Sports Nutrition - Essay Example

Sports Nutrition SPORTS NUTRITION This essay is about popular enhancing supplements, whether I would implement the plan for an athlete, the regulations governing the use of these supplements and the way I would counsel an athlete that is using a banned substance. For a long time now, many people who are engaged in competitive sports have been trying to gain an edge over their opponents by using performance-enhancing drugs. These performance-enhancing drugs include steroids, cretins, androstenedione, erythropoietin, amphetamines, stimulants, peptide hormones, human growth hormones and Insulin.

The sports enhancing drugs helps the athletes to enhance physically, increase their body mass, improve strength, aggressiveness, and endurance. These improve performance and helps athletes to recover quickly from injuries. These sports enhancing drugs lead to negative physical side effects, which cause serious medical issues. They may result in men losing their hair, acne, reduced sex drive, sterility, heart diseases and cancer while in ladies growth of facial hair and deepening of the voice experienced.

Therefore, in as much as they lead to gaining of the edge in competitiveness, they may affect the athlete’s overall health and other long-term effects including addictiveness (Shore, 2008). As a result of the above, I can never recommend such supplements to an athlete. Anabolic steroids have synthetic molecules; its source is the natural hormone testosterone. Testosterone influences the building effects on the human body including muscle mass and strength, growing of facial hair and deepening of the voice.

These drugs have been banned, but athletes still use them secretly, and this is why an anti doping test was introduced to discover those who have used them. Performance enhancing drugs may lead to off-field trouble and injury including unusual anger, which could lead to suspension (Shore, 2008). Androstenedione is a steroid hormone that increases production of testosterone and estradiol in both men and women, and adrenal glands, ovaries and testes produce it. It allows athletes to train harder, increase energy, keep the red blood cells and enhances recovery, but its use as a performance-enhancing drug is illegal because it is among the controlled substances and a banned substance by the National Collegiate Athletic association.

A scientific research shows that they are converted to estrogen they do not increase testosterone, and it does not strengthen the user’s muscles. In men, it causes acne, reduced sperm production, shrinking of the testicles and enlargement of the breast while, in women, it leads to masculinization, deepening of the voice and baldness. In both men and women, it increases the risk of heart attack (Shore, 2008). The testing of drugs in sports can be effective if money, research, cooperation and positive incentives for drug free athletes are present.

Countries and participants are making sure that sports are once again played with true sportsmanship spirit hence maintaining the pride of participation and competition. Testing and enforcement steps exist and are in place used to curb drug abuse in sports whereby those caught using such substances are penalized and banned from the sport (Shore, 2008). I would like advice an athlete who is addicted to such drugs to stop using them, concentrate on practice, and work harder in sport. I would also advice those who have never used them not to start using them.

There is no need to affect their health by using these drugs just to improve performance in sports. These drugs may end up destroying an athlete’s career and are also harmful to his or her health. ReferencesShore, R. (2008). A Timeline of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports. Accessed from, www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/magazine/03/11/steroid.timeline/index.html.January 14th, 2013.