Fitness Supplements: What You Need to Know
The World of Supplements Made Simple
If there is one thing all of us have learned the hard way, it is that making healthy changes in your life is a lot easier said than done. Not only do you have to learn the values of hard work and dedication through fitness and nutrition, you also have to wade through the sea of misinformation and, frankly, nonsense that has become popular with the rise of “fit culture”. You have countless influencers on Instagram, YouTube, etc. advertising their methods and products that guarantee results. Unfortunately, we have learned that we can’t trust a number of the supplements and items pushed at us these days.
However, there are many dietary supplements out there that, if used correctly, will not only benefit your fitness journey, but also your health as a whole. While it’s tragic that each of us has to become a sort of investigative reporter to avoid the lies and scams out there, it is more than possible for us to gain access to supplements that will promote your health and well-being for the future, as well. Once we learn which supplements to trust and which to avoid, life and nutrition gets just a little bit easier.
The Basics
To begin your journey into the world of supplements, it’s important to understand the basics of nutritional supplements, seeing as it is a wide and often confusing subject. Many take supplements such as vitamins to correct certain areas of their diets that are lacking, such as vegans taking calcium and vitamin D supplements to account for the dairy not present in their diet. In the fitness world, many take supplements to assist their athletic performance and support post-workout recovery, and while supplements are not necessary, they can be a great supportive tool.
However, there are many supplement producers looking to get a quick buck, and a number of supplements are not backed by scientific evidence. Seeing as the US Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, does not evaluate dietary supplements for effectiveness due to the fact that they aren’t sold as medicines, buying safe supplements that you can trust is somewhat of a minefield. However, there are certain organizations that provide quality testing of supplements to ensure that the product contains the correct amounts of the ingredients listed, doesn’t contain contaminants, and was properly manufactured. When searching for reliable supplements, look for seals of approval from U.S. Pharmacopeia, ConsumberLab.com, or NSF International. While these seals do not guarantee these products are effective, they do provide some assurance that they aren’t full of harmful contaminants.
It’s also immensely important to note that dietary and nutritional supplements should be taken seriously, seeing as some of the ingredients used by manufacturers can have a profound effect on your health. Before taking any supplement, it is always wise to consult your healthcare provider to ensure that the ingredients will not have any harmful effects on your health; this is especially important for those who routinely take prescription medication, seeing as certain dietary supplements can have adverse effects when combined with certain medications. While many supplements can be taken safely and can make a wonderful difference in your life, it is always important to talk to a doctor to get a second opinion.
The Good
Now we can get into the nitty gritty: supplements that work, and supplements that don’t work and/or aren’t scientifically supported. I know, I know: it’s kind of a daunting task, so we’ll keep it simple. First, let’s start out with one of the supplements that has proven itself to be legitimate: protein powder. Protein powder can come in many forms, including soy, pea, and hemp for those who are plant-based or lactose intolerant, as well as whey and casein. Despite its many forms, protein as a supplement is remarkably effective when it comes to building muscle and assisting in post-workout recovery. An analysis performed in 2018 that evaluated 49 separate studies showed that individuals who supplemented their diets with protein powder in combination with regular resistance training (aka, weight training) found significant improvements in muscle and strength gain in comparison to those who were not supplementing. In addition, the study found that the individuals did not experience any significant changes in body composition if they consumed more than 0.73 g of protein per pound of body weight. This tells us that protein supplementation can help tremendously if we are lifting regularly and not over-consuming protein, seeing as that can lead to dehydration. So if you’re training regularly, protein is a great supplement choice to support muscle and strength gain, and intake can even be modified for different dietary lifestyles.
Another supplement that you might want to consider adopting into your lifestyle is creatine monohydrate. Not only has it been clinically tested for roughly ten years, it is generally thought of as one of the most effective, evidence-based fitness supplements we currently have. Creatine helps support athletic performance through its ability to assist in muscle and strength gains, volumizing cells, as well as assisting with exercise recovery. In addition, the International Society of Sports Nutrition published an article in 2017 highlighting the evidence across a myriad of studies that points to creatine monohydrate’s ability to assist in injury recovery, saying that it could help protect athletes from not only bodily harm, but neurological injury from head trauma, as well. Clearly, creatine monohydrate is an excellent supplement to use for athletes across the board.
I couldn’t write about effective supplements without talking about one of the most popular fitness supplements out there- BCAAs, or branched-chain amino acids. BCAAs are made up of the amino acids valine, leucine, and Isoleucine, and these make up a large part of the amino acid composition of your muscle tissues. These are essential amino acids, meaning your body doesn’t produce them independently; they must be taken in through your diet (or through supplements!). BCAAs help preserve glycogen stores within your muscles, which prevents protein breakdown during exercise- meaning your recovery will be easier and you’ll be less sore! This is why so many athletes who frequently partake in intense exercise will take BCAAs; they help you fight off soreness and get you ready to work out again. In addition, some studies suggest that BCAAs also help promote muscle gain. It should be noted than BCAAs are most effective when supplemented with an already moderately high-protein diet. So if you’re supplementing not only with BCAAs, but protein as well, then you’ll be better off!
The Not-So-Good
Now that we’ve made it clear that some supplements can truly help you in your fitness journey, let’s talk about the (not-so) fun stuff: supplements that you really wish lived up to the hype… but fall short. The first supplement that hasn’t been backed by science is one I’m sure all of us have wished for: fat-burners. Everywhere we go, whether it be Walmart, GNC, or social media, we are being pushed to buy fat-burners in the form of pills, teas, powders, etc.; these fat-burners are often made up a number of ingredients that the manufacturers swear reduce body weight and stimulate weight loss. Unfortunately, these claims fall short, with studies intending to support said claims finding inconclusive and unconvincing evidence. The best way to burn fat: a caloric deficit and an active lifestyle. Most fat-burners are expensive and unsustainable, when making permanent, beneficial lifestyle changes can benefit your health, and your wallet, in the long run.
Another supplement that I’m sure we’ve all heard advertisements for would be testosterone-boosters, which have been advertised as a way to build muscle and increase performance in certain places that aren’t the gym. They have been advertised to men and women as a fitness supplement, and while they might benefit men who are not producing adequate testosterone levels, they are unnecessary and potentially harmful supplements for everyone else. Not only do they not increase muscle and strength, they can lead to hair loss, acne, iron deficiencies, and kidney damage, as well as a number of psychological effects such as depression and anxiety. While most women are probably not drawn towards testosterone boosters in the first place, let this serve as your “just-in-case” warning: don’t use it.
These, of course, are just a few of the many workout supplements we are bombarded with on a daily basis. While some of them work very well and can help you become your fittest self, some are a money-waster at best and dangerous at worst. Supplements should be just that: a supplementation method to add benefits to an already diverse, healthy diet and lifestyle; supplements should not be a band-aid method for fixing a poor diet and inactive lifestyle. Talk to your doctor before adding supplementation into your life, and remember: always research before you buy, or the influencers advertising fat-burning teas will win!
Sources
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/WeightLoss-HealthProfessional/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6212987/
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/52/6/376