Here’s the quick and dirty truth: supplements are pretty overrated. 

We often turn to supplements when wanting to lose body fat, change our body composition, or improve our health, but most often supplements should be the last thing on our minds.

When talking about body composition or performance goals, supplements are pretty high up on the pyramid of where we should focus most of our attention.

The answers that a person can give to the following questions are all more important than what supplements they should take in order to lose body fat, change their body composition, or improve their health.

Investing time and energy into areas like:

• Building awareness around our average caloric intake

• Eating adequate protein

• Filling a majority of our day with high quality food (eating adequate micronutrients and fiber through fruits, veggies, and other whole foods)

• Getting enough sleep

• Drinking enough water

• Getting daily movement

• Managing stress as best we can

can make more of a difference in our health and wellness than any supplement available on the market.

After 10+ years working with clients via fitness and nutrition, I can confidently say that about 98% of people should focus on these basics before spending any of their time, money, or energy on which supplements they should take.

None of this means that supplements are necessarily bad; they’re not!

They just don’t deserve a majority of our focus. 

Supplements in the United States are unregulated and anybody can sell any supplement without having quality control measures in place. Be careful and deliberate when researching which company you should buy supplements from.

A few supplements that may be worth looking in to:

PROTEIN

Protein supplements from reputable brands are generally safe and effective.

We recommend protein supplements to clients if they are having a hard time meeting their protein target from whole food sources alone. This is often the case for vegan or vegetarian clients and there are many plant-based protein supplements available. If you do take a protein supplement, we recommend sticking to one daily and still striving to get most of your protein from whole food sources. Here are some great plant-based protein sources.

FISH OIL

When we talk about fish oil, we are really talking about two omega-3 fatty acids, which are found mainly in fish, algae, and insects. 

EPA/DHA supplements have a good amount of research backing up their efficacy and have been shown to lower triglyceride levels and possibly reduce the risk of cardiovascular events (like heart attacks and strokes). EPA/DHA supplements may also reduce depression symptoms in persons with major depression (clinical depression, not just minor depression).

If you aren’t eating seafood regularly in your diet, a fish oil supplement could potentially positively impact your health. 

However, be sure to thoroughly research any fish oil supplements that you take because low quality supplements could possibly contain mercury or other contaminants. Since overfishing is a real potential threat to our world’s oceans, you can look for EPA/DHA supplements that are sustainably sourced such as krill or algae oil capsules. 

CREATINE

Creatine is among the most well-researched and effective supplements available. It can help improve exercise performance by rapidly producing energy during intense activity and it may also provide cognitive benefits, although more research is needed to confirm these possible benefits. 

There are many different types of creatine supplements available, but the most well researched, effective, and cheapest type of creatine is creatine monohydrate. Creatine does not need to be cycled. You can take 2-5 grams daily and reap the benefits. 

If you strength train or play a sport, a creatine monohydrate supplement from a reputable company can provide benefits in your performance.

VITAMIN D, MAGNESIUM, ZINC, IRON, VITAMIN C, OR ANY OTHER MULTIVITAMIN OR MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS

If you think that you have a vitamin or mineral deficiency, go see your doctor and inquire about seeing a specialist and getting a blood test in order to determine whether or not you have any deficiencies. It is difficult to know if we are actually deficient in any vitamins or minerals without a blood test, and we could potentially be wasting money or exacerbating any other health issues by improper supplementation.

If you fall into one of the following categories, you may be at a higher risk of having nutritional deficiencies and a blood test could be worth taking:

• Anybody that follows a restrictive diet (keto, vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, raw food diet, gluten free, etc.) 

• Pregnant women

• People with certain diseases which inhibit nutrient absorption (Crohns & Celiac disease)

• Older individuals (generally 51+)

Unfortunately, one of the populations with the greatest micronutrient deficiencies is lower-income populations or populations with limited food access.

By eating a variety of foods from a well balanced diet and avoiding diets that eliminate entire groups of foods, we are likely getting adequate micronutrients. We can also spend time outside daily to get adequate vitamin D.

LITERALLY ANY OTHER SUPPLEMENT AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET

Unless you are an elite athlete who is chasing milliseconds or micro differences that could determine whether you win or lose a competition, almost all other supplements have very little research justifying their cost and we would benefit more from focusing on the basics. 

Supplements are meant to “supplement” and fill gaps in our nutrition, but by focusing on the basics (adequate protein, a variety of nutrient dense foods, adequate sleep and hydration) we are actively closing those gaps.

Necessary disclaimer when discussing supplements: I am not a medical professional and none of the advice that I give in this article should be taken as medical advice. Speak to a medical professional before starting any supplement regimen.

Information for this blog post came from various articles on examine.com and precisionnutrition.com

Questions about supplementation? Drop them below! For more information on navigating your nutrition on an individual level, learn more about our 1:1 Flexible Nutrition Coaching here.