World Vegetarian Congress in India
If you live in or are visiting India this month, you may be interested in attending the 2006 World Vegetarian Congress being held September 10-16 in Goa, India. The Congress…

Chicken Casserole
This low-fat chicken casserole makes a great fall dish. Those of you with slow cookers could prepare this before leaving for work. I make mine when we get home from…

Last week, I embarked upon a quest: a quest to let Carnie Wilson know who I am, and that I think she is DA BOMB. I put the call out to Carnie. I’ve even got Fit Club host Ant assisting me — Ant and I have been corresponding for weeks (we’re pretty much BFFE’s now) and he forwarded the link to my recap to Carnie. No, not through some VH-1 publicist. He sent it to CARNIE’S PERSONAL EMAIL. How’s that for friends in high places? All I want is a quick email from Carnie. So far… no Carnie. But, as Wilson Phillips sang, I’m going to “hold on for one more day”, because “the dream is still alive”: Ant says Carnie does not check her email regularly, so it might be awhile before I hear from her. I know everyone’s losing sleep waiting to find out what happens. I’ll keep you posted. Carnie Watch is on.

It’s day 86, and the journey is almost over for our celebs (and used-to-be celebs, like Tina Yothers. Oh, I’m kidding. I’m sure every time Tina goes into Wal-Mart to score some of those every day low prices she is just MOBBED). Bone Crusher is up first. This week, Bone and Harvey finally had their one-on-one basketball game. Harvey in a suit behind the desk saying “Atta boy” and patting the celebs on the back is BORING. This is the Harvey I like: out in the elements, kicking some fat ass. Says my boy Ant, “From the opening whistle, Bone uses his bulk and takes an early lead.” But before long, Harvey’s running circles around Bone; Bone can’t keep up. So what does Bone do? He belly-bumps Harvey and sends him flying about ten feet. YAY BONE! THAT’S FOR ALL THE FAT BOYS! Hey, if you got the girth you might as well use it. Now Harvey’s taking no prisoners. He tells Dr. Ian (who’s standing there looking lost, like he took a wrong turn on the way to the Library): “You bring some Motrin, Doctor?” Says Ant: “In the end, Harvey’s speed trumped Bone’s bulk,” and Harvey won 11-2. Back in the Weigh-In Chamber, Harvey and Bone stroke each other off with the old “You’re great.” “No, YOU’RE great.” Says Bone: “I told Harvey I was gonna destroy him. He destroyed me.” Harvey replies, “You played basketball in 100 degree weather, one-on-one. That speaks volumes right there.” Get a room. Bone is down 5 lbs. this week, and his target for next week’s FINAL weigh-in is 5 lbs.

In this week’s Fit Camp, Ant says “we put you through one of the ultimate Physical Fitness challenges”: the Fit Club Triathlon. The teams have to swim 4 lengths in a 25 meter pool, ride 3 miles on a bike, and run a mile. What do they win? “A Luxury Package Kitchenware from Cuisinart. Everything you’ll need to make healthy meals at home long after your Fit Club journey is over.” Be still my heart. It’s basically a toaster oven, a blender, and some pots and pans. But Ant, bless him, is really selling it. Tina is jazzed, and rushes over to inspect the goods (”A toaster oven!? I’ve always wanted a toaster oven. But since Family Ties was cancelled I can’t afford such luxuries”). Tina and Carnie face off for the swim, and of course that supercompetitive Tina leaves Carnie splashing in her waves. This leaves the Blue Team 30 seconds behind. (”Oh no! We can’t lose the Luxury Kitchenware. WE JUST CAN’T!”)

It’s Erika and Bone vs. Vinny and Angie in the bike race. Skinny little Erika easily passes Vinny, and makes up some major time for her team. Vinny tags off to Angie, and Ant says “The big question: would this be a repeat of Angie’s legendary collapse during the Week 2 Bike Race?” I wish. Angie’s legendary collapse was hilarious. But, alas, this is the “No excuses. And no carrot cake” Angie Stone. And Angie gets her redemption: “This time she was flying around the track.” Also flying around the track were her 44 DD’s. I’m getting dizzy just watching ‘em. Whoo-lawdy! When Bone takes to his bike, his 44 DD’s are bouncing around too. Bike riding, while good for you, is not very attractive.

The mile-run is yet another Nick vs. Ted showdown. Ted has a one minute deficit to make up for the Red Team. Good luck with that. The guys both get off to a solid start, but soon Nick loses steam and starts walking. Spurred on by Harvey (”Do it for the old men!”), Ted keep going full steam ahead. But it’s not enough: Nick sprints the last half-lap and brings it home for the Blue Team. Of course Nick won: he’d send himself into cardiac arrest before he’d allow himself to lose.

Back at the Weigh-In Chamber, Nick’s up. He’s wearing an eye-popping red suit. Right after this he’s got an audition for The Joker in the next “Batman” sequel. We get a brief flash of nuttiness that made me so nostalgic for the old psycho Nick as he describes his victorious run: “I was, like, on fire. I was on fire. My whole body was tingling. I was running like a tiger.” Next time VH-1 reruns this episode, listen to this sound bite with your eyes closed: I swear Nick sounded just like Rosie Perez. Ant asks if Nick felt vindicated after he beat Ted. Nick is compelled to remind everyone that, even though he’s like 5′6″ and has a squeaky, high-pitched voice, he has the bigger cojones: “I never felt like he blew me away at anything.” Ted wants everyone to know that his balls are just as big. Old, yes, but big. He says Nick “took a break. He walked. I ran the whole time.” Nick good-naturedly concedes, “I’m not knocking him. He’s 60 years old. The guy’s awesome. I was afraid of him!”

This week, Fit Club accompanied Nick and The Fam on their vacation to the Jersey Shore (further proof that Nick ain’t a celebrity — he vacations at THE JERSEY SHORE?! SO not glamorous). Ant tells us, “When Nick arrived at Fit Club, he refused to take off his shirt.” Which explains why all season we had to look at him in that lime green speedo, covered with an oversized white t-shirt. But after dropping some pounds, “Nick was eager to bare it all.” Oh boy. This is gonna be good. Nick and family are at a shop, and Nick emerges from the dressing room… wearing nothing but a hat, a speedo and a smile. My oh my. Now, Nick is certainly not fat. But still, this is not a pretty picture. He’s got precious little muscle tone, and a little belly. I’ll put it this way: there are very few men who can pull off a speedo. Nick Turturro is not one of them. We don’t just get one speedo — it’s a Fashion Show! Nick’s next hot little number is a bright yellow speedo that hugs his curves just right. Mrs. Turturro looks like she wants to throw her man down and jump on Little Nicky. She’s loving it. The Turturro children? Not so much. “I can’t look,” cries his daughter. The poor thing’s going to have that image in her head for the rest of her life. But it gets worse. Or better, depending on how you look at it. Personally, I could watch this all day. Nick ends the Fashion Show with a bang: he comes out wearing a red thong. Yes, a THONG. Nick flashes his bare white buttcheeks to the camera, and WOW! Baby got back! Nick, obviously an exhibitionist, seems turned on by this: he definitely has a semi. Even Nick draws the line somewhere: he decides the thong is a tad too much. He wears the yellow speedo out (I sure hope he purchased the other speedos too — he didn’t try them on and put them back on the shelf, did he? Ewww). Nick hits the beach, and “It’s just Nick, his tiny yellow speedo, and a dose of newfound confidence.” Nick does a little D-List Celebrities Gone Wild mugging for the camera, asking: “You like that?” It made my week, Nick.

Last week Nick broke even. This week he loses 2 lbs. Harvey gives him a little well-deserved hell: “I don’t know about them doggone speedos.” Nick defends, “I like bathing suits that are a little, you know, a little risque.” “Let’s make a deal,” says Harvey. “You work at that body a little bit more before you put the speedos back on.” Don’t listen to him, Nick. Keep wearing the speedo. I haven’t laughed so hard in months.

Vinny’s up next. At the start of the season, Vinny was a lot of fun. But lately, I gotta say, he’s become really boring. Aside from being constipated, he hasn’t done anything interesting in weeks. Vinny has a great weigh-in — he loses 7 lbs. He tells the panel, “I feel so good that last night I went out running. Or walking. I don’t know. I was doing something on the beach.” Please tell me you were wearing a speedo. Vin’s target for the final weigh-in is 4 lbs.

This week Angie had a show, and Fit Club tagged along. Angie’s performing at BB King’s club in New York City. Hey, I’ve been there. But when I was there… I saw Air Supply. Really. They were great. While Angie’s entourage is chowing down on all sorts of pastas, and fried chicken…Angie is eating salad. She says “I’m looking past the brownies” …and she’s eating a pear. Man, that sucks. Don’t you hate it when the skinny f*cks around you have their plates piled high with meat, and pasta, and scrumptious, scrumptious dessert… and you’re trying to be good? I feel your pain, Angie. But Angie’s being a trouper: as she peels her pear she says “Now this… this has it going on.” She’s just trying to stop herself from diving headfirst into the lasagna. “You might catch me eating, but you won’t catch me cheating.” I like that. Angie can be a celebrity spokesperson — she’s already got a catchphrase. Are you listening, Jenny Craig? Angie hits the stage, and gives a shout-out to Dr. Ian, who’s in the audience. Ian even comes onstage… and dances. Yes, dances. It was almost as trainwreck fabulous as Nick’s thong. Almost. Ian’s bopping around like a drunk white boy. Ian says Angie “had the house rocking. Her vocals were awesome. And above all things, she was sweating. She probably lost 2 lbs. tonight!” Christ. He’s like that one irritating co-worker who, when you go to Happy Hour, can’t stop talking about work. Leave it at the office, putz. You know he just came to keep Angie away from that buffet.

Angie hits the scale. She’s wearing jeans tonight, and they’re not doing her any favors — her ass looks like it needs it’s own zip code. But Angie does great: she’s down 5 lbs., to 209. And the new positive Angie tells the panel: “Catching our mistakes and turning them around is what’s most important. With the smoking, with the obesity, with the medication, I was slipping on my game and at the end of the day there’s no one to blame but me.” Harvey notes, “This is the first time I’ve heard you really take responsibility.” He’s just thrilled. I bet he has a giant boner.

Tina weighs in, and she holds at 161. Tina is really disappointed — she usually drops at least 4 lbs. But she’s still in the lead for the race for the car: she’s lost 16.5% of her body weight. Her closest competition, Erika, is up next. Erika’s down a pound, bringing her loss to 15% of her body weight. Dr. Ian, desperately hoping for a catfight, asks Tina: “Is there any chance you could lose this to Erika?” “No,” says Tina, “absolutely not.” Erika is like, Bring it on, Bitch: “I’m not worried. Do I look scared?”

Carnie’s been having a tough time: she’s saying all the right things, but she hasn’t met her target weight loss in weeks. So Harvey and Dr. Ian decide to find out what’s really going on: they basically ambush Carnie, and throw her in a car. Carnie’s not happy about it. “Can you please tell me what the hell is going on right now?” But the boys won’t tell her a thing. They bring Carnie to an “abandoned warehouse”, and the set designers did a great job — the atmosphere was great. They had the slow fan blowing, the lone light bulb shining in Carnie’s face. Dr. Ian even makes an attempt to not look like Urkel’s big brother — he’s wearing all black, and he’s sporting some stubble. You know it took him WEEKS to grow that. Harvey says “You tell us you’re working out. You tell us you’re doing your diet. It just don’t add up.” And they reveal to Carnie: they’re giving her a lie detector test.

As Carnie’s #1 fan, you’d think I’d be phoning in bomb threats to VH-1 or something. I thought about it. But I decided I’m okay with this. It puts Carnie back in the spotlight — where she belongs. More importantly, the truth is Carnie had hit a wall. And this “intervention”, ridiculous as it is, was the boost she needed to tear down that wall. They ask Carnie: “Have you cheated on your diet?” Reluctantly, through gritted teeth, Carnie answers: “Yes.” The lie detector guy gives this answer a thumbs-up. “Are you giving your all when it comes to exercise?” Carnie thinks about it, and gives an honest “yes”, but this time the guy gives her a thumbs-down. “Have you had cookies or cakes in the last month?” Oh, man. Carnie looks like she wants to throttle them, but ‘fesses up: “Yes.” The final verdict? Carnie was fairly honest about her food, answering 4 out of 7 diet questions honestly. The bigger problem seems to be exercise: she only answered 2 out of 7 questions honestly.

Back at the Weigh-In Chamber, Carnie declares: “I have spoken the truth the whole time and I don’t care what that motherf*cking lie detector test says.” That’s my girl! Carnie gets on the scale, and she’s down 4 lbs. The panel asks what she did differently this week. Carnie tells them, “I exercised my ass off.” Great job, Carnie!

Last, and quite possibly least, is Ted. He’s already down to his goal weight of 164, and this week, he maintained. For next week, the panel convinces Ted to try to lose a few pounds to bring his team’s total up.

It’s Big Scale Time. For the first time in a long time (ever?) Hot Buttered Soul (that name still makes me cringe) bests the Fat Crushers, losing 12 lbs. to their 11 lbs. But the Fat Crushers are still in the lead overall by 13 lbs.

Next week we’re promised a Finale with lots of tears. The National Enquirer revealed weeks ago who won the sweet Camry Hybrid — we’ll see if they’re right.

The dirt path leads deeper into the still, sun-dappled woods. Eleven-year-old Caris Pearson trudges along, stopping every few minutes to catch his breath.

“Mom!” Caris calls, summoning his mother Nikki Pearson, several feet ahead. “Can you walk with me?”

Nikki Pearson, 34, turns and saunters back along the trail toward her son, a black and olive green backpack hanging from her shoulders and a red bandana tied over her shoulder-length dreadlocks.

Falling into step slightly ahead of Caris, she slows her gait so that the boy can keep up.

Mother and son have both anticipated and dreaded the hiking part for weeks. The challenge sounded exciting, they say. But they also worried that they wouldn’t have the stamina.

For the duo from Pontiac, the hike is more than a jaunt in the woods. Caris, who weighs more than 300 pounds, is on a mission.

It is a mission that brings them here — hundreds of miles from their cramped co-op apartment to a two-mile trail in the heart of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula.

For these two weeks, their focus is on eating right, exercising often and shedding pounds at a weight loss camp for families.

While weight loss camps abound, this one — Wellspring Family Camp — bills itself as the only one in the country that works with both parents and children to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Caris and Nikki are among 10 kids and nine parents participating in the camp’s fourth and final session of the summer. It is two weeks of constant activity, self-monitored eating and behavioral therapy aimed at helping both the parents and children understand some of the reasons why they struggle with food and exercise.

While there are more drastic ways to lose weight — such as surgery — the camp is a last-ditch effort for the two before turning to those options. They have tried weight loss specialists, appetite suppressants and therapists to help Caris. Together they’ve also sampled different diets, most recently cutting out carbohydrates. It didn’t work.

The camp, both hope, will be a turning point.

The Pearson family’s story is one that millions of Americans can relate to, as childhood obesity rates continue to climb each year. In Michigan, an estimated 12% of high school students are considered overweight and another 13% are at risk for becoming overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationally, 16% of 6- to 19-year-olds, about 9 million people, are considered overweight.

While Caris says he knows his weight could lead to serious health problems down the road, so far he’s been spared from many of the complications that often stem from obesity. His cholesterol levels are normal, says his mother, and he hasn’t been diagnosed with diabetes or other diseases.

But he’s been taunted by schoolmates and he says he misses doing things that other kids are able to do.

“I used to be able to run real fast,” Caris says. “I was the fastest kid in kindergarten.”

It is about one mile into the hike and Caris is easing himself onto a log, complaining that his leg hurts. He wants to turn back.

There’s no point in looking back, Nikki says.

“Walk it through, baby,” she says. “What else can we do?”

That’s the point of the program — move forward, live healthy, shape the future.

But the past is hard to overcome. Nikki — an outgoing, straightforward woman who loves to read — realizes that Caris’ weight issues are as much her problem as his. So she is the driving force behind the effort.

“It’s a really emotional issue for both of us,” Nikki says. “I’m feeling like a failure.”

A single mother, Nikki has spent much of Caris’ childhood as a student, working on her associate’s and then bachelor’s degrees. She is now a counselor at the North Oakland Career Center in Highland.

Caris — smart, sensitive and sometimes playful — spent much of his time in the care of Nikki’s mother.

“I have parents that grew up in the South, where food is love,” Nikki says. “The more food you give a child, the more you love them.”

She didn’t notice as her son gained weight.

“He was a chunky kid, but with him being so doggone cute, it wasn’t really a problem,” she says.

One day when Caris was about 6, Nikki arrived at her mother’s house to find him sitting in front of the television, licking a stick of butter.

Warning bells started ringing.

She tried to revamp their diets, labeling foods by color. Green labels were good foods, yellows were acceptable and reds were diet destroyers.

But the effort was derailed by Caris, who became adept at sneaking food. They stalled completely when Nikki became pregnant two years ago and was in and out of the hospital.

And it was easier to think of reasons not to exercise than it was to make the time and find the energy.

Caris continued to gain weight.

Nikki’s next wake-up call came after her daughter Trinity, now 19 months, was born and Caris returned home with his grandmother from a doctor’s visit for a chickenpox shot.

Caris weighed more than 300 pounds, the doctor said.

That’s when Nikki realized how much they needed help.

“We’ve got to do something,” she remembers thinking. “I am going to lose my son.”

At his heaviest, Caris weighed 330 pounds.

Besides again trying to overhaul their diets, this time by cutting out carbohydrates, Nikki took Caris to a doctor in Livonia who gave him shots and pills to suppress his appetite. In a month and a half, Caris lost about 30 pounds.

“I know it’s controversial,” Nikki says, “But at that point, I needed him to lose some of the weight so he could get motivated.”

She came across a Web site for the Wellspring family camp. A two-week summer program combining traditional camp activities such as canoeing, campfires and hiking with nutrition and behavior management classes, as well as daily activity goals, the camp looked promising. The cost — $4,950 for a parent and a child — was too much for Nikki.

A nurse at the University of Michigan Medical Center recommended the two for a scholarship.

There is less than half a mile to go on the hike. Every step brings Caris and Nikki closer to the beach at Pictured Rocks, where a stream flows out of the woods, sliding over rocks in a shallow waterfall before merging into the waves crashing against the sparkling shore.

But it doesn’t feel close to Caris. He is still in the middle of the woods — hungry, tired and despairing of ever reaching the beach. The campers who started off at the trailhead with him have long since moved ahead.

When a counselor walking with Nikki and Caris tells them that the clover abundant along the trail can be eaten, Caris asks hopefully: “Do they taste good?”

It’s just one of many lessons about food — most not as impromptu as that one — Caris and Nikki learn at the camp.

“It’s like food rehab,” says Nikki one evening, poking at her plate of rice, shrimp and vegetables. Caris sits down next to her with a salad — his second — doused in Italian dressing.

In the Wellspring program, campers are each given a small book in which to write down everything they eat each day. In the camp’s log dining hall, there is a Dry Erase board next to the serving window where each meal’s nutritional information is posted.

The idea is that by journaling about what they eat, the campers will become more aware of their eating behaviors and therefore be more likely to change them.

Wellspring cooks serve up entrees like enchiladas, fish, stir-fries or turkey dogs on a bun, which are called controlled foods. Campers can usually have just one serving of controlled foods. The goal for Caris and Nikki — and most of the campers — is about 1,200 calories each day and 12 grams of fat from controlled foods.

There’s no limit on foods like soups, salads, fruit and fat-free yogurt and cottage cheese, although campers track those foods in their journals, too.

Even at this camp, there’s room for s’mores, enjoyed around a fire, of course. Except these s’mores are made with fat-free graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate syrup.

By allowing campers some leeway in choosing their foods, the goal is to promote healthy decision-making, rather than a particular diet.

It’s a big change from the way they used to eat, says Caris, who likes tracking numbers, but manages to only sporadically record his meals at the camp. Back home, the goal is to have less than 20 grams of fat per day.

“For breakfast, I used to have a croissant, sausage, egg and cheese and that would have 650 calories and 45 grams of fat,” Caris says, his eyes wide as he looks at a book listing nutrition information on all sorts of food, including items from many popular restaurants. “And you’re only supposed to have 20 grams of fat per day!”

Caris and Nikki say they also learned more about controlling portions — something they tried to do before with little success.

“We used to say ‘OK, we’ll just have three pieces of chicken,’ ” Nikki says.

“But it was three pieces of fried chicken!” Caris chimes in.

To prepare the campers for life after camp, counselors offer sessions on grocery shopping — including a group field trip to a nearby store — and ordering healthy foods at restaurants.

The trail is nearing its end. Caris and Nikki know because they can hear the waves rolling onto the beach. But first, there’s yet another obstacle. A bridge.

Nikki walks quickly across the simple structure — planks nailed together and supported by beams. It has no railings and spans about 10 feet over a shallow waterfall that flows toward Lake Superior. She turns around to see if Caris has made it over.

He is frozen on the opposite side.

“I can’t go over that,” he says, his face screwed into a frown.

“Caris, you have to,” says Nikki, a twinge of impatience in her voice. The beach beckons.

Slowly, he shuffles across the bridge. It sways slightly and Caris stops in the middle, a small moan coming from his mouth. Then, about 10 seconds later, he starts again, putting one foot in front of the other until he reaches the other side.

A few steps more and at last he steps onto the soft sand beach. Other campers scamper in the water and along the shore, marveling at the blue lake that looks like an ocean.

Caris settles down on the sand to rest and to eat a granola bar and fruit snack.

His break is short-lived. Encouraged by the others to get up and explore the beach, Caris pulls off his black sneakers and white socks, rises and walks toward the water where he attempts to skip stones across the choppy waves.

Camp counselors soon are rounding up the group and preparing for the hike back.

“Already?” Caris asks.

The “keep moving” mantra is one that campers have become intimately, if sometimes maddeningly, familiar with. It’s another of the Wellspring keys to a healthy life: lots of activity.

Nikki swears that even the camp policy requiring them to carry water bottles and drink consistently is really meant to get them walking more — to the restrooms.

Back on the trail and heading into the woods, Caris lags behind the other campers. Shoulders slumped, he complains about leg cramps, but continues walking until he catches up to the group, which has stopped to wait for him.

A counselor summons Caris to the front of the line that forms along the narrow trail.

“Come on, Caris,” the counselor says. “I want you to lead us. You’ll set the pace for all of us.”

For two miles, Caris walks almost continuously, stopping just twice to catch his breath. He treads mostly silently, listening to the chatter of those behind him, especially his mom, who is carrying on a lively conversation about science fiction and fantasy books with the counselor.

It is a relief to have company on the hike back. And that solidarity is something else the camp is providing Nikki and Caris, who say that one of the highlights is meeting families from across the country who know what they are going through on the road to a healthier life.

The hike is complete. Tired, hungry and proud, Caris leads the group into the parking lot, where the camp’s two vans await. It is late afternoon and dinner beckons.

There will be more hikes. Maybe not along the same trail, but on days when walking 10,000 steps sounds torturous, when hunger eats away at willpower and when pressing on toward the goal requires being pushed by the encouragement and sometimes-tough love of family and friends.

At least now, Caris knows he can do it.

“Feel my heart, Mama,” Caris says to Nikki.

“It’s beating baby, that’s what it’s supposed to do,” she responds. “I am so proud of you.”

Epilogue: It’s been one month since Caris and Nikki returned home. After losing about 15 pounds during his two weeks, there, Caris has gained back about six pounds; he’s up to 304. Caris says he has avoided high-fat foods, but has struggled with logging his food intake regularly and with exercising daily. The two have decided he needs to be in a more structured environment and are raising money for Caris to attend a boarding school for overweight teenagers run by the same group that runs the Wellspring Weight Loss Camp.

With athletic scholarships tougher to obtain than ever and demands for success increasing each year, a new breed of high school athletes has emerged.

These ambitious student-athletes are willing to try anything that could give them an edge in performance over their peers. This win at-any-cost mind set has led to the rise in popularity of Creatine and other sports supplements.

However, these athletes often do not realize the risks associated with taking such substances.

Miche Hoffer used Creatine many times in his career as a decathlete in Sweden.

Though he now works as a personal trainer in Palo Alto, Hoffer wants to dispel the myths about the supplement that is so often misunderstood by younger athletes.

“Creatine is not a miracle substance,” Hoffer said. “It is not for the recreational weightlifter or the average Joe. It is a dietary supplement made for the most dedicated of athletes.”

A chemical compound found naturally in the body, Creatine helps the body supply energy to muscle cells.

Creatine works directly with the body’s Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) to create energy vital to muscle functions.

Creatine is also found in certain foods, including meat and fish.

Although scientists have known about Creatine’s function in the body since 1832, it was not until 1993 that it became popular as a supplement.

Since its popularity spike in the 1990s, Creatine has become a controversial substance, with much debate surrounding its effectiveness and safety.

Palo Alto High School Varsity football Head Coach Earl Hansen is aware that many high school athletes do choose to use muscle supplements.

“Since the NCAA [National Collegate Athletic Association] banned Creatine use in locker rooms, the number of people using the supplement has gone down,” Hansen said. “But there are still those overambitious athletes who think it makes a big difference. I think that Creatine can only hurt a kid’s body, so I do not like my athletes using it.”

Hansen is not alone in his opinion. Charles Burke, a team doctor for the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins, believes that nonmedical dietary supplements are never a good thing for young athletes to use as an enhancement.

“It is very unfortunate that there is so much media coverage of steroids,” Burke said.

“Student-athletes see so much about doping scandals in professional athletics that it piques their interest and leads them into making irrational conclusions about the effectiveness of supplements.”

There is no question among trainers that steroids and certain human growth hormones can be incredibly effective in promoting muscle gain.

However, since Congress passed the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990, anabolic steroids and growth hormones have been declared illegal, so athletes have been turning to dietary supplements such as Creatine, hoping to reap similar benefits.

“It is my opinion that young athletes use Creatine because so much is at stake,” Burke said. “College scholarships and admissions alike hang on athletic performance, which pressures kids into taking something potentially harmful to their bodies.”

The dangers of Creatine lie not in what is known, but in what is unknown. Creatine and other dietary supplements are not regulated by the FDA, so their effects are rife with uncertainty.

This means that there are no tests measuring the strength, purity or safety of the supplements.

In fact, a study by the International Olympic Committee found that 15 percent of sports supplements that are tested around the world had some unlisted ingredient in them.

Hoffer himself once had a bad experience with Creatine. After an unusually strong reaction to the supplement, he called the manufacturer and learned the pill contained Ephedra, an illegal growth horomone which has been linked numerous times with heart failure.

Besides the potential for impurities, Creatine can have other side effects including dehydration, abdominal pain, diarrhea and muscle cramps.

However, enhancing benefits are also associated with Creatine.

“I am hesitant to call them positive or beneficial effects, but studies have proven that Creatine can improve performance in high intensity workouts,” Burke said.

Although Creatine and other supplements do improve athletes’ funtionability in intense workouts, the benefits are minor at best.

Creatine promotes weight gain, but this is due to increased absorption of water by the muscles.

So if an athlete’s weight increases while using Creatine, it is due to water weight, not necessarily increased strength, according to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Though Burke and Hoffer disagree on whether or not it is safe to use Creatine, both agree that the best student-athletes do not need supplements in order to succeed.

“The best way to improve your performance is to eat healthy, get lots of sleep, and work hard,” Hoffer said. “A determined athlete will find success, not those who rely on substances to improve their athletic performance.”