Warning! Your favorite workout supplement could give you debilitating insomnia and itchy skin

Pre-workout powders and pills are all the rage for fitness fanatics looking for a little kickstart to their grueling gym routines.

But they can have unpleasant side effects.

For Julia Pugachevsky, a senior health reporter at Business Insider, those included developing a dependency on the drug that led her to insomnia, sluggishness and persistent itching.

She started with just half a scoop of an energy-boosting supplement called Cellucor C4 pre-workout powder – which contains 150mg of caffeine per serving, as well as vitamin B6, beta-alanine and creatine, which should help with muscle soreness. endurance.

That’s the same as drinking two cups of coffee, with about 90 mg of caffeine per cup.

After a month, she switched to taking that full dose — just under three cups of coffee in one sitting — and things intensified.

Every time she took it she felt itchy. As if there were ‘bees’ buzzing under her skin – a common side effect of beta-alanine, found in many types of pre-workout drinks.

Ms. Pugachevsky wrote: ‘The results were cartoonishly drastic [at first]. The first time I took it, I felt “Popeye” level strength, and without hesitation I opted for 5 lb heavier dumbbells.” She also found it helped her focus, since she has ADHD.

But it didn’t take long for her to become dependent on the supplement; she reported feeling “sluggish” when she tried to exercise without the supplement. She also started not sleeping anymore, staying up until 1 a.m. the three times a week she went to the gym.

Ms Pugachesvky is not alone.

Pre-workout supplements are everywhere in fitness circles — about 67 percent of male gym-goers and 46 percent of female gym-goers report using them, according to a review by researchers at Gitnuxa market research agency.

Pre-workout supplements can include pills and shakes, but by far the most popular form is powder. It is designed so that athletes can take an hour before going to the gym to feel more energized during their workout.

Each version of this product contains a unique formula, but generally they contain amino acids such as creatine for muscle growth, caffeine for energy, and other vitamins for fuel.

If you use them sparingly and in the right doses, these products are safe, even with their strange side effects, dietitians say.

Researchers don’t know exactly why the itching Ms. Pugachesvky described occurs, but it is known that the ingredient beta-alanine activates the nerve cells in the skin that tell your brain that you are itching.

But many people who take pre-workout are fitness fanatics who go to the gym every day and therefore use these products daily.

Ms Pugachesvky said she started using pre-workout Cellucor’S C4, and it initially helped her in the gym before she became dependent on it.

There are many supplements that promise to ‘burn fat’ and give you energy that are expensive and simply unnecessary, sports nutritionists warn

Model and fitness coach Kevin Kreider told WHY that pre-workout was “just like crack for me” for seven years.

But Mr. Kreider would become an example to many people who were wary of the supplement’s promises when it was revealed that the pre-workout he had been taking contained an Adderall-like chemical called dimethylamylamine (DMAA).

The FDA has been waging war on DMAA since it caused the deaths of… two soldiers in 2011. It is an experimental chemical that has not been tested on humans and is considered unsafe by the FDA because it can lead to a heart attack.

“The FDA is very concerned about DMAA and we advise consumers not to purchase or use any product containing DMAA,” the agency wrote in a statement. Warning 2018 on their website.

DMAA is just one example of the things you could fake pre-workout with, Dr. Pieter Cohen, an internist and professor at Harvard Medical School, told WHYY. “I’ve lost track of how many supplements we’ve found that contain these types of drug-like compounds,” Cohen said. ‘It is countless, countless.’

Even if the pre-workout product you are using is a pure monster, there are serious side effects if you use it too often.

Taking a high dose of creatine, an amino acid that is a common ingredient in pre-workouts, can put a strain on your liver and kidneys. according to Mayo Clinic. It is considered safe when taken in proper doses, but unregulated supplements may contain more than they say.

There is also some concern about the caffeine content in these powders. While some brands stay within a more reasonable range, other pre-workouts contain as much as 400 mg of caffeine, such as the brand El-Jefe.

The FDA states that adults should consume no more than 400 mg of caffeine per day, which is roughly equivalent to about five cups of coffee. You would probably have to take more than 1,000 mg before you immediately experience toxic effects, such as seizures, from caffeine.

However, chronically consuming too much caffeine is the case linked to some heart problems and it is known to throw your sleep schedule out of balance, which has a whole host of effects on the rest of your health.

Fortunately, Ms Pugachesvky was ‘shocked straight’ by her instructor, who told her that the caffeine content could offset her body’s natural rhythms. She has stopped pre-workout completely.

Now she focuses on using more holistic methods of building muscle, such as incorporating more protein and sleep.

Ms Pugachesvky wrote: ‘It’s not as easy (or tasty) as drinking a neon wonder drink. But as with many things in life, slower personal growth is ultimately more rewarding than a quick fix.”