Nutrition Supplements
There is a whole range of nutritional supplements out there in the market. From multivitamin pills, mineral tablets, protein powders, creatine powders, to fish oil tablets, these supplements are widely available and some of them even claim to have health or sports performance benefits. But do we really need to take these supplements to stay healthy or to become better athletes? Let’s talk about it!
Unfortunately, the answer is not so simple. It varies from person to person and depends on a whole host of different factors like age, gender, dietary intake, medical condition, and type of sport among others.
SUPPLEMENTS & GENERAL HEALTH
If we are looking at a person who is healthy and has no background of medical conditions, he or she can actually get all the necessary vitamins and nutrients from eating a well-balanced diet consisting of wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats and dairy products! You can refer to the My Healthy Plate developed by the Health Promotion Board for further details. (link: https://www.healthhub.sg/programmes/nutrition-hub/eat-more)
However, if a person is limited by either their food intake or medical condition, supplements might then be needed. For instance, a person (especially a young child or an older adult) who does not like or cannot tolerate dairy products like milk, cheese, or yoghurt might benefit from taking a calcium supplement to ensure that bone growth and health are optimised. Of course, the dose of this supplement would be best recommended by either a registered dietitian or physician to avoid getting too much of the nutrient and to ensure that it does not interfere with any medical condition or medication.
SUPPLEMENTS & SPORTS
What about athletes? Do athletes need nutrition supplements in order to perform their best? For athletes, I believe in a “Food First, But Not Food Only” approach. While an athlete can and should always try to get all the essential nutrients from food, certain nutrients can be difficult to get solely through diet. An example would be creatine. A daily dose of 3-5g of creatine has been proven to be beneficial for building muscle strength and size as well as for improving performance in short, intense activities. However, one would need to consume approximately 1- 1.2 kg of chicken, fish, or meat to obtain 5 g of creatine; in this case, creatine supplementation would be more practical.
SUPPLEMENTS & RISKS
With that in mind, you still need to be careful with taking supplements, especially if you are still competing in your sport. Supplements may contain prohibited or undeclared substances that may lead to health issues and/or long-term bans from your sport if you test positive for them (i.e. urine tests). Looking for quality-certified and third-party tested supplements would lower, but not totally eliminate, this risk. The decision then has to be made on whether the supplement is even needed in the first place.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I SHOULD TAKE SUPPLEMENTS?
If you are unsure and need more guidance on taking nutrition supplements or if certain supplements are suited to your health and/or sports performance needs, book a session with me at ATHLETIC INC.
MEET THE AUTHOR
KEITH TAN
Performance Nutrition and Recovery Specialist & Performance Coach
SPECIALISATIONS
Performance Nutrition
Clinical Dietetics
Strength and Conditioning
Anthropometric Profiling / Body Composition Measurement
Weight Management