Pumped: Straight Facts for Athletes About Drugs, Supplements and Training Book

You see them everywhere. You can't walk into a shopping mall without seeing a store selling body-building nutritional supplements, and even the discount drugstores generally have large displays of muscle-enhancing and fat-burning potions. But do any of them work? And are they safe?

The authors of Pumped, who previously tackled recreational drugs in Buzzed, attempt to answer these questions in a straightforward way, free of scientific jargon. They conclude that many of these drugs and supplements actually work, but not as well as their proponents might claim. For example, they note that creatine produces about a 1 to 5 percent improvement in certain high-intensity activities like sprinting--significant if you're a trained athlete, but probably not cost-effective for the recreational weight lifter.

They also show that touted fat-burning drugs like ephedrine and caffeine do indeed help people lose weight, but just a few pounds over several months. And, they note, the brain eventually compensates for the hunger slowdown these drugs produce. So they're a short-term solution to a lifelong problem, and a modestly effective solution at that.

Pumped could easily have come off like a "just say no" campaign against performance-enhancing and appearance-improving drugs and nutritional supplements. And, indeed, the overriding tone is one of skepticism toward every drug and supplement they describe, from anabolic steroids to protein powders. (They show that a great protein source like eggs can cost seven times as much if you buy it as a supplement instead of in its natural form.) But the authors temper their skepticism by noting that scientists have looked foolish in the past by claiming that anabolic steroids didn't work while most of the world's elite power athletes knew better. Science, in other words, will always be a few steps behind practical application when it comes to performance enhancement.

Still, the lack of enthusiasm the authors muster for drugs and supplements will probably restrict the book's potential audience. Parents of athletes will want to absorb the information, but the athletes themselves will turn to bodybuilding magazines and Web sites for advice. Likewise, coaches and guidance counselors will find Pumped useful and informative, but the people they're coaching and guiding probably won't get too excited over it. --Lou Schuler