Unfortunately there isn’t great regulation of supplements and not all supplements out there are effective; supplement companies often sell their product on scientific theory and not research based evidence that proves their product works – at least not in an un-biased, objective, way.
I’m a food first person. Food shouldn’t be replaced by supplements, and is a reason why I’m advocating that most supplements are a waste of your money.
Below are 4 supplements that won’t be a waste your money.
1. Whey Protein
Whey Protein aids in muscle repair and re-building, as well as prevents muscle breakdown. For those that don’t know, there are different forms of Protein. Whey Protein Isolate/hydrosylate is a quick digesting form whereby your body can use it quick. Whey Protein Concentrate is a slower digesting form and provides your body with a more sustained release of protein; think of these two like white bread and brown bread, respectively. Read this is you’d like more information: Whats the difference between Why Isolate & Concentrate?
It is common to see many protein powders and products as blends now, including combinations of isolate and concentrates, as well as non-whey proteins like calcium caseinate or casein – these are similar to whey protein concentrate. I wouldn’t get too caught in up in the differences between the different types of whey, and other proteins.
What you need to know:
- If you can’t eat food containing protein following a workout/exercise (60-90 minutes), you can instead have a whey protein shake after the workout (I also recommend adding a fruit), and then when you can eat a meal.
- Having a protein shake can be a convenient and portable snack option between meals; you don’t need to refrigerate the powder, and it can easily be put into a container/ziploc bag and mixed with water/milk for a grab-and-go option in you’re in a rush.
- Whey Protein can be a great additive to food to help increase the protein content, one reason you’d want to do this is to help you feel fuller for longer – advantageous when trying to lose fat. One example is Protein Peanut Butter Oatmeal.
2. Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine is something you naturally have in your muscles. It’s used in the first few seconds of forceful muscle contractions. With creatine supplementation you are simply increasing the reserve for your muscles. In sports where explosive movements are needed, this can help increase performance. With weight training this can increase work done, more reps possible, with heavier weights which can result in increased hypertrophy (muscle growth). This is a great resource written by the Sports Dietitians of Australia that can provide more information.
What you need to know:
- Taking creatine can help you if you’re doing explosive movements, like in sports like hockey, football, etc. Creatine can even help endurance athletes, in particular with their training or during more intense aspects of their endurance sport (eg. Marathon runner doing a hill climb).
- You need to correctly load it, which can be rapid loading (5 days of 4x5g doses) or slow-loading (28 days of regular maintenance dose (3-5g), then have a daily 3-5 g/day dose for maintenance to sustain elevated levels.
- Some people are non-responders to creatine, meaning they don’t notice any changes; albeit some changes might be to the placebo and/or supplement effect (the supplement effect: taking said supplement increases your adherence to a host of other things that have a positive impact in achieving the desired result you are taking the supplement for).
- There are a lot of fancy types of creatine out there, but according to the Sports Dietitians of Australia there is no difference and you just need Creatine Monohydrate.
3. Caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant, It helps increase mental alertness and raises your heart rate – this wil increase your metabolism thereby increasing the number of calories you burn. Caffeine also decreases your perceived rate of exertion, how hard you think you are working, so it could increase the time you are exercising [2, 3].
One thing to note: if you already drink a lot of coffee, or have a lot of caffeine from other sources, your caffeine is likely more of a placebo unless you increase your intake beyond normal limits; your liver enzymes will be up-regulated and will very effectively degrade caffiene.
What you need to know:
- The usual effective dose is around 5-7 mg/kg body weight. This can be quite a bit. The average cup (237 ml, 8 fl oz.) of coffee ranges from 75-150 mg, starbucks venti = 415mg; grande = 330mg; tall, 12 fl. oz. 260). Check out other common caffeine contents here.
- After a while caffeine might be more of the process and a placebo, due to the above note.
- When it’s best to have: 30-60 minutes prior to a workout.
- If you add sugar and cream to your coffee this might cause some G.I. discomfort (cramping, gas, etc.) during exercise; this will also have a negative impact on your ability to lose weight if this is your goal.
- You can buy caffeine tablets if coffee isn’t your thing.
4. Vitamin D
If you’re Canadian, or anyone outside of the 37th parallel, you might be deficient in Vitamin D. Vitamin D is naturally made by your body when exposed to a UV index of 3 or higher. Unfortunately, the only place you’ll find that year-round is near the equator (between the 37th parallels). Aside from UV exposure, you can get Vitamin D from fish and fortified products like milk in Canada. However, if you’re not getting enough sun exposure there is a chance that you’re low.
What you need to know:
- Vitamin D plays an important role in immune function and bone health [4].
- In Canada, cow’s milk and margarine must be fortified with vitamin D.
- The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for Vitmain D, for those 9-70 years of age, is 600 IU (15 mcg) – with an upper limit of 4000 IU (100 mcg)
- Recommended intake: 1000 IU’s per day via chewables or pills to cover your basis. In comination with sunglight you can’t reach 4000 IU (100mcg), this can only be done through supplements or food.
- Some research suggests it helps gain muscle, strength (see this blog post that link the original research), and aid in fat metabolism (see this blog post that link the original research).
Supplements That Are Likely A Waste Of Your Money:
I’m not going to list all of them, because that would be a long list. Suffice it to say that if it’s not listed above then it is likely a waste of your money. I will, however, talk about two more common ones that I see many people take.
Pre-workout
I prefer my clients to adhere to these guidelines instead. There are a lot of ingredients in Pre-workout, read this to see what some of them do, that at some point your body will adapt to. At this point there isn’t a big physiological effect, beyond the placebo effect. Also, many Pre-workouts can have shitty – literally – side effects, and that’s not exactly pleasant.
One reason I would support taking Pre-workout: If you need some added motivation to workout. This could be particularly beneficial if you’ve been dieting for quite a while.
BCAA’s (Branched Chain Amino Acids)
The theory is that by using BCAA’s you’re providing your body with a source of “pre-broken down” muscle in an effort to prevent your own muscle breakdown; taking BCAA’s can also be a source of energy, and help prevent central fatigue.
What the research says:
1. This doesn’t guarantee your body won’t still breakdown your muscle for energy
2. If you’re having adequate protein in your diet, there is little benefit
My suggestion to clients is that you don’t need BCAA’s.
Something important to consider for all supplements:
It’s often less about the supplement and the ingredients, and more about what someone is doing consistently – be it exercising more, engaging in healthier habits, etc. In other words, the supplement can make people commit to doing something consistently and it’s because of THAT that they are getting the results they see, not because they are taking said supplement.
Beyond being consistent with result-oriented habits, the Placebo effect is also possible. At the end of the day if you can justify taking the supplement and it works for you, do you. The above is just my opinion based on the science, my clients, and my own experiences.
Till next time,
-Mike
References:
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2101061
3. Loehr, Sarah. “Nutritional Ergogenic Aids.” Nutrition 480. University of Alberta. [February 2015]. This information is intellectual property of S. Loehr, specific information can be provided upon request. Contact.
5. Blomstrand, E. (2006). A role for branched-chain amino acids in reducing central fatigue. J Nutr. 136(2), 544-547.Spriet, L. L. (2014).