The multibillion-dollar supplement industry offers an abundance of pills, powders and drinks purporting to enhance performance – but sifting through them all can be tricky.
Creatine is an extensively studied ergogenic aid, used to increase muscle mass and power during short, high intensity training sessions. Your body can store up to 100 grams of creatine.
Performance Enhancing Supplements
Many athletes from professional elite athletes to junior high school students utilize supplements as “ergogenic aids” in order to enhance their performance. These substances, often referred to as “ergogenic aids”, include everything from vitamin C and creatine through diuretics, ibuprofen and painkillers; some enhance muscle strength while others raise blood pressure by increasing oxygen supply to muscles; some compounds are banned by NCAA and Olympics commission due to potentially life-threatening side effects; these compounds include anabolic steroids such as Ephedrine and Dehydroepiandrosterone among many others.
Research into the efficacy of dietary supplements for exercise and athletic performance can be limited by factors like small sample sizes, short study durations, unreliable performance tests and confounding variables. Still, several studies have demonstrated the benefits of tart cherry extract in reducing muscle soreness after resistance-training exercises; sodium bicarbonate and creatine have also been found to boost performance, but more research needs to be conducted before conclusively stating they improve performance; beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) and chromium are among other substances which may improve endurance or strength respectively.
Functional Medicine Lab Testing
Functional lab panels differ from traditional lab tests in that they look at hair, stool, urine and saliva in addition to blood. Utilizing peer-reviewed scientific evidence they provide accurate diagnoses while going beyond what are considered normal ranges in conventional testing to identify issues behind symptoms.
Example: someone experiencing acne could be experiencing either hormonal imbalance, thyroid hormone deficiencies, or poor gut health – though all three could share similar symptoms, they may all have distinct root causes:
Functional medicine practitioners use these specialized labs to take an integrative approach to patient care. By considering symptoms, medical history, lifestyle factors and intervention strategies tailored specifically for each individual patient they can accurately evaluate body system imbalances resulting in preventative and therapeutic care that sets functional medicine apart from allopathic symptom-based disease management.
