I frequently see advertisements for nutritional supplements that promise tremendous gains (or losses, if such is the case). The reality is that most supplements do very little, if anything. Gains (or losses) come from hard work and consistency. Unfortunately, many trust the ads more than the knowledge of informed trainers.
There are a few nutritional supplements that can be effective. These are: protein, carbohydrate, water, creatine, and caffeine (stimulant). These have the greatest support in the scientific literature. Most anything else? Well, buyer beware.
Be wary of products that claim to be “scientifically proven”. A few studies (often performed in-house or funded by the supplement company) “prove” little. Indeed, scientific research proves nothing. Scientific evidence is based on probabilities—these are reported as “p-values” or the probability that a difference observed in response to a treatment is due to anything other than chance. A common level of acceptable chance (µ-level) is 0.05 (or 5%). As the result of a treatment, there is never 0% chance that a difference is due to chance. Even if the probability is within an acceptable range, i.e., statistically significant, it might not be practically significant.
The effectiveness of a supplement may be statistically significant, but may still be small—and, thus, negligible. Many ads will claim that the supplement is some tremendous percentage more effective than a placebo. For example, Supplement X may be “scientifically proven to result in 1000% more fat loss than the placebo.” Now, think about this. If a placebo is inert—non-effective, as one should be—there should be no effect. What is 1000% of a very small number? That is correct—another very small number. (One-thousand percent of near zero is still near zero.) So, when you see such claims, a red flag should go up.
So, before jumping on the supplement bandwagon, be sure your training is effective and you’re eating a performance diet. Remember, nearly half of a performance diet is caloric balance. Macro balance (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) accounts for another 30% or so of the diet. Nutrient timing and food composition account for another 25% or so. Thus, supplements account for only 5% of performance—and only if all the other factors are in order.
If you are doing everything right (and few are), supplements may squeeze out a bit more performance. Bodybuilders, for example, might benefit from supplements to lose that last bit of fat to get competition ready. If you are trying to lose a few pounds, though, your daily habits are most important.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!
Image source: http://i1.wp.com/www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FL_SupplementsAndSafety1.jpg?resize=1200%2C630