May 17, 2009 Read the warning labels before purchasing supplements This is the week for the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon in Corpus Christi, and there will be several teams from San Marcos participating. This is always a fun event; and while there are teams that strive for the winning awards, most of them just like the atmosphere of the event and spending a nice weekend at the beach. I’ll try to have some of the results in next week’s column. There was a very interesting article in this week’s Sports Illustrated about the dangers of the supplement industry. Everyone is familiar with the news lately of athletes taking steroids and other performance enhancing supplements; but this article talked about some of the over-the-counter supplements that anyone can buy. The supplement industry is a $20 billion business that is not controlled by the Federal Drug Administration because it is classified as a “food”; and if the product does not advertise a claim to treat diseases or contain approved pharmaceutical drugs, it can basically put almost anything in it to sell to consumers. One point that the article mentioned was that 25 percent of the 58 sports supplements tested contained banned steroids or stimulants. A supplement can be sold as long as it does not do harm; or, as the people in the business say, “You fly along until you crash.” An example of this is the use of ephedra that was the big seller in the 90s until people, including some athletes, started dying after taking it. The latest supplement to get pulled over by the FDA is Hydroxycut, which has been linked to liver damage and the death of a 19-year-old athlete. Athletes, including runners, are often looking for the magic potion that will help their performance. Long-distance runners are not usually thought of as steroid users like the sprinters; but steroids help recovery and enable an athlete to train harder, so there is that group of runners that will try steroids. Training for a marathon is a real challenge, and it takes dedication and effort to run the 26.2 miles. If there is something that the runner can take that will help them train, most of them will give it a try. It might be something as simple as a cup of coffee or tea for the caffeine benefits associated with the ability to increase endurance and the conversion of fat to energy that has been passed on from runner to runner. One of the things that makes taking supplements that are claiming to increase athletic performance risky is that most people are not label readers. Think about how many times a person reads the label of contents of a drink or food; and in many of these supplements, the warning label is in small print. I have read some that made me wonder why anyone would take the risk of taking the drink in the first place. The warning label states that the recommended dosage for a day is one drink (many people drink from two to three during a workout), and then lists warnings about anyone who takes other supplements or caffeine products, drinks alcohol, is pregnant, or has high blood pressure may result in a long list of potential symptoms. One of them had the symptom of death at the end of the warning list. I asked several athletes why they would take something that has a list of warnings like that. The response was that it picks up the heart rate and body temperature before the workout. All I could think about was, here was a product that elevates your heart rate before you began a workout; and then a runner heads out for a run that will also increase that heart rate. A standard limit for how hard a person should train with regard to their heart rate is to take their age and subtract that number from 220; then multiply that by 65 - 85 percent, and try to stay in that range for a training effect. Imagine if before the run, you are already there from drinking the supplement; and then you go out for a run that will increase that level even more. The one recommendation is to be more cautious of what a runner takes to improve performance; and to read the label on the back and check out the manufacturer of the supplement, as a number of them are very suspect. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!