Sports can be very stressful, especially if played competitively. Recently, the level of competitive sports continues to trickle down all the way to children, with the appearance and growth of little league baseball and peewee football. Coaches of these teams are often very demanding, imploring their children (not their children, but children on their team) to play hard and imply that they should do “whatever they can to win.” The truth is, while sports can build camaraderie and responsibility, it can also cause high amounts of stress and expectation.

As information about and use of nutrition supplements continue to grow, the idea of sports nutrition continues to grow alongside of it. Athletes are starting to use more and more nutrition supplements to achieve their dream of becoming top-tier athlete. Sports nutrition has become a big field of study in nutrition, usually focusing on work outs as well as muscle and agility building. Nutrition supplements are commonly used in sports nutrition, usually combined with extreme work out regimens. Although most athletes use some sort of nutrition supplement, sports nutrition is much more than just the use of supplements. In fact, a sports nutrition regimen usually involves a number of important factors, the two biggest of which are a healthy diet and proper exercise.

While nutrition supplements are mostly harmless, there are a number of nutrition supplements commonly used in sports nutrition that may have adverse effects, one of which is quickly racking up suspensions and fines for breaking rules in sports. Some of the most popular sports nutrition supplements are listed below.

1. Androsetnedione and DHEA

Also known as andro and DHEA, these nutrition supplements are prohormones (or natural steriods) that are broken down into testosterone. However, researchers who studied the supplements have concluded that they do not increase muscle size, improve strength or enhance sports performance.

2. Creatine

Creatine is naturally produced in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. Creatine supplements are very popular in teens, as it has been found to improve strength. The adverse effects of Creatine, however, have not yet been studied in teens and children. Creatine as a sports nutrition supplement has not been proved useful as of yet. Athletes under 18 years of age should not use creatine.

3. Testosterone Boosters

Many nutrition supplements companies may claim that their plants and vitamins can increase testosterone levels and, subsequently, raise sports performance. However, there is little research or proof regarding the effectiveness of these supplements. Excess testosterone may cause unwanted side effects of hair loss, acne, or converted to estrogen, which brings its own problems of gynecomastia and testicular atrophy.

4. Glutamine

Glutamine is an amino acid found naturally in human muscle and is supplemented to refill depleted glutamine levels following anaerobic exercise. This is usually done to avoid a weakened immune system and wasting of muscle tissue. The effects of glutamine in sports nutrition is not proven, however, with conflicting reports on its effect.