Should you be taking supplements? and if so, which ones?

I recently asked nutritionist and ultra-trail runner Tamara Madden to share her thoughts on this widely debated topic . . .

Nutrient and energy demands on athletes are greater than the average person due to the stress that the body is under due to long hours of training. In some instances, supplements can beneficial for athletes to improve endurance, reduce fatigue, support the immune system and prevent injury.

Supplements, however should be considered as just that – a supplement to your regular diet – good quality real food and drinks that are well timed should always be prioritised over swallowing a tablet/powder. Having said that – many athletes benefit from supplements as it is difficult to eat enough of certain nutrients in your diet, and many athletes are time poor.

The most common supplement is protein powder. Protein powders can be an excellent way to complement your diet, and are especially useful as a recovery meal/shake when combined with carbohydrates (most commonly fruit and vegetables). An athletes protein needs throughout the day can be anywhere from 1.2 – 2 grams of protein per kilo of body weight, spread over 3-4 meals, without a quality protein powder this can be very difficult (and time consuming) to achieve. A complete WHEY protein powder is the best option due to its amino acid profile, specifically the amount of branched change amino acids that it contains.

Blood tests are a good idea for athletes to have periodically. It is common to test athletes for Iron and Vitamin D, as these are easily depleted with a high training load, and sub optimal levels will lead to fatigue and poor performance. A full blood count can also be a guide to many other issues such as inflammation, a weakened immune system, liver function, lack of protein, poor insulin control etc. Not all minerals and nutrients can be tested, sometimes symptoms are the best indication of a nutrient deficiency.

In addition to Iron and Vitamin D , in my opinion the most important nutrients for athletes are:

  • Magnesium – involved in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function (this can help relieve cramps), and helps your cells make the much needed energy to sustain training loads.
  • Vitamin C – increases the activity of infection fighting white blood cells, to protect your immune system and ward of common colds.
  • Co Q10 – is a compound that is essential for energy production, and is beneficial for managing fatigue. It is also a powerful antioxidant.
  • Omega 3 Fatty Acids – are vital for the integrity and stability of every cell. They help to stimulate the growth and size of the mitochondria (the part of the cell that makes your energy) and helps to reduce inflammation and reduce fatigue.

All of these nutrients are easily found in highly quality nutrient dense diet, but if the diet is sub optimal, supplementing can boost levels to meet the athletes’ demands and provide noticeable outcomes.

Does a good diet work?

In theory, yes it can, however it greatly depends on the nutrient density – this is the quality and variety of foods that you eat, how and where they are grown, how fresh they are.

Unfortunately, the nutrient density of our food has declined over the past few decades as our food farming and manufacturing has moved more towards being price competitive and highly available, rather than focused on quality and being highly nutritious. Numerous studies have shown that the nutrients in today’s fruit and vegetables is up to 60% less than 40 years ago.

This is not to say that todays fruit and vegetablse are bad – they are still are great source of carbohydrate, fibre and nutrients – but if you are an athlete with increased demands for nutrients, you may not be getting enough from your diet alone.

So do supplements work?

Yes. The right supplements, in the right dose, and taken at the right time can have a beneficial impact on performance.

Always choose a good quality (ideally practitioner prescribed) supplement that has been scientifically tested to ensure that you are not wasting your money.