Supplements - effective or useless?
kevchenk01
Posts: 24 Member
Do any of you have opinions and knowledge on supplements. I’m kinda of the belief that most if not all are no different to regular food. I do use creatine and Bcaas but am starting to question there benefit.
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Replies
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I suppose it would depend on what they are being used for and whether the other important aspects of optimal nutrition (for that person, at that time, and for their current goals) were already solidly in place.
That said, I can't get behind people calling protein powder a supplement. 🤷🏿♀️ But that may be because they'd have to pry my Vega from my cold, dead hands.6 -
There's a thread in "Most Helpful Posts" about exactly that subject:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10637410/beneficial-supplements-which-ones-are-right-for-you/p1
Another good resource IMO is:
https://examine.com/
They don't sell supplements, just research reports on them, but there's a good bit of free information on the site, too.
I prefer to get nutrients from food as much as possible, too, but do take supplements that have been medically prescribed (as a 65+ woman, some of that stuff is needful 🙄).2 -
BCAAs - I'm very dubious about their use, I would struggle to think of a situation where if you needed supplementation whey protein wouldn't be a better choice.
Creatine - very well studied, inexpensive, well proven. Shame that I either don't respond to it or simply get enough from my regular diet.
The "get enough from my regular diet" phrase is part of my general view that supplementation is for correcting a deficiency. e.g. my Vit D levels are fine in summer but in winter with less sunlight exposure supplementation is probably a good idea.6 -
I started supplements in the 80's because back then, they were touted as the be all if you couldn't get on gear. And I've experimented with a lot of them. At one time I was taking 50 pills a day including protein powder and creatine. That was well before I started studying nutrition. Well from my studies and continual education, I've found that 90%+ of supplements AREN'T needed if you are eating a well balanced/program diet for whatever your goals are. No substitute for food. The only supplements I take now are a 500mg Vitamin C cap and Fish oil daily. The rest comes from food.
But one of the things I do like to mention is be aware of supplements, especially cheap ones. Since they aren't FDA regulated, you don't know whether or not what you're taking even has the correct amount and/or is contaminated. Since there are only about 5 manufacturers of supplements in the US, most sellers will use them as a third party. And a lot of raw material for them come from ......................CHINA. And since there really is no regulation there, any raw materials can be laced with unwanted contaminants. While sometimes we think that athletes are lying about banned substance use, they may not be if they are taking a supplement that might be allowed by an association. If that supplement contains trace amounts of banned substances that WEREN'T on the label, that could have been the culprit. I would look to supplements that have a USP label on them. That means they were independently tested and passed with no contaminants and had the correct percentages based on the labels. Also look for companies like Optimum Nutrition who make their own supplements (they are the manufacturer) and get their raw materials from the US. A little pricier, but at least you know what you're getting.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Creatinine definitely makes a difference when lifting heavy0
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I've taken BCAAs for about 18 months. I don't think they make a blind bit of difference. I only tried them as I exercise fasted and there was some research to suggest that they might be good for me. I'm finishing the current stock as they were expensive but I'm not going to buy any more. Not tried creatine. My diet is good and varied and I only lift for fun so apart from a bit of whey protein around heavier days I am not bothering with exercise supplements.0
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Like others have mentioned, creatine has been around for so long, is well researched, and proven to be effective. Specifically for creatine I'd look at your dosing and try bumping it up if you're not seeing any benefits since personal sensitivity and timing can play a role in absorption. Based on some anecdotes I read I added another 5g post workout to the 8g I was getting preworkout and that seemed to cross a threshold for me (6'1" 175lbs for reference). Beta-alanine also has a pretty lengthy resume of proven efficacy. I take Vit D, a multi, and use whey to help hit my protein macro but don't mess with anything else any more. I've tried the gamut; BCAAs, NOx boosters, Test boosters, CLA, etc. and never found them to make any difference.0
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Creatine works. Lots of scientific studies to back it. And just get pure creatine monohydrate instead of getting a bunch of powders laced with it.SnifterPug wrote: »I've taken BCAAs for about 18 months. I don't think they make a blind bit of difference. I only tried them as I exercise fasted and there was some research to suggest that they might be good for me. I'm finishing the current stock as they were expensive but I'm not going to buy any more. Not tried creatine. My diet is good and varied and I only lift for fun so apart from a bit of whey protein around heavier days I am not bothering with exercise supplements.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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From the article:
Academics, including journalist and doctor Ben Goldacre, pointed out this wasn't how a scientific study should be conducted – there was no control group, and it would likely produce false positive results.
The results were further skewed by the fact over 2,000 children dropped out of the trial. But this didn't stop journalists picking up on the line that "832 pupils had 80 percent or greater compliance."
One study isn't enough to debunk many studies.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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kevchenk01 wrote: »Do any of you have opinions and knowledge on supplements. I’m kinda of the belief that most if not all are no different to regular food. I do use creatine and Bcaas but am starting to question there benefit.
With regards to resistance training the two most effective supplements according to most of the scientific literature are creatine and caffeine. Note that this can vary from person to person. Some people are responders to these two supplements and some are not. I, for example, don't find caffeine particularly effective for lifting but that's likely because I have about 8 cups of coffee every morning. lol.
The consensus in the literature is that BCAA and EAA supplementation shows no benefit if you're getting sufficient protein, especially if you're getting your protein from a variety of sources. BTW, sometimes people consider protein a supplement, in which case it's, by far, the most effective supplement for resistance training.
I'm not aware of any science on the topic, but I know I rely heavily on meal prepping to meet my fitness goals. That means eating the same thing every day, or close to every day. To me that means I may not have enough variety in my diet to give me sufficient micro nutrients so I take a multivitamin to try and offset that. But, again, for all I know I'm basically pissing money down the drain, literally, taking a multivitamin since there isn't any science to back it up and if your body doesn't need it it just sends it right into the toilet.
Finally, if you have the time, this guy generally knows his stuff
https://youtu.be/IR5jW9iNNiw 1 -
My staple supplements
Krill oil
Zma
Vit D 3
Multi vit
Chromium picolinate when massing
These are the things That are deficient in
My diet and I can feel and a real difference from over time. My blood work backs up the deficiencies and improvements when I add these to my diet.
These probably aren’t necessary for the vast majority of people on here
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I’ve been on your site for a few months now and have learned that if you don't take the time to develop strength...you won't be able to build muscle.0
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