How is a parent to know if their son's whey supplement is a good nutritious milkshake or loaded with steroids? Angie Mezzettihas been finding out
Teenagers in Ireland have many labels and categories for stereotyping each other.
"Emo" kids wear skin tight clothes with skull and crossbone patterns. "D4 girls" team tracksuit bottoms with boots, perfectly made-up faces and quiff hairdos. Nerds and geeks are into computers. Then there are the "Creo Munchers". These are labelled because they are assumed to be taking large amounts of Creatine protein supplements in order to build muscle.
They are typically rugby guys or lads who like to work out in gyms and look "buff" with well-built and defined muscles, particularly of the upper body. While hairdos and fashions may come and go, the effects of taking Creatine and other supplements may be long lasting and, in some cases, dangerous to the health of young men, according to many experts.
"Most guys buy this stuff through magazines like Men's Health or the internet," according to one teenager who expressed concern about other boys on his school's rugby team. "They take it as a fruit flavour milkshake made up from powder and it looks harmless but they don't know the long-term effects of this stuff."
On the internet one popular product, NO Xplode, promises "the unique ability to get you dialled in and pumped up for every single workout by inducing the strongest and most advanced nitric oxide, creatine and body-mind stimulating surge ever developed in a supplement." Its recommended retail price is £49 sterling for 40 servings.
Psychotherapist Orla McHugh says parents need to be aware how dangerous some creatine products can be. She says some of them not only have a physical impact, but are also brain stimulants. "They make boys feel they can work out for an hour longer. The psychological effect is that they feel really good, more powerful and more macho.
"When they stop then they feel they can't do without it. I do believe it impairs their cognitive functions," she says.
Sports nutritionist Jill Somerville also has grave concerns about the use of Creatine.
"The problem is that it has been found to do some good for building muscle but in very controlled and very particular circumstances," she says. "It is not recommended for teenage boys under 16 in particular.
"Their bones are still growing and there is a danger that they may lift weights that their bones cannot bear," says Somerville. "This could lead to fractures. For young men 16-18 it is not recommended either as they are also still growing. The use of Creatine is so widespread that we don't know who is taking it and in what circumstances."
The dosage is often not adhered to either, she fears, as the boys take the information on the pack and extrapolate it to higher doses, thinking more will make them stronger. "There is a specific amount on the pack and sometimes the boys are taking three times the recommended amount. There is also the danger that some of these may have added steroids and these may not be labelled on the pack."
Somerville recently gave a talk to the parents' association of CBC in Monkstown where use of these supplements is strictly banned. Boys and parents attended and Brigid Roe, a parent who organised the talk, explained that they felt the need to clarify doubt for both.
"Boys see that all these supplements are widely available over the counter from health food shops, etc so they feel they can't possibly be of any harm. Parents had grave concerns about the long-term effect and as children rarely listen to their parents, it was important that this talk be open to both," Roe says.
Orla McHugh, who wrote the book Celtic Cubs: Inside the Mind of the Irish Teenager, says the psychological impact on boys is dreadful. "If it is labelled as a supplement they think it is something missing that needs to be made whole but it's not," she says. "It is making young boys even more conscious of their body image. One young boy complained that he was dropped from the team because he refused to take it," she claims.
Another boy said he thought he would "never be big enough."
"It's like taking speed. It makes them work out more and try to lift weights that are too heavy," says McHugh. Common physical side effects include rashes and acne on their backs and on their faces, she says. "It is also thought to stunt their height growth."
McHugh believes some Creatine products make boys more aggressive and prone to mood swings.
As a big rugby fan herself, she is concerned with the amount of violence during rugby matches. "Aggression on the rugby pitch is one thing but often what you see is violence. It would be very interesting to see blood tests before the final of school rugby matches to see what is in them."
Parents of the Celtic Tiger cubs generation are a bit lost in knowing how to handle this new body-building phenomenon. So much of the emphasis on having a fit or buff body is coming not only from the US TV programmes and experience and but also from eastern European immigrant influences.
Eamon Manning of Nutrition X manufactures these supplements for several Irish distributors. He says Creatine has been around since the 1800s and in pharmacies since 1926 and that Ireland is catching up on the US and eastern Europe.
"The eastern Europeans are very knowledgeable on these protein supplements. It is like bread to them and any small town there will have a gym and nutrition shop. In Ireland these protein supplements are sold only through specialist health stores," he says.
"In the US they are available in any drug store or 7-11. The business is only starting to grow here. We are where they were 10 years ago."
His company is opening a new factory in Shannon shortly to supply the Irish market.
"Essentially it is dehydralised whey protein without lactose or fat. You add water to rehydrate it and it is available in 12 flavours. They give it to burns victims."
Manning says some Irish retailers won't sell to under 18s and that the EU regulates the production very strictly.
"Some ingredients are added in the US products that are not allowed in EU."
It is illegal to sell Creatine in France.
Gareth Duignan of Universal Nutrition in Dún Laoghaire is a supplier in south Dublin of health supplements and he has seen demand for these protein supplements increase steadily. "Most of my business comes from rugby guys, both schools and rugby clubs, guys from 15 years and up," he says.
"When we opened first we thought it would be mostly body builders. Similar businesses in the city centre were quieter coming up to Christmas as most of their business comes from the eastern European body builders."
Duignan himself has been working out for years and takes these supplements and says they help him build muscle.
"When you are lifting weights you are tearing muscle. Protein rebuilds muscle. Basically to build muscle you have to take in a lot more protein than a regular person would."
He says he stresses to boys to take only the recommended amounts of these supplements. They come in powder form and sometimes particularly the younger boys take more believing that it will make them more powerful, which is not the case.
Most of his customers come in every three or four weeks and buy in bulk. The average buy is a 5lb jar of whey protein - his best seller. One typical product, Maximuscle, costs €54 and is stamped with the official Drug Screened logo.
"Whey is 100 per cent protein and is a byproduct of turning milk into cheese. It is the same stuff as baby food. It is low in calories and helps speed up the metabolism," Duignan says.
John, a young rugby player in south Dublin, says it is frightening the way some guys talk about it in school where use of such supplements is banned and discouraged.
"Guys talk about it and lots of them take it, some as young as 14. Some parents don't know they are taking it and they hide it under the bed. I think they are addicted to it psychologically as they just want to look good and rugby comes second. If you are building muscle you need to build up speed at the same rate."
He says he believes it expands the heart muscle as well and can lead to problems with the heart and veins.
The Irish Sports Council is very concerned about the use of Creatine and it recommends against using it.
"We don't endorse the use of supplements at all and this is backed up be research," said its spokeswoman.
According to the council, in May 2003, the International Olympic Committee published the results of a study which included Creatine products. It found that 15 per cent of the 634 supplements it tested, including contained banned substances, including nandrolone.
Listed on a country-by-country basis, the Netherlands saw the highest levels of positive products with just over one in four of the tested substances containing a banned substance. The UK had the third-highest rate, with 18.9 per cent providing a positive result.
The Irish Sports Council believes there are huge risks especially for the elite athlete. "There are also concerns about the side effects, especially in the long term," the spokeswoman says.
"While these supplements like Creatine are not banned, there is a huge responsibility on the athlete to be sure they are drug free."
A UK sport leaflet on sports supplements and associated risks says that Creatine can be taken by athletes only at certain times and under strict supervision.
It warns "athletes who use supplements may be at risk of a positive drugs test" and that "they are solely responsible for any prohibited substance in their system".