Supplements - Where to start?

Have you ever considered using supplements but don’t know what to believe in? Are you not sure what would you help you most with your health and fitness?

To start things off, I want to start by saying that most supplements in the fitness industry are a waste of money. I’ve tried a bunch of them without much of a difference but it’s best to trust research evidence to assess their effectiveness. People ask me about supplements a few times a month so I wanted to dig deeper into the topic.

The goal of this post is to offer bite-sized resource about the chosen supplements. If you have questions or want to know more about some supplements, add a comment or send me a message and I’ll look into it.

Supplements

For most people eating a balanced diet is enough but some supplements are worth looking into. I left out protein and carbohydrate supplements intentionally because I don’t really see them as supplements if your eating habits are balanced. You can read more about those in my previous blog post Nutrition & Performance: Back to Basics.

The supplements, I wanted to get started with include creatine monohydrate, caffeine, and vitamin D. Creatine monohydrate has many benefits. Not only for an active individual but for everyone. Using caffeine strategically has also shown to have performance benefits in endurance and strength sports. I come from the North so I think supplementing vitamin D might be worth your while.

For exercise performance

Creatine monohydrate

Creatine is one of the most popular supplements there is. Studies have shown it to improve exercise performance, training adaptation, and recovery. It has also been shown to lower the risk of injuries, enhance thermoregulation (helps when you train in a hot environment), and protect your brain from injuries and/or neurodegenerative diseases. (1)

How creatine works, it helps our muscles and brain have more energy through adenosine triphosphate (ATP). We can then use this energy to produce more force, faster, and more often.

We can get creatine from meat and fish. Our body produces some of it as well but the most affordable way is to supplement it. This is especially beneficial for vegetarians and vegans since their creatine levels have shown to be lower compared to meat eaters. (1) There are a couple of ways how to start using creatine: First is using a loading protocol where you take 5 grams four times daily for 5-7 days and then continue taking 5 grams daily. The second way is that you can just take 0.1 g/kg continuously without any loading phases.

There are a lot of myths about creatine. Some of them include that it increases body weight, leads to kidney damage, or causes hair loss. A large body of evidence has debunked all of these myths. (2)

Overall, studies show no adverse effects of using creatine in healthy children, adolescents, men or women, pregnant, or the elderly. Vice versa, it seems to have a lot of health benefits. (1)

Caffeine

Caffeine is a stimulant found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks, and chocolate. It has also been widely studied in the field of sport and exercise science.

It has been shown to be an effective aid for aerobic and anaerobic exercise (basically endurance exercise). In cyclists, it has been observed to improve speed, peak, and mean power during a time trial. In resistance training, caffeine has been shown to increase one-repetition maximum, isometric, and isokinetic strength, increase velocity and power in exercises, and increase muscular endurance. (1, 3)

Doses of 2-3 mg/kg seem to be comparable to high doses (6 mg/kg) of caffeine. For reference, one deciliter of filter coffee has 56–64 mg of caffeine in it. So for me, with the 3 mg/kg dose, I would drink 3.75 deciliters of filter coffee before exercise. I’ve found caffeine pills to work better for me and I don’t have to pee so often.

Interestingly, caffeine also has an effect on cognitive functions in sports. It may improve reaction times, memory, and self-reported mood among other things. (4)

For health

Vitamin D

Lastly, I wanted to go over vitamin D as a supplement. It has a role in regulating immune function, cardiovascular health, and growth and repair in our bodies. Over 77 % of the general population are considered vitamin insufficient. So if you live close to the polar regions, work an inside job, or do a lot of training indoors, you might want to look into your vitamin D levels. Studies have shown that the people who are insufficient get a performance benefit from vitamin D supplementation. (5)

The best way to know if you need vitamin D or not would be to get it tested by a physician but national recommendations are a very good starting point. For example, the German Nutrition Society recommends 20 μg/day.

Magnesium

I received a couple of questions regarding magnesium as a supplement especially to help with sleep or muscle soreness after exercise.

I found evidence that magnesium deficiency is somewhat rare with a balanced diet. (6) Magnesium is found in a variety of plant and animal foods like nuts, greens, seeds, beans, yoghurt and fish.

There is some evidence supporting that magnesium supplementation could help with sleep issues like restless feet but the evidence is very thin. This systematic review concluded that there is not enough research to make well-informed recommendations on the usage of oral magnesium supplementation for older adults. Although, the authors added that since the side effects are minimal and magnesium is quite affordable, it can be worth trying it. (7)

It was hard to find research looking into the effects of magnesium supplementation on muscle soreness. This study with college-aged athletes found significant differences in reduced muscle soreness, perceived session exertion, and improved perceived recovery after magnesium supplementation versus placebo supplementation. They also found some evidence of positive performance impact. (8) This review article exploring evidence regarding athletes also found signs of positive performance impact but more research is required. (9)

Based on these findings, my conclusion is that it might be worth a try. I doubt it will make a big difference. For alleviating soreness it might be worth trying, but other aspects like sleep, overall nutritional status, and amount of training come before magnesium supplementation.

Others?

If you have been thinking about other supplements, let me know and I’ll dig into them. I’m happy to keep filling the list with supplements that are backed up by research evidence. Comment below or send me a message.

References

1. Kreider RB, Kalman DS, Antonio J, Ziegenfuss TN, Wildman R, Collins R, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2017 Jun 13;14(1):18.

2. Antonio J, Candow DG, Forbes SC, Gualano B, Jagim AR, Kreider RB, et al. Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show? Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2021 Jan 2;18(1):13.

3. Grgic J. Effects of Caffeine on Resistance Exercise: A Review of Recent Research. Sports Med. 2021 Nov;51(11):2281–98.

4. Lorenzo Calvo J, Fei X, Domínguez R, Pareja-Galeano H. Caffeine and Cognitive Functions in Sports: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2021 Mar;13(3):868.

5. Ogan D, Pritchett K. Vitamin D and the athlete: risks, recommendations, and benefits. Nutrients. 2013 May 28;5(6):1856–68.

6. Magnesium. Duodecim Terveyskirjasto https://www.terveyskirjasto.fi/dlk00818.

7. Mah, J. & Pitre, T. Oral magnesium supplementation for insomnia in older adults: a Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis. BMC Complement Med Ther 21, 125 (2021).

8. Reno, A. M. et al. Effects of Magnesium Supplementation on Muscle Soreness and Performance. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 36, 2198 (2022).

9. Volpe, S. L. Magnesium and the Athlete. Current Sports Medicine Reports 14, 279 (2015).