Senior Ben Wheat and Sophomore Andrew Wheat have been taking over-the-counter health supplements such as Creatine and Protein for the past two years to increase their muscle mass and boost their energy, they said.
"A lot of people are trying to bulk up before Spring Break," Ben Wheat said. "I think a lot are taking more and more stuff."
Andrew Wheat has gained 30 pounds of muscle mass in the two years since he began taking supplements, he said.
But taking too many supplements can cause users future problems, Kimberli Pike, instructor of family and consumer sciences and registered dietitian, said.
"These supplements are something you don't need in large amounts," Pike said. "It's when you start to add large amounts of protein that you actually see more of a dangerous buildup."
The body needs amino acids to make protein, but when someone ingests a protein supplement, the body can become overloaded with one kind of amino acid, Pike said. This overload causes amino acids to build up and cause a number of problems, she said.
People who take supplements can experience dehydration, muscle damage and kidney damage down the road, Pike said.
The problem with over-the-counter supplements is that there are so many new products coming out that the Food and Drug Administration does not have enough manpower to regulate all of them, Pike said.
There are no long-term effects documented yet because no long term studies have been conducted, according to bodybuildingfor you.com.
The Wheat brothers, however, said the products have only produced positive side effects.
Supplement providers target young men and women who are desperate to change their body images in a quick-fix world, but the consumers are often left disappointed, she said.
"It doesn't work as fast as most people think and want," Pike said.
However, the brothers do not rely on the supplements alone to do the work for them. They work out six to seven days a week and do cardio workouts three times a week, they said.
"It's not like a magic drug. It's a supplement so it supplements your workout," Andrew Wheat said. "You can take it, but if you don't come to the gym and work hard, you won't see results."
Numerous Ball State athletic teams provide protein supplements for their athletes, Matt Wenning, strength and conditioning baseball coach, said.
"At this level, it is a necessity," Wenning said.
There are many reasons why college athletes, especially basketball and football athletes, need certain supplements, Wenning said.
"One of the biggest reasons at the college level, unlike the professional level, is that these college kids don't have the time to eat the right foods," he said. "Supplementing them is one of the ways that they can get the vital nutrients that they need."
The baseball team supplies its athletes with protein meal replacements, but teams such as basketball and football have money in their budgets to give their athletes more supplements, Wenning said.
With so many products available and so little long-term research, the best thing people can do is research the product and understand what it does and what effects it could have before using it, Pike said.
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