In today’s busy society, dietary supplements have become a necessary part of our lives in order for us to meet many of our daily nutrient requirements. As humans push the limits of training
and exercise, many supplements have been developed to help us further explore the farthest reaches of human physical ability. The only issue is that there are so many different
supplements out there, with names straight out of chemistry class, that it becomes a daunting task to try and figure out which ones are best for you and your needs. This week we are going
to give you a quick break down of a few common supplements, and hopefully provide you with a little more clarity on the importance of supplements.
Fish oils/Omega-3 Supplements
Fish oil and omega-3 supplements are popular supplements on the market today and that’s because most of us are not getting enough of these crucial fatty acids in our diet. The world health organization recommends we have 2 servings of fish per week. If we are unable to do so, then it is recommended that you take 300mg of combined EPA and DHA omega-3’s daily.
Many fish oil supplements will label their bottle with 1000mg of fish oil on their bottle. That is the total fish oil. Make sure you read the label to ensure there is a combined amount of 300mg of EPA and DHA in the supplement.
Why Do We Need Them?
There is a lot of research into the why we need omega-3’s in our diet (1, 2, 3, 4). Our brain requires a good supply of omega 3 fatty acids in order to function well and omega-3’s have even been cited to improve focus in children with attention deficit disorders, as well as improve the mental stability of humans into adulthood. If that isn’t enough of a good reason to be taking omega-3’s, there have been a number of studies on how supplementing fish oils and omega-3 supplements can decrease your risk of developing heart disease (5, 6).
BCAA’s
BCAA’s, or Branch-Chained Amino Acids, are a group of amino acids required to build a number of proteins in the body. These amino acids are leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Many studies have been done on
the effectiveness of BCAA supplementation and what we have learned is that we a dosage of 7g of BCAA’s is required to see any benefit, and that they do have the potential to aid with muscle recovery and help
reduce the onset of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) (7, 8, 9).
Why Do We Need Them?
As we mentioned above, supplementing with BCAA’s is a great way to decrease muscle soreness post-workout, and improve general recovery of the muscles after strength training sessions. BCAA supplementation has also been shown to decrease sarcopenia in patients with liver cirrhosis!
Protein Powder
Protein powder is the ultimate supplement staple. When we exercise, we cause micro-tears in the muscles. In order to repair these micro-tears, our body needs to use amino acids to rebuild the muscle tissue and make us stronger for the next workout! Where do we get these amino acids? BCAA’s are a good place to start and the next source is a complete protein powder. If you are able to consume 20g-30g of protein post workout as well as the recommended 0.8g-1.8g of protein per kg of bodyweight in the form of natural food sources, than that is the best way to do it! For many of us, though, this is actually quite difficult. So supplementing with a protein powder means that you can get the protein you need, without having consume large quantities or meat or vegan protein sources throughout the day.
Types of Protein Powder
Casein: This is the most abundant type of protein in mammalian milk. It is digested more slowly, so the release of amino acids is more gradual (10) Whey: This type of protein also comes from mammalian milk sources. Unlike casein, whey protein is digested much faster, meaning the amino acids reach the bloodstream much faster (11) Whey-Isolate: This is the exact same as whey protein, except for that this form of protein goes through an additional level of filtration that removes the fat, cholesterol, and lactose, making it a more potent protein supplement. This is also why whey isolate supplements are usually more
expensive than normal whey supplements.
Multivitamin
After protein powder, a multivitamin is another great staple supplement. These supplements offer a variety of vitamins and minerals in one pill or powder. A good quality multi-vitamin provides you with high doses of most of the essential nutrients you require in order to function optimally. Keep in mind that cramming so many nutrients into pill or powder form can decrease the potency of the vitamins and minerals, which is why this is a *supplement* and should be taken while eating a balanced diet of whole and nutrient-rich foods.
Next week we will be talking about sleep on the blog, so if you were hoping to learn more about vitamin D and melatonin supplementation, keep an eye out for next week’s blog. Let us know in the comments what supplements you’d like to know more about!
