Supplementation and Athletic Performance

Everybody has their own theories and methods when it comes to supplements. What they use, how much of it, and when is all based on personal experience and research. The key is to find out what works best for you. Because what might help me lose body fat, may not be what helps you.

Dr. Howard LeWine (M.D) from Harvard Medical School wrote an article a few weeks ago in which he outlines how vitamin and protein supplements are not necessarily beneficial and there is little evidence to support those claims. Now, I’m not a doctor and I’m not questioning Dr. LeWine’s credibility because I’m quite sure he can backup any of the arguments he has made. However, there’s something about being a highly conditioned athlete and knowing the limitations and needs of your own body.

For instance, a person looking to lose body fat and gain lean muscle mass needs high amounts of B-vitamins to sustain energy and convert food into energy. As Dr. LeWine says:

During exercise, more than the usual amounts of B vitamins are needed. These include thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, and pantothenic acid. Enriched cereals and whole-grain carbohydrates combined with some lean meats will satisfy the needs of even the extreme athlete.

The only problem with that is when you’re trying to lose body fat and gain lean muscle you’re not going to rely on cereal and carbohydrates to sustain your energy. You’re going to limit the amount of carbohydrates (especially cereal because most of it is processed anyway) and concentrate on a high protein diet. That’s why supplementing with B-vitamins could be a good idea. The same is true for protein. You’re not going to comsume all of your protein by way of meat and nuts — if you do you’d be putting your health at risk. Instead, you supplement with protein powder and meal replacement shakes.

Don’t get me wrong, Dr. LeWine makes a lot of good points and even credits creatine as to having some value:

Creatine is the one amino acid that may have some athletic benefit. It contributes to rapid energy production and may enhance power or speed bursts that require short periods of anaerobic activity. It does not build muscle or increase endurance, and it can result in water retention. Long-term effects are unknown.

As I have discussed in previous posts, Kre-Alkalyn is the new generation of creatine. It’s a buffered type of creatine that is better absorbed in the body and doesn’t force you to retain water.

It’s true that many supplements are bogus because they don’t have to be approved by the FDA, but there are many good ones out there from reliable companies. So be sure to do your research before picking one. I agree with Dr. LeWine’s overall point that you should get the majority of your nutrition from food and not from supplements. However, there are cases when supplementing is beneficial. Especially cases where an individual is trying to lose weight and gain muscle.