East Lansing resident and MSU alumnus Bruce Reizen works out Monday afternoon at IM Sports-West. Reizen said he used weight supplements when he was younger.
Though it seems most students are constantly trying to shed pounds, many are fixated on just the opposite.
In an effort to bulk up, students and athletes have turned the dietary supplement business into a multibillion-dollar industry. And although supplements might create positive outcomes from a mirror’s perspective, the products often are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The NCAA prohibits athletes from using dietary supplements that possess certain stimulants and anabolic agents.
However, this is not the main reason certified athletics trainer David Carrier is against people ingesting these products.
“You’re really wasting you money on a lot of the stuff you’re buying,” Carrier said. “You don’t know all the effects of some of this stuff and you’re probably not going to know for about 10 to 20 years.”
Carrier, who provides health care to the Spartan hockey team, said he is a firm believer in staying in shape the natural way — by eating certain foods and exercising.
“Our attitude here with ice hockey is if we need an athlete, so to speak, to get bigger or stronger, then we tell them to certainly eat properly,” he said. “That could be anywhere from three to five meals a day, getting 4,000 to 5,000 calories in their diet — consisting of hopefully 60 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein, 10 percent fat.”
Carrier said he also recommends that athletes lift weights three to four times a week under the supervision of MSU strength coaches.
“I don’t think there’s any fancy formula or any shortcuts to getting bigger and stronger,” he said.
MSU sports dietitian Scott Sehnert said he agrees following a natural approach to staying healthy and bulking up is the safest way to go.
“Real food provides all the nutrients that anyone needs if we are just talking about weight gain,” Sehnert said.
A chicken breast is the better alternative to whey protein, which does not have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration or backed by research since it’s considered a food, not a drug, Sehnert said.
“Dietary supplements are poorly regulated — it could be a placebo or something containing steroids,” he said.
Kinesiology senior Lawrence Jackson said he never had the desire to take dietary supplements and prefers to stay in shape by using similar methods to the ones Carrier advocates.
Jackson said the main reason he chose to never experiment with protein supplements is because they were looked down upon at his high school — but he can understand the appeal behind the products.
“(People take them because) it helps you recover faster,” Jackson said. “They can help you to work out every day instead of every other day.”
Eating enough calories and performing resistance training routines is the smartest way to go, Sehnert said.
“You can eat all the protein in the world, but if you’re not eating enough calories you’re not going to be able to gain weight,” Sehnert said. “Someone can be always taking a 60-gram protein supplement after a lift, but if that’s all you’re eating in the day, it’s not going to be enough to gain weight.”
Economics junior Jonathan Heberer said in the past he would eat whey protein to make up for the calories he wasn’t consuming, however, he has since decided that eating more food is a better alternative to supplements.
“I felt like I wasn’t eating enough, but I find it’s cheaper just to go to the store and buy 10 or 20 cans of tuna,” he said. “If you eat enough food, you will gain weight.”
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Although Carrier is a strict believer in steering clear of dietary supplements, he does stand behind one particular product trusted by those involved with MSU athletics.
“Hockey and most of our athletes here do a Gatorade nutritional supplement — which is 360 calories and they come in the flavors of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla,” he said. “It’s just a liquid, there’s nothing fancy in there. It’s full of carbohydrates, proteins, to add more calories to their diet.”
Carrier said the reason MSU athletes are allowed to use the Gatorade supplement is because it doesn’t contain a lot of protein and simply acts as an extra meal.
“I’m talking about guys who can certainly expend a lot of energy, a lot of calories, you need to have supplemental calories put back in,” Carrier said. “The truth is, if you eat a regular diet you don’t need to supplement it with more protein.”
