Supplements

Supplementation and nutrition are two topics overflowing with poor information, puffery and false marketing which only has one goal – emptying your wallet. The main difference between the two topics is that with supplementation lies almost always come from companies and it’s always for profit. Nutrition advice, on the other hand, can be given with the best of intentions despite the fact that it comes from a lack of understanding or a very limited understanding.

Before we absolutely demolish the supplement industry, let’s put our positivity caps on and give credit where credit is due. If you take a look at the meaning of the word supplement, you can easily see that supplements are just an addition to your nutrition. Logically, if your nutrition is lacking something, supplementing that something can be a good idea. Sometimes it might not be a matter of lacking, it simply might come down to convenience. In other words, it’s easier, at least sometimes, to get your nutrients from a shake than from real food. Here are some useful supplements:

First on the dock is protein, by far the most popular, however, it is not the most well-researched supplement. People who do resistance training regularly: bodybuilders, powerlifters and recreational gym-goers are usually in the need of higher protein intakes. Depending on a multitude of factors, which will be explained in detail once I get to writing a text on protein (most likely a series of texts), individuals from the aforementioned categories need, on average, somewhere between 1.6 and 2.3 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For instance, an 80-kg person will need somewhere between 130 and 185 grams of protein a day. Protein powder can help here because it’s easier to drink a shake than to cook and eat 100 grams of chicken breast. If you’ve got a job or you’re frequently on the move, you might find yourself in situations where food will not be available, so it’s convenient to have a shaker cup with you. It can also be beneficial for people who don’t have a big appetite since it’s much easier to ingest liquids than solid food.

The second on the dock is creatine. This is BY FAR the most researched and the most effective supplement. I won’t get too much into the biology and chemistry of this compound because I plan to write a separate piece devoted to this supplement. For the purposes of this piece, it will suffice for you to know that our bodies make creatine and we also get it from food. The effect of creatine is that it provides energy for explosive movements, such as sprints or lifting weights. It also has a positive impact on your cognitive performance and it has a minor effect on cell volume. By cell volume I am referring to creatine’s property to retain water intracellularly (inside the cell) which leads to a slightly fuller look to your muscles. This is one of the rare few supplements I truly recommend and that’s simply because it is impossible to ingest enough creatine from food alone. You’re probably asking why it is impossible and the answer is quite simple – the amount of food needed to get the effective dose of creatine is staggering. Steak and beef in general are rich in creatine, but you would need more than a kilogram PER DAY to get the effective dose. It is more than likely that you do not have the space in terms of calories, you also probably don’t have the budget for it and above all, your heart probably wouldn’t like too much. So the first reason is based on the application of sound logic – it’s easier to get 5 grams in the form of powder which you add to a shake than it is to eat ungodly amounts of food. The second reason is the price since creatine monohydrate stands as one of the cheapest supplements out there. The third reason is that it has 30 years of research and it has been shown to be effective and it’s no longer a debate. The last reason has nothing to do with exercise, it’s the boost to your brain function which serves as a nice cherry on top next to everything else that creatine provides.

The third spot is reserved for a whole category of supplements that are usually found in the tablet form. We’re talking omega 3 soft gel tablets, individual vitamin supplements and multivitamin and mineral complex supplements. As is the case with all supplements, these are not necessary because they can be acquired from food. Here are several examples of cases when this type of supplement can be useful: omega 3 comes in handy when you’re not consuming enough healthy fats from fish or you want to avoid inflammation because you consume a lot of omega 6 from nuts. Vitamin D3 is helpful if you don’t get enough sun exposure and it is a good idea in general, especially for us here in Europe. If you’re deficient in some specific vitamin, you can get in the tablet form. Multivitamins and minerals don’t have a particularly strong backing from the scientific research but if you’ve got the budget and want to make sure that absolutely every box is ticked, than by all means, these won’t do any harm but they are far from necessary.

The last one I want to mention is the pre-workout category because they can be beneficial if you’re tired or want to ensure a solid session. My advice will always be coffee or caffeine pills because pre-workout supplements always contain that plus some extra substances that might not be the best option for everyone.

Now we turn to the negative side of this monstrously giant industry. As you can see in the recommendations above, in every single one it was something you can get from food or that already exists in your body. Protein powders often come from milk, creatine is made by your body, omega 3 fatty acids can be acquired from fish, vitamins can be found in fruit and vegetables, energy boost stimulus from coffee and so on. With that in mind, if the source (origin) of the supplement is natural than you cannot expect supernatural effects. This is exactly where the issue arises, supplements are often given these almost magical properties – “these pills will burn fat off without any effort”, “this powder will make you muscles grow LIKE CRAZY”, “this powder will make you do your workout 10 times harder”. Whenever you take a look at the packaging of the supplement you will see at least 5 or more benefits for muscles, health, recovery, energy and so on. Usually it’s all bullshit. It is also written on that very same packaging, but in a significantly smaller font, that it is only a supplement and it should not be a replacement for a healthy, balanced diet. That’s the key, not a single supplement is necessary and it should never replace a healthy diet. While you truly do not need supplements, there are some that are a complete waste of money:

• Testosterone boosters – almost never effective and even when they do in fact increase testosterone levels, the degree of increase is insufficient because the necessary increase for results can only be achieved with steroids

• Mass gainer – overloaded with sugar and empty calories. Want mass? Eat more, it’s that simple

• BCAAs and other amino acids – quite literally a waste of money, you could be getting better results for less money by eating adequate protein or adding protein powder to an already sound nutrition plan

• Fat burners, tea and detox drinks – not a single one has been shown to be effective because the primary cause of weight loss is a calorie deficit. In terms of toxins, your liver and your body is already pretty good at protecting you from those. If there was a need for detoxification, people would be dying in masses and that simply not the case, in fact there are zero cases of that

• Meal replacement – it can help through convenience but it’s much better to eat real food

• Protein bars – similarly to protein powders, they can be useful because they are super easy to carry, but I would be careful when it comes to the selection of protein bars because of sugar, total calories and obviously total protein. Some bars simply contain way too many calories and not enough protein which is the primary reason to get a bar in the first place

• Everything else – I’m guessing by know you know that it’s a waste of money

Summary, for a change, will not be in bullet points, but rather in two sentences – If you can get everything you need from food than it’s the better option than supplements. Supplements are not steroids, they are not magical and they most certainly are not the solution to all your problems so do not waste your money.