Harmful Effects Of Taking Protein Supplements

Food supplementation among athletes often is seen as a way of improving athletic performance, promoting adaptation to training and promoting muscle recovery between trainings, according to a study published by the "Journal of Sports Sciences" in 2004. This study said protein supplements are by far the largest selling supplements, and this is due to the athletes' awareness of increased protein requirement during hard training. However, the study said many athletes ignore the caution of supplement use and take doses that are far above what is necessary, leading to some complications and harmful effects.

Increased Water Retention

According to the study published by the "Journal of Sports Sciences," there is anecdotal evidence supporting the suggestion that the intake of creatine, a type of protein supplement, can increase body mass. However, the study says this increase in body mass is only due to increased water retention within the muscles and this fact can be proved by the decrease in the amount of urine output among those who take this protein supplement.

Increased Calcium Excretion

A study published in the June 2008 issue of "The Journal of Nutrition" said that high protein intakes such as those coming from protein supplementations are consistently associated with increased urinary calcium excretion and that early research studies have found no connection between calcium absorption and protein intake. As a result, most researchers believe that the urinary calcium must be reflecting the loss of calcium from bones. According to this study, this calcium urinary excretion problem can only be resolved by having a high protein intake from natural sources such as dairy products.

Cramping

A study published in the May 2007 issue of the "Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology" said that the long-term effect of the protein supplement is still unknown. However, according to this study, the use of this supplement is associated with some short-term side effects such as episodes of muscle cramping. As a result, the researchers advised that athletes only take this food supplement under medical supervision.

Dehydration

The study published by the "Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology" said the protein supplement creatine has the potential to cause dehydration in athletes who use it. This may be explained by the fact mentioned in the said study published by "The Journal of Nutrition," which says that there is shifting of water from the blood into the muscle. This shifting of water results in the decreased water within the circulation and thus, dehydration.