The Supplement Maze

First, look to supply your body with the necessary nutrients through good nutrition.

Many of you know that I am not a big advocate of supplementing your health and fitness with pills and powders. I typically don't recommend supplementation to our clients, not because it's wrong, but because the supplementation industry is a maze of misinformation and misleading research. It can be a maze in which you can easily get lost. Not to mention that pinning your health and fitness goals on pills and powders will only lead to false hopes and more frustration.

So how do you approach supplementation to avoid these pitfalls? The answer is to look at it as an insurance policy with a supportive role. But first, look to supply your body with the necessary nutrients through good nutrition. In other words, work on improving your eating habits before turning to pills.

One of the pitfalls encountered when replacing meals with nutrition bars or shakes is that you become too reliant on these supplements. After a while you get tired of meal replacement supplements and stop utilizing them. Worst of all, you lost time in which you could have been working on breaking habits that don't support your goals and developing habits in alignment with your goals. The next thing you know you are back at square one and the only result is more disbelief in your ability to change your situation.

If we look at the definition of supplementation it means "in addition to." Let me help you make your way through the supplement maze so you'll have a better understanding of the "Foundational Supplements" that can be seen as insurance and playing a supportive role in achieving your health and fitness goals. Keep in mind this has nothing to do with getting "magical" results, but rather optimizing your exercise and nutrition program.

I remember when I was 14-years-old being excited about weight training and seeking more knowledge by reading magazines and looking for anything that would help me see faster improvement. That was 1987, and while the magazine ads where over-hyped, they were amateurs in comparison to the pros that are brainwashing us through print and television today.

Back then, most of the ads in fitness magazines were for protein powders, weight gain formulas, amino acid formulas and claims about amazing benefits of minerals like Boron and chromium. Many of the products being pushed were pretty harmless. The only harm they caused was to your pocketbook-and the empty promises.

Today, if you walk into some health food stores, you'll find that the big containers are moving in and the vitamins and minerals are getting lost. You'll see MEGA-this, MUSCLE-that, SUPER-this, ION EXCHANGE-that- all trying to promise to increase muscle, melt away fat and have your significant other smiling more often. The big question is: What actually works? The fact is, they can all work and they can all not work.

If you seek to change your body, think of nutrients as a piece of the puzzle. Without all the pieces, you can never complete the puzzle. You have to have the right supplementation; an exercise plan designed to create specific physiological changes and the willingness to eat healthy to achieve your goals. I often hear, "But Pete, I eat healthy and just can't seem to get results." There can be multiple solutions to solving this problem, but the most common is eating healthy foods to lose body fat, preserve muscle or increase lean muscle. It's important to understand that "eating healthy" means different things to different people and "eating healthy" (if it's truly healthy) can be a maintenance strategy, but not a fat loss or toning strategy.

Far too many people are waiting for the new supplement to come along and save them from having to dedicate themselves to an exercise plan and eating correctly. This supplement does not exist and I don't see it arriving in my lifetime. As long as people seek out the magic pill, they will probably continue to waste money on empty promises. Therefore, "they can all not work" if you don't work supplementation into your entire strategy, which is what we call the Fitness Together Essentials: the right nutrition, resistance training and moderate aerobic exercise. Supplementation can optimize the effectiveness of the Fitness Together Essentials, but will not produce the solution itself.

Let's clear up what I mean by "they can all work." The right nutrients can work synergistically. They can act together in magnificent harmony to allow you to call upon energy, to grow muscle, to fight disease and to continually create new healthy cells. If we put water into a category itself as a life-sustaining nutrient, we can categorize the remaining two life-sustaining nutrients as micronutrients and macronutrients. These are the "supplements" you want to concern yourself with. If you understand these two nutrients you will automatically cut through all the other clutter.

The macronutrients are those which contain calories, namely, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. These supply fuel for energy and material for cell repair. You can take all the vitamins, creatine or pyruvate you want, but if you're not adequately consuming the right combinations of the macronutrients, fat loss, muscle gain or an increase in energy will not occur. The micronutrients are vitamin and mineral supplements. These are essential and unfortunately, are often overshadowed by other supplements- not because they aren't important, but because the others offer BIG promises. While micronutrients do not provide energy, grow muscle or decrease fat, they do act upon the caloric nutrients to set these wheels in motion.

It's a common misconception that taking a multivitamin will give you more energy. The fact is, energy can be re-stated as the body's efficiency at producing heat for movement, and the only nutrients that are capable of providing fuel for heat generation are those that are caloric-the MACRO nutrients. Without adequate supplies of specific vitamins and minerals, energy may be compromised, but that doesn't equate to vitamins equal energy. This will not occur unless the macronutrients are there to be acted upon.

Don't expect that any single mineral can work magically, or that any single vitamin can improve results. Remember, they are synergistic. The real results can happen, however, at an almost unbelievable pace when this synergistic approach is accomplished consistently. Put the micronutrients together in the right combinations, eat correctly for your goals, have a goal specific exercise plan-and watch your body transform!

Let's address a few micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) so you'll have a better understanding of the interactive process we are talking about.

Calcium to Build Bones?

For years, women have purchased calcium supplements believing that more calcium equals more bone. Eating more calcium to build bone is an exercise in futility unless other micronutrients are available such as zinc and magnesium. Ingesting calcium doesn't mean it enters the bloodstream and makes bones grow-like adding water to a plant. It must interact with micronutrients, macronutrients and exercise to produce bone growth. Specifically, implementing weight baring exercise can initiate this process, but without the proper nutrients, exercise in itself is not the solution to preventing osteoporosis.

Don't Overlook Magnesium

Calcium is often touted as the "bone" mineral, but did you know half of the body's magnesium is contained in the bone? Magnesium is also involved in energy production and neuromuscular processes that dictate muscular contraction. To add to its importance, if you eat the highest grade proteins and carbohydrates without sufficient magnesium in the body, those carbs can not efficiently be released to be burned as fuel, nor can amino acids be efficiently assembled for protein synthesis.

Potassium

Potassium is usually brought up in conversation with someone who has muscle cramps while exercising. Potassium plays a role in maintaining electrolyte balance in cells and therefore aids in decreasing cramping. That individual would benefit from adding a banana to their daily intake because the banana provides the potassium benefits. Potassium also assists in metabolic conversion of dietary nutrients and has a regulatory role in hydration. It is instrumental in the conversion and transport of glucose into glycogen stores, thus without sufficient potassium, energy will suffer regardless of your food intake.

Calcium, magnesium and potassium are probably the most commonly known minerals, but a great many combine to stimulate the synergistic effect I have been describing. The minerals iodine, selenium, copper and chromium all play synergistic roles ranging from copper's role in maintaining integrity of connective tissue-to chromium's role in carbohydrate metabolism. If you want to save time and avoid pursuing an advanced degree in nutrient sciences, a multi-mineral formula or pack can give you the mineral insurance you need.

Finally, Vitamins

While minerals are instrumental in building the framework of the body, vitamins are vital in carrying out metabolic activities. For optimal energy production, muscle contraction, metabolism and health, you need a full array of the B-vitamins, micronutrients that assist in glycogen release, energy production, fat metabolism, formation of cells and genetic material, and protection in resisting many of the negative effects of both physical and emotional stress.

The fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K, in combination, have antioxidant properties, aid in calcium absorption and play a role in blood clotting. It's important to note, however, that unlike the B-vitamins, vitamins A, D, E and K, while vital to sustaining metabolic function, can be toxic in excessive dosages. Remember, more isn't always better!

So, Do You "Need" Supplements?

No, you do not "need" supplements. If you take a balanced approach with good variety in each meal and ensure that you get lean protein, starchy carbohydrates and fibrous carbohydrates, you can look at supplements as the insurance we spoke of earlier. Can you get the minerals you need from food? Absolutely, dairy products are loaded with calcium as are many dark green vegetables and citrus fruits. Magnesium can be obtained from nuts, whole grains and fish.

If you want to "insure" you do not fall short, the easiest way is to take a multi-vitamin formula that contains adequate minerals as well. The concept of the multi-vitamin, multi-mineral capsule is a good one, in that formulators can refer to nutritional science to combine micronutrients in combinations that have proven healthful and supportive.

"Mega-Pack" formulas can be a good place to start and while quality does vary from brand to brand, generally speaking, "Mega-Pack" products are more beneficial. Why? You can only get a finite amount of any material in any single pill or capsule. There are also challenges in blending some of the vital micronutrients together. The true ideal for supplementing micronutrition is the "multi-packages" that remove all of the guesswork and allow you to concentrate on food preparation and "eating for results." Many of these multi-packs include vitamins and minerals all in one package.

From a marketing standpoint, the Mega-Packs and the vitamin and mineral formulas are not as tempting as "fat burners." As a result, you may have to look for them in the corner of the store.

While vitamins and minerals "work" only as part of the entire process of metabolism, understanding that will empower you to stop being fooled by new trendy products. Don't look for a miracle. Look for all of the nutrients you ingest to optimally combine to make you look and feel better than ever.