| Creatine
Creatine is an acid that is naturally occurring in the body – about half of it is introduced in the body from foods such as fish and meats and the other half of the creatine in the body is made in the liver. It’s a substance that brings energy to the muscles and most of it in the body is stored in the muscles. Creatine also comes in a supplemental form. Creatine supplements are known as a performance-enhancers improves performance, strength, lean body mass and recovery between workouts.
Creatine is safe for use by women, but it can cause water retention, which is not the most desirable effect for women, and this water retention can also weight gain. Since creatine is known to help men really bulk up, many women use caution or avoid it all together. Some experts say that using creatine in smaller amounts allow women to get benefits without bulking up, other say that the few extra intensity boosts with low levels of creatine don’t help a whole lot. Dosing strategies designed specifically for females, however, have been shown to give benefits while avoiding many of the negative side effects. Women who are pregnant should be careful since there are not conclusive studies to show whether or not creatine during pregnancy is safe.
DHEA
DHEA is also naturally occurring in the body – it’s a steroid. In fact, DHEA is what is called a hormone precursor. This means that it sets the stage for production of the major sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone and testosterone). DHEA production in the body decreases as we age, but if there is an outstanding condition that causes the production to prematurely slow down you might feel tired, fatigued and even depressed. Studies have also shown that healthy, age-appropriate levels of DHEA can help prevent disease such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease and obesity.
It is also available as a supplement. Because the supplements are now being used for performance-enhancement, there is quite a bit of misunderstanding about DHEA and it’s role for medical treatment of some conditions.
For example, DHEA can be used to treat adrenal fatigue, but doctors don’t recommend taking it without the supervision of a medical professional so that you don’t completely take your levels out of whack – it’s especially important to be careful about over-the-counter DHEA products because many of them are produced and dosed for men.
Since DHEA is a precursor to the sex hormones, supplementation with DHEA can cause some sex-related side effects: increase facial hair, weight gain, acne, breast tenderness and balding.
Ephedra
Ephedra is an herb and has been used in many different cultures as a treatment for colds, hay fever and allergie but it also has been used as a dietary supplement for weight loss, increased athletic performance and increased energy. It’s also the same product that is found in the dietary supplement Phen-Phen that has been shown to lead to serious health problems.
People who have anxiety, high blood pressure, glaucoma and thyrotoxicosis shouldn’t use ephedra because of the potential side effects. Other common side effects include headaches, irritiblity, restlessness, nausea and increased heart rates. Because of the potential side effects, ephedra should be used only under the supervision of a health professional.
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