One of the tell tale signs for identifying someone as a hardcore fitness freak is by the amount of supplements they take on a daily basis. However, while this may be worn as a badge of honor by many (proof of their unrelenting dedication to “aesthetics” or some other such goal), the majority of these supplements have very little scientific proof to back up the various claims of their efficacy. In other words, the main thing these gym junkies are paying for is a placebo effect. Despite this, there are some supplements whose benefits when coupled with a fitness program has been proven beyond a doubt and that’s what I want to go through here.
1) Multivitamins
Multivitamins are essential in that they act as a defense against missing out on your recommended daily intake and ensure that you’re optimizing your general health. Furthermore, when you’re body is working at it’s best everything you’re looking to achieve will be achieved more readily as there won’t be anything to hinder your progress. Granted, there is the argument on how taking multivitamins only serves to give you “expensive urine” and while this may be true on occasion, it isn’t true 100% of the time (unless you’re eating a consistently perfect diet). Not only that, but the nutritional value of the vegetables we find in the supermarkets today is significantly less than the nutritional value of the vegetables that were found on the average family table 50 years ago. The prevalence of GMO (genetically modified organisms) foods and consequently the increased efficiency and intensity of farming to meet the demands of an ever growing global population has meant that soil depletion has occurred where the soil has been stripped of many of the nutrients and minerals it once had. In other words, there’s a lower amount of nutrients and minerals available in the soil which is being shared between far more plants so it’s no wonder the nutritional value of our vegetables is declining.
Decline in the mineral content of food since 1940. Source: Dr. D.E. Thomas
Something to be careful about when it comes to multivitamins are those that include iron. While having an iron deficiency is obviously bad, having too much iron is equally as bad if not more so. A simple rule to follow is that if you’re a man and haven’t been recommended an iron supplement by your doctor then you probably don’t need the extra and should get an iron free multivitamin. Women on the other hand are naturally anaemic due to their menstrual cycle and so it’s less likely that they’ll be at risk of consuming too much iron through a supplement in the form of a multivitamin. Then again, if you love your salads and eat a lot of leafy greens every day then the extra iron is likely unnecessary as you’ll already be getting enough from your diet (always the best way to get your needs met).
2) BCAAs
BCAAs (branched chain amino acids) are a group of essential amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine) meaning they can’t be synthesized, and so must be derived from external sources, that make up approximately 70% of the amino acids in the body. Leucine regulates cell growth and has been shown to slow muscle degradation. Isoleucine helps boost energy levels as well as helps build the structural and functional proteins found in your body such as muscle, antibodies and some hormones. Valine regulates blood sugar levels, maintains nitrogen balance, and stimulates the central nervous system.
When you exercise you deplete your muscles glycogen stores after which your body then starts to burn fat or protein (muscle) for energy. Burning protein for energy is called catabolism and if you’re wanting to lean out and lose fat then this is the exact opposite of what you want seeing as lean mass keeps your metabolism up and results in more calories burned per day. BCAAs can however prevent this when taken before/after or even during a workout as they have been proven to increase energy levels and lipid oxidation (fat burning) during exhaustive endurance exercises. Not only that, but they can help minimize DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness) as they improve your ability to repair any muscle damage after a workout and so maximize your potential to build muscle and get stronger.
So, one of the most popular ways to go about losing weight is to do fasted cardio so that you’re doing your exercise on an empty stomach in an already glycogen depleted state (typically before breakfast) which forces your body to almost immediately convert to burning fat for energy. As previously stated however, this can also result in a high level of catabolism (muscle depletion) which is undesirable. Situations like this are where taking a BCAA supplement before and after your workout is important for achieving the best results possible (a lot of people buy BCAA powders to put in their water for consumption during their workout instead of before/after but I advise against this as most of the powders tend to be full of artificial sweeteners and colours). Lastly, a lot of BCAAs come with different ratios with 2:1:1 being the most common because it’s the most recommended given how the amino acids work together. Also, always be sure to stick with the recommended daily supplementation no matter how much exercise you’re doing as too many amino acids can put a strain on your kidneys and cause your blood to become acidic. In any case, too much exercise can lead to a higher risk of injury and result in losing rather than building muscle because you’re not allowing your body enough time to repair and recover.
3) Omega-3
Omega-3 is an essential fat found predominantly in fish and some seeds, nuts, and plants. It helps maintain a healthy heart by regulating cholesterol triglyceride levels and therefore reduces the risk of having a heart attack. It’s also important for maintaining a healthy brain given that low omega-3 levels have been linked to children with ADHD. Not only that, but it helps lower inflammation and can decrease signs of depression. As for the weight loss benefits, omega-3 helps you metabolize fat which basically means it helps convert your fat stores to energy so that it gets burned up and disappears.
In fact, when you think of the most slender of all the nationalities it’s probably the Japanese, a country who consumes 1/5 of the total tuna consumed globally and whose fish market, Tsukiji, is the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world (receiving seafood daily from 60 different countries and selling 5 million pounds, worth $28 million, every day). Japan is ranked number 1 for having the highest life expectancy with an average life span of 74.5 years (87 years for women and 80 for men) and most of this is down to their diet, specifically their fish and omega-3 consumption. They’re also the slimmest first world country in the world (most countries with low obesity rates is because of the levels of poverty and therefore the inability to afford enough food to become obese). So, if you weren’t sure about the importance of omega-3 before, you’ll be sure now seeing as you can’t really argue with data from an entire nation.
This map by the U.K.'s Clinic Compare depicts obesity rates around the world, according to CIA data (2014).
One of the important things to keep track of when considering your omega-3 intake is also your omega-6 intake and the ratio between the two. An ideal ratio is 1:1 and adverse effects are seen at 10:1 with it being worse the higher the ratio gets and today the typical ratio is more around 20+:1 (even as much as 50:1!) mostly due to the amount of vegetable oils found in almost everything. Now, it’s not that omega-6 is bad for you, but just about how the two work together and what the imbalance means for that. Basically, the more omega-6 you consume, the less usable the omega-3 is due to them competing for the same enzymes for conversion.
Top 10 food sources with the highest levels of omega-3 are:
Flaxseed Oil
Flaxseed Seeds
Salmon Fish Oil
Chia Seeds
Agutuk Fish
Bearded Seal Oil
Menhaden Fish Oil
Fish Caviar
Sardine Fish Oil
Cod Liver Fish Oil
4) Whey Protein
To read about the importance of this supplement, read Whey Protein Powder.
Lastly, a great website that compares various brands and shows ratings for supplements is Labdoor.