In their effort to enhance energy and optimize performance, many athletes purchase vitamins, herbs, amino acids, and other sports supplements that are reputed to offer a competitive advantage. While a few supplements (beta-alanine, creatine, caffeine, nitrates) might play a small role when added to a well-thought-out fueling plan, no amount of supplements will compensate for a lousy diet. 

Fundamental to every high-performance athlete is an effective sports diet. All athletes should be taught from an early age how to optimize their performance using the food-first approach, so they know how to best fuel-up, fuel during, and refuel after challenging exercise sessions. Once an athlete has finished growing and maturing and has fine-tuned his or her fitness and performance skills, some sports supplements might be appropriately introduced with guidance from a knowledgeable professional.

That said, to the detriment of their wallets, many athletic people look for a glimmer of hope from the multi-billion-dollar supplement industry. Consulting with a registered dietitian (RD) who is board certified as a specialist in sports dietetics (CSSD) could easily be a better use of money.

Supplements are popular

A survey of Division-1 college students (89 females, 49 males) at Arizona State Univ. indicated 77% consumed at least one “claimed to be” ergogenic aid (1). Another survey of US Army personnel reports 75% used some type of dietary supplement at least once a week. Protein/amino acids were the most popular, taken by 52% of subjects (2).

Why are so many athletes willing to spend (or is that waste?) a great deal of money to buy sports supplements? The glimmer-of-hope reasons include: to improve physical appearance or physique, increase muscle mass, optimize general health, and help meet physical demands on their bodies. Unfortunately, most supplements don’t work. Before you spend your money, please educate yourself about each supplement you plan to buy.

Where to learn more

For information about (supposedly) performance-enhancing supplements, the US Dept. of Defense website Operation Supplement Safety (www.opss.org) offers abundant information for anyone who is curious to learn more.  The website includes:

• a list of at least 28 unsafe sports supplements to avoid.
• a list of questions to help determine if a supplement is safe. (Does the label have a “certified safe” seal from Informed Sport or NSF? Is the label free of the words blend, matrix, proprietary, or complex? Does it make questionable claims?)
• an A-Z index with info about specific supplements, with all you need to know about Adderall, apple cider vinegar, caffeine, creatine, energy drinks, ephedra, ketone supplements, nitric oxide, omega-3 fats, pre-workouts, pro-hormones, proprietary blends, plus many more.
• information on unusual reactions and adverse effects (nausea, headaches, shakiness, elevated heat rate, mood change, etc.) and how to report an adverse event to the FDA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

Another helpful source of information is the Australian Institute for Sport’s ABCD Classification System (www.ais.gov.au/nutrition/supplements). The system ranks sports foods & supplements into 4 groups according to scientific evidence and practical considerations that determine whether a product is safe and if it effectively improves sports performance. 

• Group A includes specialized products with strong evidence for benefits in specific events, including sports drinks, gels, iron, caffeine, beta-alanine, bicarbonate, beet root/nitrate, and creatine, among others.
• Group B deserves further research. It includes food compounds with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (i.e., tart cherry juice, curcumin), vitamin C, and collagen, to name just a few.
• Group C lacks scientific evidence to support use. These include (and are not limited to) magnesium, alpha lipoic acid, HMB, BCAAs, leucine, vitamin E–plus more.
• Group D includes products with a high risk of leading to a positive doping test: ephedrine, DMAA, herbal stimulants, pro-hormones, hormone boosters (such as DHEA, androstenedione, Tribulus terrestris), and others.

What supplements do “work”? 

Sports supplements that do “work” actually improve performance by just a small (but potentially valuable) amount (3), despite carefully crafted advertisements that can lead you to believe otherwise. Case in point, the popular branch-chain amino acids (BCAAs), specifically the BCAA leucine, which is known to activate the muscle-building process. Unfortunately, simply activating the process is not enough to promote muscle growth. 

BCAA research indicates they do not provide any benefits above and beyond the amino acids athletes normally consume when eating protein-rich food at meals and snacks. To see any meaningful muscle-building effect, you actually need to have many other amino acids present (as happens when you eat real food, as opposed to an isolated amino acid), as well as enough calories—and of course, a good strength training program plus adequate sleep. 

Varied responses

Even among supplements that “work,” the response varies greatly from person to person. Case in point, beta-alanine, a supplement used by athletes such as sprinters, rowers, and wrestlers to reduce muscular fatigue and improve endurance during high-intensity exercise that lasts for 1 to 4 minutes. The varied responses can be related to not only genetics and biological factors, but also to the power of the mind, the placebo effect, adequate fuel, and enough sleep. Hence, when a supplement does “work” for some athletes, the response may be due not to the supplement—but rather to the athletes getting serious about taking better care of their bodies, eating wisely and getting enough sleep (4). 

Enhancing sports performance may not need rocket science, after all?

Sports Nutritionist Nancy Clark, MS, RD counsels both casual and competitive athletes in the Boston-area (Newton; 617-795-1875). Her best-selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook and her online workshop can help you eat a winning sports diet. Visit NancyClarkRD.com for more information.

References

1. Vento KA and FC Wardenaar. Third-party testing nutritional supplement knowledge, attitudes, and use among an NCAA I collegiate student-athlete population. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. Sept 2020. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2020.00115 
2. Bukhari A, A DiChiara, E Merrill, et al. Dietary supplement use in US Army personnel: A mixed-methods, survey and focus-group study examining decision making and factors associated with use.  J Acad Nutr Diet 2021; 121(6):1049-1063
3. Maughan, R, L Burke, J Dvorak et al. IOC Consensus Statement: Dietary Supplements and the High-Performance Athlete. Int’l J Sports Nutr Exerc Metab 2018, 28:104-125
4. Esteves G, P Swinton, C Dale, et al. Individual participant date meta-analysis provides no evidence of intervention response variation in individuals supplementing with beat-alanine. In’tl J Sp Nutr Exerc Metab 2021; 31(4):305-313

High cholesterol levels can dramatically increase your risk of heart disease. In particular, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is the bad kind of cholesterol, and it’s the kind you most certainly do not want floating around in your bloodstream.

The good news is that, by sticking to the right diet, you can reduce LDL cholesterol levels in your blood and keep them at healthy quantities. You should make sure to eat only foods with lots of healthy fat and fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, whole grains, legumes (for plant protein), and lean meats like fish and chicken. Just increasing your fiber intake can reduce your cholesterol levels by 10% or more.

If you already have high cholesterol levels, it’s important that you don’t aggravate the problem by taking even more saturated fats in your diet. Try to reduce quantities of dairy and meat in your diet, keeping them at no more than 5% of your daily caloric intake. For someone who consumes 2,000 calories a day, that’s no more than 11 grams.

You should also be careful about which snacks you consume. Many snacks are highly processed, which means they’ll contain high amounts of fat. Try to stick to healthy snack options that are packed with healthy fat and fiber.

In this article, we’ll help you do just that by recommending 5 super snack foods that will keep your cholesterol levels as low as they need to be. They are all homemade, so it’s stuff you can get when doing your regular grocery shopping. They’re also quite easy to prepare and flexible enough that you can use them as inspiration for your own recipes. Each of the snacks below is packed with healthy unsaturated fats, plenty of fiber, and consists of whole grains, vegetables, or fruits. They also have very little LDL cholesterol.

Avocado on Toast

Avocado is a popular fruit well known for its high amounts of healthy unsaturated fats. It has also been shown to drastically lower the amount of unhealthy LDL cholesterol in the body. Taking just half an avocado will provide up to 5 grams of fiber, more than enough to meet your daily requirements. If you take it with some whole-grain toast you can get even more fiber from the mix.

Making avocado toast is very easy. Simply toast a slice or two of whole-grain bread, peel and slice an avocado up thinly and top the bread with it. If you’d like to add some flavor, sprinkle some herbs and maybe a bit of lemon juice.

Tuna Wraps

Tuna is a very nutritious food, with plenty of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 is a healthy unsaturated fat that drastically lowers bad cholesterol levels in the blood. It also tastes really good if you’re into fish!

To make some tuna wraps, start by making a tuna salad. Get a can of tuna and  mix it with your favorite vegetables, such as celery, onion, or something else. Don’t forget to pour some olive oil into the mix too.

For the wrap, you can also get nori, a type of seaweed that comes in thin, edible sheets. Wrap the tuna in the nori and eat to your heart’s content! Alternatively, if seaweed isn’t your thing, you can get lettuce leaves to make tuna sandwiches.

Curried Salmon Salad Celery Boats

While we’re still on the topic of fish, salmon is yet another fantastic option. It is a delicious food and also a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Also, just like tuna, it can be used to make nutritious and delicious snacks.

To make salmon salad, get a can of salmon and oil-based mayonnaise. Mix the two together, and throw in some chopped grapes, curry powder, honey, and cashews. Next, take some of your delicious salad and place it on a few celery sticks to make a simple snack for your taste buds and health.

Guacamole

Let’s take a quick moment to revisit the glorious avocado with this simple yet delicious and nutritious snack. Guacamole is simply a fancy name for avocado salad. You can make it by getting a ripe avocado and mixing half of it with a diced tomato, a chopped onion, some minced garlic, and some lime juice to give that extra zing. To give the guacamole even more character, you can mix it with slices of your favorite vegetables, such as asparagus, bell peppers, and carrots.

Oatmeal

If you want a snack that gives you plenty of energy, oatmeal bites are yet another great option. Not only are they very low in bad cholesterol, but they are also a rich source of protein. You can make your own high-protein snack using rolled oats, ground flax seeds, chia seeds, nut butter, dried fruit, honey, and some dark chocolate.

Mix the ingredients into a thick paste that you can easily mold, and then scoop some portions and roll them into balls. Throw them in the fridge for long term storage, taking them out whenever you’re going out and need some energy!

Jessica Chapman is a college paper writer and editor at BrillAssignment. She also writes best assignment writing service UK reviews. She is into sports and politics and enjoys traveling.