Dietary Supplements: Are they necessary for performance/weight loss?

The United States dietary supplement industry was a reported $1.22 billion dollar industry in 2016. It comes as no surprise that among those who purchase dietary supplements are athletes looking to increase their success in their given sport. Supplement use has long been utilized by athletes as they look to gain even the smallest advantage, even if it presents them with additional harm to their health, performance, or athletic career. While yes, some supplements can be beneficial for today’s athletes; the use of supplements is a tiny almost insignificant intervention when compared to other dietary interventions.

Dietary supplements when combined with optimal calorie balance, macronutrient intakes (protein, carbohydrate, and fat), optimal nutrient timing, and ideal food composition provides the athlete with a diet to support training regimens. However, if any of the other aspects are not in line, supplement use in terms of dietary protocols becomes irrelevant. I like to compare your diet in this instance to managing your money. If you are trying to manage your money (diet), why would the first thing you do be to add a 401k or retirement plan (supplements). The first thing you need to do is establish a budget (calorie balance).

All that being said, the use of dietary supplements can be beneficial for helping athletes with body composition goals and training efficiency. However, the use of such supplements should always be a SMALL part of the athlete’s overall nutrition strategy and only utilized when a food-based option is not readily available. I don’t know about you, but I LOVE food. If I have the opportunity to eat a meal instead of drink it or replace it with a meal replacement bar, real food will always win.

Dietary supplements can include a wide range of products and walking through a supplement store can be overwhelming especially with all the sales pitches you will hear. These supplements can include: protein shakes, sports drinks, fortified foods, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, branched chain amino acids, herbals, etc., the list could go on forever. This article outlines ONLY those supplements backed by large bodies of scientific research and presents a case for those which you may want to include.

Whey Protein

Whey protein powder is formed from the dehydration of milk. Typically this is found in two parts: whey and casein. Whey protein has a natural formulation as a protein which makes it a good supplement to take both during (intra-) and post-workout. This is because whey protein is one of the fastest digesting and absorbing protein sources. If you splurge and spend even more $, the hydrolyzed form (smaller protein molecules) are able to be absorbed even faster. Note, that regular whey protein is perfectly fine for the general gym goer. Whey also provides excellent protein quality as it normally scores over 100% on protein quality indexes. It is high in BCAA’s which may provide a slight anabolic edge post-workout.

Side Effects: Whey is typically well-tolerated, most on the market today have the lactose removed, but check your specific brand, if you’re lactose intolerant.

Creatine

Creatine is a substance normally found in muscle cells. It works by providing your body extra fuel during your workouts in the form of ATP, the body’s primary fuel source. Because it provides additional energy, the advantages of taking it include:

• Ability to do additional reps in your sets
• Better recovery between sets
• Increased muscle size (regardless of training)
• Intramuscular water, which increases muscle size

Side Effects: Creatine, and its many forms are one of the most widely researched supplements. With over 20 years of research on creatine, few studies have shown any repeatable side effects. Some studies have found it to cause bloating, stomach upset, and cramps; but, if you have healthy kidneys and have been cleared by exercise by your Primary Care Physician, creatine is almost certainly safe to consume in the recommended dose.

Stimulants

The most common stimulant, caffeine, also happens to be the safest and most researched. Stimulants, like caffeine offer athletes five primary benefits:

1. Increased motivation to train
2. Enhanced performance in high-volume training
3. Increased pain tolerance during training
4. Increased metabolic rate
5. Reduced appetite

It is recommended that athletes stick to caffeine, as they’re the most researched and safest to consume. As with all supplements, it is recommended that you use ONLY the recommended doses for caffeine or pre-workout containing caffeine. If you’re new to caffeine, start slowly and increase from baseline. It’s also important not to consume your stimulants close to bedtime, as they can disrupt your sleep patterns.

Quitting a stimulant, such as caffeine, cold turkey can cause increasing hunger in the short term. It is important to taper your caffeine use if you’re trying to stop. Alas, always clear your use of stimulants with your doctor before taking them.

Casein

The other portion of that protein in milk from above is Casein. Casein, like whey, is a high-quality protein. However, it varies in its absorption and digestion speed. There has been research that shows that casein can take upwards of 7 hours of slow digestion. This property of the casein protein makes it ideal for those athletes looking to stay anabolic while sleeping overnight or for shakes in which you know the next meal won’t be for a while. It is also important to note that casein is more expensive than whey protein, so if you’re on a budget it is definitely not a necessary supplement.

Beta-Alanine

Beta-Alanine is an amino acid, and it is actually a non-essential amino acid. This just means that if you didn’t consume any, your body would be able to create it from other substances in your body. The primary role of Beta-Alanine for athletes is as a precursor to the creation of an additional amino acid called carnosine. Carnosine is stored in your muscles and helps to reduce fatigue during your workouts.

Carnosine acts to counterbalance acid build up in muscles during the stress of working out. By increasing the amount of Beta-Alanine and therefore Carnosine, theoretically you would increase your capacity to train longer. The reason you would take Beta-Alanine over Carnosine itself, is that Carnosine isn’t absorbed when consumed orally. Most pre-workout supplements have Beta-Alanine added in proper dosages.

Side Effects: The most common side effect when taking Beta-Alanine is the tingles. They’re harmless but tingling can occur in your lips, ears, arms, fingertips, etc. Once saturation of the muscle occurs, the tingling dissipates.

There are many other supplements that may prove to be effective; however, most are yet to show the necessary research as the above products. I will cover vitamins/minerals in another post, but as I’ve stated above supplements should NOT be a majority player in your diet plan. Utilizing a well-balanced, whole foods diet makes them irrelevant most of the time. That said, if you’d still like to spend your hard-earned money anyway these are the ones I would recommend.