Can supplements boost my athletic performance?
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- Reviewed by Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
Q. There seem to be so many opinions about boosting athletic performance with dietary supplements. What do you suggest?
A. Performance-enhancing dietary supplements are regularly used by competitive athletes and daily exercisers. Surveys indicate that 75% of college athletes and almost 100% of body builders use at least one product that allegedly boosts performance.
These supplements often contain high amounts of specific vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, but there is little evidence that they do more for athletic performance than following a well-balanced diet. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, an athlete regularly consuming a diet that provides sufficient protein and calories with plenty of fruits and vegetables should not need extra vitamins and minerals.
During exercise, the body increases its demand for some of the B vitamins, such as thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, and pantothenic acid. However, a diet that contains enriched cereals and whole-grain carbohydrates with some lean meats will satisfy the B vitamin needs of most athletes. A daily generic multivitamin is inexpensive and safe insurance if there is any concern that your diet does not provide enough B vitamins.
Some popular supplements highlight compounds involved in energy production such as certain amino acids (such as isoleucine, leucine, and valine) and two amino acid derivatives, creatine and carnitine. Of these, creatine is the one that may have some athletic benefit. It contributes to rapid energy production and may enhance power or speed bursts requiring short periods of anaerobic activity where the body’s demand for oxygen exceeds its supply, like during brisk walking and high-intensity interval training.
What you may need for optimal exercise, though, is carbohydrates, which are the primary fuel for exercise. Consuming an adequate amount of carbohydrates can enable your body to maintain glycogen stores, the sugar banks that deliver energy rapidly as muscles demand it. When exercise lasts more than 60 minutes, you can consume a sports drink or some other carbohydrate source before and during activity to slow down glycogen depletion.
Another helpful pre-workout ingredient is caffeine. There’s solid scientific evidence for moderate caffeine consumption as an athletic performance enhancer, especially for endurance events like long-distance running, cycling, and swimming. Caffeine slows the depletion of glycogen by stimulating fat burning to provide calories for energy. For most people, a safe amount of caffeine is 200 to 400 milligrams consumed 30 to 60 minutes before exercise.
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About the Reviewer
Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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