Performance-enhancing supplements are dietary supplements designed to improve athletic performance. While there is a lack of scientific evidence for many of these, this is not the case for the three listed below:
- Creatine
- Caffeine
- Bicarbonate
Discourage clients from shopping online, at health food stores, or abroad.
Creatine
In the human body, creatine is produced from amino acids in the liver and kidneys and is then transported to the muscles via the bloodstream.
Additional information for those interested: In the mitochondria of cells, creatine is synthesized into creatine phosphate, a process that consumes ATP. Creatine phosphate is then transported to the muscle myofibrils (actin & myosin), where it can regenerate ATP, which can then be utilized as an energy source during the first few minutes of intense muscle work, before other ATP-generating pathways have reached full activity (glycolysis).
Creatine supplements are sold as creatine monohydrate, which has been proven to increase strength and muscle mass. It is primarily used in explosive sports such as powerlifting, sprinting, and jumping and throwing events.
Caffeine
- Raises blood pressure
- Gets your heart racing
- Opens up the bronchial tubes
- Stimulates the central nervous system
- In a study published in the scientific journal *Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise* in 2008, researchers tested the cognitive performance of cyclists following intense and exhausting exercise. The participants were given either an energy bar containing carbohydrates and caffeine, carbohydrates alone, or a placebo drink. After two and a half hours of cycling at 60% of VO2Max, two different tests were conducted to measure cognitive ability following exhaustion. The “caffeine group” performed best on the tests. They also performed better during the session than the other two groups. An increased ability to concentrate persisted despite the physically demanding effort, an effort that in itself resulted in better results than the other groups.
Bicarbonate
- Consumption of sodium bicarbonate is believed to inhibit the decrease in intramuscular pH, a process that occurs during anaerobic exercise. In that case, lactic acid will appear much later when bicarbonate is consumed than when it is not.
- The increased buffer capacity in the blood will facilitate the clearance of lactate.
- However, bicarbonate is not popular because of its severe side effects, which include severe diarrhea.