Pre-workouts are dietary supplements that can help you stimulate muscle growth, improve exercise performance, or lift energy levels. These supplements come in the form of pills, drinks, or powders. You can take pre-workouts 20-30 minutes before heavy exercises. These supplements are usually taken by athletes or people who love intense working out daily. Also, a teen or a child might require these supplements for muscle growth, achieving fitness goals, and improving athletic endurance.
But before taking these supplements, you should ensure whether it’s good for your health or goes with your working out plans. Some things you should know beforehand are the effects and side effects of the ingredients used in the supplements. You can consult with a dietitian before taking these supplements or monitor your health with your doctor while taking these supplements to be sure it’s not affecting your body negatively.
Can Teens and Children Use Supplements?
Yes, they can. Workout supplements help young athletes in many ways. It can improve their performance, boost energy, strengthens muscles, etc. The effects of sports supplements might sound tempting for young athletes, but it is best to avoid these as much as possible. However, some of these supplements contain harmful drugs that risk a child’s health. Many experts suggest that most workout supplements offer fewer benefits and more health risks. Before giving your kids any supplements, you should consult their pediatrician first.
Some supplements risk a teen’s health and future as an athlete because they contain some ingredients that many sports associations ban. Rather than relying on sports supplements, focus on eating a healthy diet and gaining the necessary nutrients and energy to keep the body healthy and strong.
Best Workout Supplements for Teens and Children
There are various types of workout supplements available for teens and children. But not all of them are good. Now let’s analyze which workout supplements are appropriate for your teens and children to consume:
Creatine:
Creatine is an amino acid compound naturally stored in your body’s muscles. The liver, kidney, and pancreas create creatine naturally in your body. Food sources of creatine are seafood and red meat. One can also consume creatine as a supplement.
Creatine as a supplement has proven to be the best way to boost energy for an athlete. If you take creatine, it will increase your child’s muscle mass and improve performance.
Creatine is highly beneficial, but taking it for a long time can cause acne breakouts to kidney failure. Sometimes your child might feel nauseous or have headaches. It is also responsible for weight gain.
So before giving your child this supplement, it would be wise to do necessary kidney tests and further follow-up checks if they are already taking the supplement for some time.
Amino Acid Supplements:
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. The amino acid supplement includes arginine, glutamine, leucine, citrulline, glutathione, and cysteine, which helps build muscle. These supplements are generally sold as powders.
The benefits of taking these supplements are increased muscle growth, lowered protein breakdowns, improved endurance, and reduced soreness from intense workouts. Some amino acid supplements have harmful side effects on teenagers, and most doctors agree that athletic teens and children should avoid taking these supplements.
Protein Supplements:
Proteins are the building blocks of our muscles. Teen athletes require a high amount of protein for their natural growth process. Protein supplements contain casein and whey that helps build strong muscles. This supplement generally comes as powders that you can mix with water or milk.
If your child consumes enough protein daily, they won’t need this supplement. But they might need it in a rapid growth period or if the intensity of workouts has increased. Many pieces of research show that no severe side effects are caused by taking these. But overdosing might cause bloating, cramps, diarrhea, and poor appetite. But most doctors suggest teens and children should get protein from their daily diet.
Multivitamins and minerals:
Teenage athletes require a high amount of multivitamins and minerals in their food to thrive. But most kids and teenagers prefer unhealthy foods over a healthy diet which causes a lack of necessary nutrients in their bodies. Their lack of interest in seafood, fruits, and vegetables causes iron deficiency.
Giving multivitamin supplements to your child will help reduce malnutrition. Taking adequate vitamin and mineral pills can help teenagers with fat loss and muscle growth. But if they eat healthily, they won’t need these supplements. But before giving them any of these pills, you should consult the doctor first.
Workout Supplements Teens and Children Should Not Take
Some workout supplements are bad for your child’s health and athletic future. These are testosterone boosters and caffeine pre-workouts. The teen body produces sufficient testosterone hormone, and taking these as supplements might risk their health. Caffeine works as a fat burner and stimulant. Taking too much caffeine can cause a lack of sleep and extreme weight loss.
Conclusion
Some of these supplements have side effects that might hamper your child’s health and natural growth. So rather than relying on these, you can train your child to live and eat healthily. A straight 8+ hours of sleep will give your child’s brain rest and function properly.
You should ensure that they are well-rested and hydrated before exercise. Lack of hydration causes fatigue, so they must drink plenty of fluids before and after exercising. As a parent, you should be careful with your child’s diet, whether the food they consume every day is healthy or the food has enough protein elements to satisfy the teen’s growth needs.
