This is interesting timing because I’m just writing about children and supplements for the Anabolic Index Nutrition Manual.
Although creatine appears to be good for us, the last two big ticket items that have been have appeared to be good for us have been shown to do harm in excess. In fact, far too many people started consuming EFA’s and antioxidants in ridiculous quantities, only to have subsequent research demonstrate that this practice (in each instance) is harmful.
Will creatine be shown to have negative effects? Increase cancer risk? Cardiac hypertrophy? While no one is thinking about these things at 15, I’ve screwed up enough (in the name of physique enhancement) when I was a teenager to regret it.
How dialed in is one’s training and nutrition at 15? Will creatine really make a difference?
I’m not trying to say that teens shouldn’t use creatine, merely that there’s a lot to consider here.
[quote]David Barr wrote:
Although creatine appears to be good for us, the last two big ticket items that have been have appeared to be good for us have been shown to do harm in excess. In fact, far too many people started consuming EFA’s and antioxidants in ridiculous quantities, only to have subsequent research demonstrate that this practice (in each instance) is harmful. [/quote]
Really? Care to enlighten us on the research that demonstrates EPAs and antioxidants in high dosages are harmful? Now it’s not surprising (or shouldn’t be) that anything in RIDICULOUS quantities COULD be harmful. But what research exactly are you referring to?
As far as antioxidants are concerned, what proof or evidence do you have? Some antioxidants have shown to be PRO-oxidants IN VITRO, not in the body. And we know how well in vitro studies hold up. To my knowledge there are no studies showing negative effects of high dose antioxidants in HEALTHY HUMANS. And even one of the test tube stuides on vitamin C that showed above a certain dose it acted as a pro-oxidant, if you know anything about vitamin C, blood levels reach their max at a small dose of only a 100-200mg. So if you were to take a whopping dose of vitamin C at once, your body would break it down into metabolites of C (which is where many of the benefits of vit C come from) and you wouldn’t have any higher blood levels than someone taking a small dose. So even if in vitro studies mattered, it wouldn’t apply here. The vast amjority of vitamin studies show people with the highest intakes of vitamin C live the longest.
Also I hope you are not referring to the most recent Vitamin E study. That study was a meta-analysis study which examined 19 vitamin E studies (BTW< there are over 800 studies on vitamin E and most of it is positive). Most of the 19 studies were using SICK people. If that’s not enough, only ONE of the 19 studies actually supported the researchers conclusion that high dose vitamin E increased your risk of dying. Take that one study out, and the other 18 showed no such thing.
So I hope you have more anti- antioxidant research than the common ones everyone cites above. Because they were severely flawed studies.
As far as EFAs go, I haven’t seen ANY studies that prove high dose EFA are HARMFUL. Not saying it isn’t possible. But I sure haven’t seen significant evidence to support the notion that you state as fact.