You can hear them from down the hall. The weightlifting class is known for the blaring music, the clang of weights being shifted, and the grunts of those lifting hundreds of pounds with their arms.

What you cannot hear though is the unnatural protein being poured, mixed, and digested through the body.

Protein can be found in natural and unnatural forms. The most common examples of natural proteins are meat and fish. They can be at grocery stores and are completely safe for any age. Unnatural proteins on the other hand often come in drinks and powders. They can be purchased at GNC or other pharmacies.

What is misleading about unnatural proteins is that though they can be purchased by any age, they are not safe for all ages.

Against weightlifting teacher and head football coach Marvin Wooten’s consent, unnatural protein supplements are used by a small group of students in the weight lifting class.

“I don’t recommend unnatural protein supplements,” said Wooten. “Natural foods are a much better way to get protein into your body and unnatural proteins could really damage your kidneys.”

Using unnatural proteins comes with serious risks, risks that can be unknown or ignored by students. Unnatural protein supplements come with the responsibility of monitoring your food intake before and afterwards and making sure that you use the correct measurement of protein.       

“I used to have to use unnatural protein during wrestling season,” said freshman Josh Forrest. “I’m totally against it. I had stomach problems and I had to use the bathroom a lot.”

The most likely reason for Forrest’s stomach pains was because of him not monitoring his body correctly before and after using them. Monitoring your body is the most important part of using unnatural proteins, and also the most troublesome part, for most teens, of using unnatural proteins. 

According to nutritiontips101.com, the reason teens have trouble with monitoring their bodies is that teens don’t know all the facts, and they don’t recognize that they must monitor their eating habits afterwards.

 Though Forrest suffered a bad reaction, many other students such as senior David Holcombe enjoy using them.

“I like using unnatural protein supplements,” said Holcombe. “They help you recover and build muscle. I really don’t understand why students don’t use them.”

However, chiropractor of Lifelong Health and Wellness Dr. Ronald Whichin strongly feels that the benefits of using such products do not outweigh the risks.

“Most proteins that are being used by teenagers are low quality and really not healthy for anyone,” said Whichin. “Proteins like these are not good for you and can be stressful on the kidneys.”