When you think of a healthy life, what comes to mind?  There are many answers to that question, depending on the person and their health views.

“Healthiness to me is being physically, mentally, and spiritually comfortable in all areas of my day,” said Katie Keck, teacher at Ada High.

Often, people make New Year’s resolutions to do such things as work out or cut out pop, caffeine or sweets. When it comes to losing weight, diet is proven to be more important, but it’s essential to work out. “You can’t out-exercise a bad diet.” Many have said to lose weight, it’s 75 percent dieting, and 25 percent working out.

A new supplement has become popular in society, known as pre-workout. Pre-workout is a supplement that is mixed with ingredients that work together to build up energy and endurance, increase strength, and burn off more body fat. It almost sounds too good to be true.

“Pre-workout comes in a small can, and you take a scoop of powder and mix with usually about 6 ounces of water. It makes your workouts better by giving you a better pump for your muscles and giving you more energy to do your workout. The max amount is about 2 scoops, which it usually prescribes on the can. If the powder has a lot of Beta Alanine your skin will start itching a lot,” said Jackson Davis, AHS Senior and pre-workout user.

What actually happens when you take pre-workout? The supplement gets your blood pumping faster, to an extent where it could be rushing too. Often, the chemicals leaves certain effects in your cardiovascular system. The supplement has up to 100 to 300 mg of caffeine, which is amounts up to more than one cup of coffee. It also contains a stimulant called dimethlamylamine, which increases the blood flow to the heart, and has been warned dangerous by the FDA.

As the supplement may be intended for good, the chemicals in the powder seem to cause more harm than good. After reviewing the ingredients and the side effects, you may realize that being natural about having a balanced diet, and a clean, hard workout is the best way to go.