{"id":30594,"date":"2021-08-17T09:32:40","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T16:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/?p=30594"},"modified":"2021-08-16T13:43:15","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T20:43:15","slug":"sports-supplements-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/sports-supplements-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports Supplements & Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/span>food-first<\/span><\/i> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Supplements are popular<\/b><\/h4>\n

A survey of Division-1 college students (89 females, 49 males) at Arizona State Univ. indicated 77% consumed at least one \u201cclaimed to be\u201d 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).<\/span><\/p>\n

Why are so many athletes willing to spend (or is that <\/span>waste?<\/span><\/i>) 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\u2019t work. Before you spend your money, please educate yourself about each supplement you plan to buy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Where to learn more<\/b><\/h4>\n

For information about (supposedly) performance-enhancing supplements, the US Dept. of Defense website <\/span>Operation Supplement Safety<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>www.opss.org<\/span><\/a>) offers abundant information for anyone who is curious to learn more.\u00a0 The website includes:<\/span><\/p>\n