-counter strategy to the same end.
Gaining the edge is risky
“What surprises me so much is what people are willing to do to their bodies for little edge,” Wilson said. “We are talking about serious metabolic toxins and anabolic agents for maybe an inch or two on their arms or chests.”
It’s all in the dream of a perfect body, which Wilson speculates is impossible without some laboratory help.
“We tried to get some photos of bodybuilders who don’t use chemicals,” he said. “Our sources basically said you can’t find them, because every photo of some guy with a pumped body uses chemicals. A bodybuilder might say he is natural because he has been off supplements for 12 weeks.”
Wilson worries most about the impressionable group of America’s teenagers. “I am extremely concerned that people are not fully developed in their bodies, including the brain, before age 21,” he said. “We just don’t know what damage might be done. Androgenic, or male hormone, compounds can have all kinds of negative effects, including reduced height. Male hormones send all sorts of signals to the brain. And we are just beginning to discover how androgenic compounds affect women.”
Reputable supplement companies warn against using a product such as creatine if you are 18 or younger. One of the biggest reasons is that no long-term findings are available, even if a body of research shows creatine might increase power and speed in trained athletes.
Yet a December 2000 Mayo Clinic survey of 300 Rochester, Minn., student athletes showed that 27 of them had tried creatine. About half of those were still using it because they said they believed it works, while 20 percent of the respondents experienced the most commonly reported side effects of diarrhea and cramps. Perhaps most bothersome is that a quarter of the creatine users were taking more than the recommended dose.
Changing attitudes
Shazad Carbaidwala is a student and football player at North Park College on the Chicago’s North Side. He tried creatine at age 16, when he was 148 pounds.
“I stopped using it after a while because it made me bloated, and I pulled muscles a lot,” Carbaidwala said. “I was always tight and had to drink a lot of water to avoid muscle problems.”
Like many teens, Carbaidwala said his main information source for creatine was his group of friends. “I didn’t do much research,” he said. “I thought I was putting something good in my body.”
These days, Carbaidwala participates in the football team’s weight workouts five days per week and supplements his daily meals with protein shakes. He prefers the brand of protein supplement that goes for $20 per 2 pounds but sometimes opts for another brand that sells at 4 pounds for $20 to save money. The regimen has allowed him to gain nearly 40 pounds of muscle on his 5-foot-7 frame.
Other research shows the messages about developing more muscle don’t stop with high school graduation. Texas Tech researchers have found that about 14 percent of college-age males and more than 3 percent of females in the university gym use androstenedione, which is considerably more potent and with greater risk of side effects than creatine. This “andro” use for 1999 is basically the same number as 1998 despite a significant amount of negative publicity about the supplement during McGwire’s home run chase.
Maybe andro users would be better served to bone up on a pair of studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In 1999, Iowa State researchers found a 300-milligram dose of andro did not increase muscle mass or strength when compared with a placebo pill during an eight-week period. The study of 30 men between 18 and 29 did show, however, that the supplement lowers HDL, or “good” cholesterol.
In February 2000, Harvard scientists found a daily 300-milligram dose of andro did increase blood levels of testosterone but similarly upped two types of the female hormone estrogen in 42 male subjects. Besides lower HDL cholesterol, a rise in testosterone in men can lead to severe acne, male-pattern baldness and possibly liver disease. A man with higher than normal estrogen levels can develop breast tissue and suffer a loss of sex drive. For women, increased testosterone can lead to a deeper voice and body hair.
Monique Ryan, an Evanston-based sports nutritionist, said “pro-hormone” supplements such as androstenedione or the hormone DHEA (purported to boost testosterone and provide an anti-aging effect) should only be prescribed by physicians, no matter if an individual is a strapping 20-year-old or someone aspiring to relive their youth.
Too much testosterone
“One problem is hormone-related cancers when the body produces too much testosterone,” said Ryan, who has studied sports supplements research extensively as part of her consulting to elite cyclists and runners throughout the country. “The key fact is the supplements don’t seem to increase muscle strength.”
There is some research evidence that creatine can improve power lifting or jumping ability but only in athletes already in intense training for their sports. Typical recreational athletes are better served by “recovery nutrition” or making sure to get a post-workout snack (high-carbohydrate, moderate-protein), Ryan said. Interestingly, some researchers contend creatine’s greatest benefit might be for people with atrophied muscles from an injury or illness. For now, all research has to be considered preliminary and not conclusive at best.
“We don’t know much about how creatine or andro or any of this stuff affects the human body and even less about how it affects the developing human body,” Wilson said. “There’s not much that works that is safe, and there’s not much safe that works.”
For his part, Jim Magidson started with creatine.
“It didn’t do much for me,” said Magidson, 38, who owns his own advertising agency in Chicago.
Others swear by it.
“It’s great stuff,” said Frank Masters, a 68-year-old personal trainer at Lakeshore Downtown Athletic Club. “It does allow me to work out harder and longer because it keeps my muscles hydrated.”
But Magidson was unimpressed. He kept “poking around” on the Internet to discover a Biotest product called Androsol, a topical pro-hormone spray that claims to maximize the male hormone testosterone. He later switched to Nandrosol, a stronger version of the Biotech product.
Magidson sprays it on his entire body: 60 to 70 sprays with each application, twice each day for two weeks. Then he cycles off the spray for four weeks, going one week without any supplementation and three weeks using a Biotest product called Tribex that is another pro-testosterone formula featuring the herb Tribulus.
He credits these supplements and changing personal trainers and workout routines with a gain of 17 pounds of muscle in his arms, shoulders and back that “people at the gym certainly notice.”
Coping with hormones
Magidson notices his own effects from the pro-testosterone supplements, which he estimates cost him about $250 every three months if he buys in bulk.
“My body tends to shut down making testosterone on its own,” Magidson said. “The first time I use [the spray in each cycle], it causes my testicles to shrink.”
When he goes off the supplements, his body seems to make more testosterone. He said he knows this because he feels more aggressive. The “sense of overaggression” lasts for three to four days.
Magidson said he “probably should have seen a physician before starting all of this.” Statistics show less than half of patients inform their doctors about the use of vitamins and herbs for health. The percentage among people using muscle-building or fat-burning supplements is speculated to be much lower.
“It’s important to recognize the incredible availability of products goes along with people being much more health-conscious,” said Scott Swartzwelder, a psychologist and researcher at Duke University Medical Center who co-authored the “Pumped” book with Wilson and Duke pharmacologist Cynthia Kuhn. “People feel more empowered to do something, rather than just follow doctor’s orders.”
Part of that something is choosing foods more carefully and using “meal replacer” bars and shakes.
“Our protein powders and energy bars sell better than we even hoped,” said Paul Toback, corporate development director for Bally Total Fitness, the Chicago-based company that operates 385 health clubs nationwide and started selling its own brand of supplements in 1997.
Toback said two-thirds of people who join a Bally club intend to lose weight, including at least half of all men. The quest for a perfect body has evidently crossed any gender boundaries of previous generations, Charles Atlas or not. Meanwhile, both Cindy Crawford and Christie Brinkley, supermodels and moms, have signed on with sports-supplement giant EAS to be celebrity spokeswomen for a new “smart nutrition” line of AdvantEdge bars and shakes.
“The average guy thinks a lot more about his body than 20 years ago,” said Magidson, speaking as a muscle builder and advertising professional who was first tempted by Charles Atlas ads as a “boy who was fat.” “The media knows this and finds a way to make money from it. For men, a lot of self-image is what we do for a living. I have always felt good about my work and career. I wanted to feel the same way about my body.”
BROWSING THE SUPPLEMENTS SHELF
Protein powder was cutting edge five years ago and is mainstream now. Protein shakes are common for recreational athletes and bodybuilders. Studies show protein needs rise when adding muscle, but too much protein can put an extra nitrogen load on the kidneys.
Fat burners are among the most controversial supplement categories. Products include some combination of the herb ephedra (or a synthetic version), guarana seed (a natural caffeinelike source) and L-carnitine (a “non-essential” amino acid plentiful in red meat, poultry and dairy products). Ephedra has been cited as potentially toxic by the Food and Drug Administration.
Creatine monohydrate is touted for helping muscles stay powerful longer during games or workouts. Research supports the hypothesis for the most part but only in highly trained athletes and at proper doses. Creatine is a substance easily available in meat and fish.
Androstenedione is a “pro-hormone” that converts into the male hormone testosterone upon ingestion. Studies point to side effects such as lowered HDL, or “good cholesterol,” and mood swings. But research doesn’t indicate performance gains.
