To Supplement or Not to Supplement: The Ultimate Guide to Making an Informed Choice

The big questions: what supplements can I take to enhance my performance? What supplements will help me reduce body fat? What supplements are going to make me stronger?

Firstly, it’s important to remember that food should always come first. Supplements shouldn’t be considered until you have the foundations already laid with your diet.

I will talk you through some of the most talked-about supplements, their effectiveness, and whether or not it is worth adding them.

First up, CREATINE!

Creatine is one of the most talked-about supplements in the sport/performance nutrition world — and for good reason! It is one of the most effective, well-researched, safest and cheapest supplements.

Creatine is an incredible supplement, whether you intend to gain muscle, increase strength, focus on performance, maintain muscle mass or drop body fat. Whatever your goals, I strongly recommend adding a creatine supplement.

Creatine is a substance that is found naturally in muscle cells. It increases your capacity to produce ATP energy (i.e., your body’s energy currency). When taken in supplement form, it increases your body’s phosphocreatine stores and produces more ATP, enhancing performance.

Evidence also suggests that supplementing with creatine can help enhance muscle growth. Whether you are looking to build muscle, drop body fat, or maintain your current physique, this will be advantageous.

Regarding dosing, take 3-5g of creatine monohydrate powder daily. You can get creatine through food alone, but to get 3-5g as recommended, you would need to eat around 1kg of beef or cod daily, which is a lot of food! You don’t need to have a loading phase of 20g per day for five days unless you’re looking to gain the benefits for competition within a week, as it can take 3-4 weeks to maximise phosphocreatine stores.

As it’s one of the cheapest and safest supplements out there, and a vast amount of evidence backs the various benefits, I would seriously look into this.

Next up, PROTEIN POWDERS.

One of the most popular questions I get asked is, “Should I have a protein shake straight after my workout?”

The short answer is that a protein shake has no magic powers over what a chicken breast contains.

Protein shakes are a dietary supplement, which means they should not replace food, but may be added for convenience or to help meet your daily protein requirements.

Whether you want to lose fat or gain muscle, a protein supplement may be worth adding to your diet. However, as with everything, always opt for food first.

Protein supplements, which provide amino acids to the body, help promote muscle gain and improve performance and recovery between sessions. So, if your goals include muscle gain, improving your strength or overall performance, and you’re looking for ways to increase your protein intake or a more convenient way to increase protein, then a protein supplement could be for you.

On the other hand, if your primary goal is fat loss, protein intake is also essential! Ensuring you have adequate protein in your diet will help you to retain muscle when losing weight — remember, it’s the fat we want to lose, not the muscle! The other massive benefit of protein is out of the three macronutrients; it is the most satiating — meaning that it will keep you feeling the fullest compared to fats or carbs. This is why basing snacks on a protein source can help you stay full between meals and why ensuring you have a good source in each meal is essential. Ultimately, controlling appetite will be vital in reducing cravings and overeating.

The bottom line is that a supplement form of protein is not superior to whole foods. You can get adequate protein through foods alone. However, a protein supplement may benefit you for convenience in helping meet your daily protein requirements. Remember, overeating any macronutrient or food will lead to weight gain; protein is still calories! Don’t be sucked in when you see ‘high protein’ everywhere and think it’s magic!

You can find many different whey and plant-based protein supplements in stores and online. Aim for one that is natural and not packed with unnecessary artificial ingredients.

Pre-Workout Supplements: What’s the Deal?

Alright, so next up are pre-workout supplements. These will contain various ingredients designed to increase energy and enhance performance. The main ingredients are caffeine, amino acids, creatine, and likely some artificial sweeteners.

Note that caffeine is usually the main ingredient in these supplements, as it’s one of the most proven sports nutrition supplements to enhance performance. However, you don’t need a pre-workout; a coffee will do the job for you too!

It is essential to know that these supplements can contain a considerable amount of caffeine — on average, the equivalent of three espresso shots. Adding that dose to your usual two coffees a day can soon add up and become a lot of caffeine in one day. Excessive caffeine intake can lead to poor quality sleep, increased blood pressure and anxiety, so be mindful of the quantity you consume. You also need to be aware of the time of day you are taking your pre-workout as caffeine has a very long half-life, affecting the quality of your sleep if consumed after 2 pm.

Some of these products are packed with artificial sweeteners, which may cause stomach discomfort during your session, so be mindful.

Ultimately, I suggest a coffee and banana over an artificial pre-workout supplement.

Next, Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs). BCAAs are a group of three essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine and valine. These three amino acids are grouped as they are the only three with a chain that branches off to one side. They are also essential, meaning that our body cannot produce them naturally, so they must come from our diet.

Out of the three, leucine has the most significant impact on your body’s ability to build muscle proteins. Isoleucine and valine also help build muscle, have a substantial role in energy production during exercise, and regulate blood sugar levels. There is also evidence to suggest that BCAAs help reduce exercise fatigue.

So indeed, supplementing BCAAs should be a no-brainer? Well, as with everything, you should always look at food first. The good news is that there are plenty of foods rich in BCAAs. The best food sources are meat, beans, lentils, tofu, eggs, nuts, seeds and cheese. So yes, BCAAs may be beneficial, especially in building muscle and performance; however, BCAAs can be found in protein-rich foods and protein powder supplements.

The last sports-specific supplement I will mention is beta-alanine, another amino acid that you will usually find in pre-workout supplements, albeit non-essential. Beta-alanine enhances performance by increasing exercise capacity and decreasing muscle fatigue. Beta-alanine isn’t used to synthesise proteins; instead, it produces carnosine with histidine. Carnosine reduces lactic acid accumulation in your muscles during exercise, which can help improve performance.

Your top food sources are going to be meat, poultry and fish. You can get sufficient amounts from food alone, but supplementing can help elevate carnosine levels even further.

However, when taken in excessive amounts, beta-alanine may cause paraesthesia, the ‘tingling’ sensation usually experienced in the face, neck and back of hands. However, in smaller doses, this isn’t noticed much.

Bottom line – if you want that additional 1% in your performance, BCAA might be a supplement. Otherwise, I wouldn’t say it was necessary.

Next up… Greens powder!

This is one of my personal favourites.

If you know you struggle to get enough fruit and veg into your diet, especially when considering variety, a greens powder may be the perfect supplement!

There are many out there, though most of them will contain a mix of leafy green vegs such as kale and spinach, seaweed, spirulina, beetroot, carrots, tomatoes and grasses, as well as fruits rich in antioxidants such as blueberries, goji and acai berries, probiotics, green tea extract, herbs, digestive enzymes, mushrooms and additional fibres.

Green powders are packed with a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Even if you include veg in all your meals, I still believe this supplement is worth considering to help support your overall health. The additional probiotics and fibres can help support immune and digestive function alongside the vitamins and minerals.

Therefore, it’s a win-win all around! Mix with water and drink or add to a homemade smoothie. You will get used to the taste once you incorporate it into your everyday routine!

Finally, I want to touch on two vitamin supplements…. Firstly, vitamin D.

Vitamin D is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies. Symptoms are usually very subtle or non-existent and can take years to surface.

Vitamin D plays a vital role in bone health and immune function.

Our primary vitamin D source is sunshine, as you produce vitamin D from cholesterol when your skin is exposed to sunlight. Because it is a fat-soluble vitamin and thus can be stored in the body for an extended period, occasional sunshine can help keep blood levels adequate. However, if you don’t have total body exposure to the sun very often, you must look at food sources and supplements.

Some foods such as salmon, cod liver oil, tuna, eggs, sardines, some fortified plant milk and breakfast cereals are good sources of vitamin D. However, to get adequate amounts in the diet, it is recommended to supplement a minimum dosage of 10micrograms during the winter months.

Adequate vitamin D will contribute to healthy bones, reduce the risk of fractures and osteoporosis later in life, and improve strength, reducing the risk of some health issues such as type two diabetes and cancers. Finally, some studies even show adequate Vitamin D levels increase life expectancy.

Therefore, during the winter months, I strongly recommend taking a supplement of vitamin D. You should continue with this in the summer if you know you don’t often get total body exposure to the sun.

The final supplement I want to mention is vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 is essential, particularly for vegans and vegetarians, but it could also benefit meat-eaters who lack energy and frequently experience low moods.

Unlike vitamin D, vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin, meaning it cannot be stored or made by the body, so it must be consumed through diet or supplementation. It plays a vital role in many bodily functions, such as helping your body produce red blood cells, supporting bone health, preventing birth defects, supporting brain health, improving your mood, and supporting skin and hair health.

If you remove meat from your diet, I strongly recommend taking a vitamin B12 supplement. If you experience a low mood and frequently have reduced energy levels, I recommend reaching out to a healthcare professional.

There is an excellent product by BetterYou for vegans that I highly recommend – take a look here. I also recommend BetterYou for Vitamin D spray and vitamin B12.

Nutritionist Becs

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