The Good, Bad and Ugly World of Sports Supplements

Part One...

In this three part blog series you will learn so much about sports supplements and walk away knowing if they are something you should consider, or not.

If your algorithms on social media are like most athletes, you’re probably getting ads left and right about different supplements and products people are selling promising anything from increased performance to weight loss to muscle gain to super immunity– we’ve seen it all.

It's human to  want that easy fix, or “the magic pill”. Trust me I often see an amazing performance promise and think wow I'm in...and then I stop myself with the knowledge I have. These companies are GREAT at marketing to us! They know how desperate we are to be the best!  But as athletes, we know that nothing comes without hard work. So immediately we need to question these claims and products. Do you take the time to question such promises?

Let’s take a step back. What is a supplement? Well the name says it all– performance supplements are there to be a supplement or addition to the diet, when you are lacking in a certain area, vitamin and/or mineral (with the key being WHEN YOU ARE LACKING)

Most athletes that are eating a well rounded and balanced diet likely don’t need a supplement. You certainly can get all the nutrients that you need to thrive from your diet alone. But there may be times when you need a supplement. For example if  a medical professional has told you that you are DEFICIENT in a vitamin or mineral or if you have GI issues you may need to supplement you diet to enhance absorption. This can't be a guessing game, however.  It's not smart to take a  supplement because a teammate is taking one or an insta influencer is endorsing one or a  Vitamin Shop worker told you about.

The truth is....the supplement industry doesn’t want you to know any of this. It's our job as Sports Dietitians to educate and inform you about the safety and efficacy of sports supplements.  The supplement industry is a multibillion dollar industry driven by false promises and under researched claims to SELL A PRODUCT, not to improve your health and performance. And we know this, because the people that are selling these products are not nutrition experts or researchers, they are looking for sales and commission. We are here because we want you to perform at your best in the healthier way possible.

On top of that, the supplement industry is NOT regulated, which is how they are able to make all these claims. The bigger issue with this though, is that they are NOT all third party tested, and a majority of companies do their testing in house. This means that without regulation and third party testing certifications, there can be ingredients in the product that are not listed on the label– and this happens A LOT.

Lets start with products to AVOID:

• Pre-Workouts
• Steroids
• Energy Drinks (celcius, red bull, BANG, monster, etc.)
• Put ingredients in their products that make you want to come back for more and more. After time, you get dependent on it and you need more and more but your performance decreases along with it
• NCAA has a limit on Caffeine 
• Herbal Ingredients (guarana, etc.)
• Anything saying “Proprietary Blend” in the ingredient list
• Products WITHOUT NSF certified for sport or informed sport certifications

These products (among many others) are known to hinder performance, may be banned by NCAA (causing positive drug tests) and can be really harmful to the body as a whole. This is why it is ESSENTIAL to do your research, read labels and check with a dietitian and doctor before taking any supplements. 

Taking everything we just learned about the bad and ugly about the supplement industry, you may be questioning if you need them or not. I have good news– 1) I am here for you to talk about these things and personalize your experience with supplements to determine if you really need them and if you do, give you ideas for good ones to take 2) there are some supplements that I do approve of (due to third party testing and heavy research) and that may help your athletic performance, keep an eye out for more blog posts about the supplements I do approve of and learn why!