These supplements are a waste of time and money

Health

By Amy Eisinger

Mixing powders or taking pills before training may be unnecessary, says diet expert.

While some supplements can give your body a boost, others are a complete waste of time, Rob Hobson, a registered sports dietitian in the United Kingdom and author of “The Detox Kitchen Bible,” told the Daily Mail.

The experienced nutritionist explained that while it’s not uncommon for people to want a boost in the gym, there are a limited number of supplements that have been shown to offer real benefits.

In fact, Hobson advised, you may not need fancy powders or pills at all. Eating a little fruit and having a cup of coffee before your morning workout might be all you need to feel better.

Here, the two supplements you can skip and two you should take instead.

Skip: Pre-Workout Supplements

Think of them as “kitchen sink supplements,” Hobson said, with many ingredients “thrown into the mix.”

Pre-workout supplements contain a number of ingredients, but they generally claim to boost performance, increase endurance and energy levels, and even help build lean muscle mass. Common ingredients can include things like caffeine, B vitamins, and amino acids (the building blocks of protein) like citrulline, taurine, and creatine.

Caffeinated supplements may offer you a temporary boost – taking a little caffeine before a workout is well established in its ability to improve physical performance, but there may not be any much else.

“A lot of other items aren’t really necessary, especially for gym-goers,” Hobson explained.

And while Hobson noted that some of these supplements may contain helpful ingredients, like creatine, they will only be effective if taken regularly.

“Taking them intermittently during a pre-workout will not be effective,” Hobson noted. “Sometimes doses are also too low, consistent with research on their effectiveness.”

Skip: Fat Burning Supplements

Next on the dietitian’s list of don’ts: fat-burning supplements. This can be the “ultimate waste of time,” Hobson warned.

Any over-the-counter pill that promises to help you lose weight or burn fat faster is probably fake.

“The claims about these supplements are that they can speed up your metabolism or increase fat oxidation,” Hobson explained. “But neither is supported by reliable scientific research on the ingredients included in the supplement.”

Reading the label, you’ll likely find ingredients like green tea, caffeine, and conjugated linolenic acid, which have been shown in a few studies to have modest effects on weight loss. But there’s nothing to get overly excited about, Hobson noted.

“Relying on supplements to help you manage your weight or body fat percentage will not teach you anything about the importance of diet, exercise and lifestyle or how you can manipulate these factors to help you achieve more sustainable performance goals,” he explained.

What to take instead

It’s not a waste of time and money. If you’re looking to improve your workouts, eat a banana and have some coffee, Hobson suggested. It’s not glamorous, but the banana will provide calories and good nutrients, while the coffee will add a helpful boost of caffeine.

If you’re looking to invest in supplements, Hobson revealed there are two that could help you reach your goals: creatine and protein powder.

Proteins, essential macronutrients for building muscle, have recognized benefits. Experts advise trying to consume around 20 grams within two hours of training. Whey protein powders are perhaps the most common, but you can also try plant-based versions, usually made with soy or pea protein.

“There is a lot of well-conducted research on the performance benefits of protein powders,” Hobson told the Daily Mail. “These results showed that they are useful for post-exercise muscle growth and repair, recovery, and strength and performance gains.”

Creatine, on the other hand, is an amino acid naturally found in muscles, but which, when taken in synthetic form, can help you build muscle faster. “It is also one of the few supplements listed in the sports nutrition and performance recommendations established by the American College of Sports Medicine,” Hobson said.

Creatine may also help athletes recover faster after intense workouts and even promote healing.

“Benefits include increased and sustained energy for high-intensity exercise, increased muscle mass and power, which equates to improved performance,” Hobson said.

Take creatine in small doses daily for the best results, Hobson advised.