The case in summary – More than half of those who use pre-workout experience side effects. – Common side effects include heart palpitations, sleep problems, nervousness and restlessness. – The side effects can be serious, and in some cases people have been admitted to hospital. – Pre-workout is not regulated in the same way as medicines, and it is therefore difficult to know what they actually contain. – Experts advise people to be careful with the use of pre-workout, and to always check the contents carefully. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – You become more awake and your body tingles. But I felt sick to my stomach and threw up during the training session, says 21-year-old Oliver Kvebek, who trains five days a week. The dietary supplement pre-workout/PWO is full of caffeine to give more energy during training. The phenomenon has grown on social media where young people are influenced by fitness influencers. But Antidoping Norway warns against its use. According to the foundation, 54 percent of those who have tried PWO have experienced side effects. Itching and tingling in the skin, palpitations, nausea or dizziness are the most common. This is shown by a survey from 2019. The side effects can come from the ingredients, but can also have something to do with how the product is used. What is PWO? – Pre-workout (PWO) is taken before training to give more energy and improve performance. – PWO is a dietary supplement and therefore legal in Norway. -Products from other countries may contain substances that are not legal. – The correct dosage of PWO is usually 1/3 or 1/2 of the measuring spoon that comes with it. Not a whole measuring spoon. – Mixtures with PWO and other caffeinated beverages can lead to harmful amounts of caffeine. – There are many different variants and brands of PWO. – Other popular dietary supplements are creatine and protein powder. But only PWO contains large amounts of caffeine. Common ingredients: Caffeine, betaine, vitamin B12, citrulline, vitamin B3, beta-alanine, arginine, taurine, tyrosine, creatine, BCAA. – I manage just fine without it. I don’t think you get any more effect, you can only drink energy drinks, says Kvebek. Oliver Kvebek (21) and Leo Alexander Gilje (20) study together and are often at the fitness centre. Photo: Fride Audunsdotter Westvik / news Worry about the consequences Head of Research for Antidoping Norway, Fredrik Lauritzen, says that pre-workout is a product young people should not use. – PWO is a mixed product where it is difficult to know what you are ingesting from different substances, he says. The rules in Norway are strict, but it is possible to order dietary supplement online from abroad. – It has a lot to do with who you buy dietary supplement from. Dietary supplements bought abroad or online have a higher risk of containing doping agents than products bought in Norway, says Fredrik Lauritzen in Antidoping Norway. Photo: Thomas Bjørnflaten / Antidoping Norway Antidoping Norway has its own free chat service where everyone can submit questions anonymously. – We often receive referrals from young people who are considering starting with nutritional supplements such as PWO and wonder if it is safe, says Lauritzen in Antidoping Norway. Other popular dietary supplements are creatine and protein powder. But only PWO has a high caffeine content. There are many different types and brands on the market. Lauritzen says it is easy to take a lot of the caffeine powder. – The dietary supplement has a high caffeine content and it is easy to take an extra spoonful. You therefore do not have the same control over how much caffeine you take in. – Caffeine will have an invigorating effect at first, but over time you will develop a tolerance, which means that you have to increase the dosage. There is currently no statutory age limit for the purchase of energy drinks in Norway. The Storting has decided that the age limit for purchasing energy drinks will be 16. But it has not been decided when the age limit will be introduced. The Consumer Council, for its part, has stated that the limit should be 18 years. In the meantime, the shops can set their own age limit on the sale of energy drinks. Caffeine content per dl Pre-workout: 100mg Espresso: 268mg Energy drink: 32mg Powdered coffee: 45mg Filter coffee: 40mg – Many people take it Kristine Mjåseth (22) works as a nurse and trains several days a week. He has done that for six years. She has also tried the caffeine powder, but mostly sticks to energy drinks during training. Kristine Mjåseth (22) believes that several young people can easily be influenced to take PWO before training. Photo: Fride Audunsdotter Westvik / news – There are many who take it and I think many can be influenced by social media, says Myrseth. If you search for the hashtag #preworkout on TikTok, it alone has over 400,000 posts. On Instagram, the same tag has 5.4 million posts. – I myself have seen fitness influencers on TikTok and thought about maybe starting with it again, says the 22-year-old. – We of course comply with the requirement At proteinfabrikken.no, the recommended daily dose is 6.25 g with the caffeine powder. – These products appeal mostly to big gyms, says Egil Berli-Johnsen, who is product manager for Proteinfabrikken AS. – The dosage stated on the box is a dosage calculated for a person of normal weight. If a young and slightly lighter person takes this, then one can take too much. It is important to be careful, there is only a dosage recommendation on the box, he says. He says it is better to take cod liver oil than PWO. – Why do you sell it then? – It only comes from the market, pre-workout is in demand. But the rules for this dietary supplement in Norway are strict and we of course comply with the requirements. – These products appeal mostly to big gyms, says Egil Berli-Johnsen, who is product manager for Proteinfabrikken AS. Photo: Fredrik Bye / Proteinfabrikken AS
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Side effects and risks when using pre-workout dietary supplements – news Vestland
