Texans nutritionist Roberta Anding is back for another nutrition installment of Fitness Corner. Join in by shooting over an e-mail to fitness@houstontexans.com.
A lot of my friends take supplements before they lift everyday after school,
they take creatine, and amino acids, and I was wondering if by taking these if
there going to harmful effects down the road for them?
-- Nick Gniadek
Dear Nick,
**3 oz chicken breast Amino acid supplement
**
|
Tryptophan 390mg |
Tryptophan .55mg |
|
Threonine 1412mg |
Threonine 35mg |
|
Isoleucine 1765mg |
Isoleucine 24mg |
|
Leucine 2509mg |
Leucine 52mg |
|
Lysine 2836mg |
Lysine 169mg |
|
Methionine 925mg |
Methionine 9mg |
|
Cystine 428mg |
Cystine .55mg |
|
Phenyalanine 1328mg |
Phenyalanine 37mg |
|
Tyrosine 1128mg |
Tyrosine 6mg |
|
Valine 1659mg |
Valine 41mg |
|
Arginine 2015mg |
Arginine 129mg |
|
Histidine 1037mg |
Histidine 11mg |
|
Alanine 1823mg |
Alanine 160mg |
So which is best? The three-ounce chicken breast wins hands down. So instead of an amino acid supplement, try real food first and save your money! Additionally, dietary supplements are not regulated in the United States, so what is on the label may not be what is in the product.
Creatine is a supplement that works for explosive sports and has been tested and studied in adults.[1] According to Dr. Joe Chorley in Sports Medicine at Texas Children's Hospital there are no long-term studies showing safety of this product for growing adolescents and until those are available this product should be avoided in young people under 18.[2]
[1] Krieder,RB Effects of creatine supplementation on performance and training adaptation. Mol Cell Biochem 2003;244:79-84.
[2] DesJardins, M. Supplement use in the adolescent athlete. Curr Sports Med Report. 2002; 1:369-73.
