Supplements in Sport - Nutritional ergogenic aids

In Supplements in Sport - Why are they so tempting? we covered why supplements are so tempting and explored the category of sports foods.  The other category of sports supplements is sometimes called nutritional ergogenic aids. These products often contain unusual amounts of nutrients or other components of foods. Many of these chemicals are involved in exercise metabolism or recovery pathways, and the products claim that we can supercharge these processes by bumping up our intake of these chemicals. Many of the claims made for ergogenic aids such as creatine, carnitine, coenzyme Q10 and inosine include sophisticated theories of metabolic pathways and biochemistry. Other products such as 'herbals' trade on being ancient compounds whose mystical advantages have been kept secret until recent times.

How credible are these scientific explanations for how a supplement works? They sound convincing!

Scientific theories are important in explaining the mechanism by which a supplement might enhance metabolism and performance. They can also be hyped into persuasive marketing tactics announcing an amazing 'scientific breakthrough'. But a theory is only an idea on paper, until it has been scrutinised through the process of scientific research and publication. Sports scientists are impressed only by the results of scientific studies conducted under a special code of rules, and published only after a review process by other scientists. This process costs time and money. Unfortunately, most supplement companies don't invest in this research - after all, they can successfully sell their products to a public who don't appear to demand real proof of their claims. Furthermore, most of the research that has been undertaken has failed to support the claims of the majority of nutritional ergogenic aids. Table 2 summarises the list of nutritional ergogenic aids according to the level of scientific support that they currently deserve.

It should be noted that even Level 1 supplements are supported to enhance performance only for specific types of athletes in specific types of events. And for reasons that are not always understood, some athletes simply don't respond to these supplements, even when used according to directions. In other words, they are not for all athletes, but should be used in well-defined situations.

Although supplements and sports foods receive most of the glamour and attention in sports nutrition, they really should be thought of as "icing on the cake" rather than substantial fare. Figure 1 shows that the process of eating well to achieve the nutritional goals of training achieves the most important benefits.

Talent, hard work and time are three extra ingredients in laying this solid foundation. Special sports foods, when used to meet specific goals of workouts and competition can make an important impact – for example, refueling and hydrating with a sports drink might achieve a 5-10% benefit to performance in a prolonged event. At the very top of the pyramid are the small benefits achieved by the Level 1 ergogenic aids – perhaps a 1-3% improvement in performance. Until everything else has fallen into place, these benefits are unimportant and unnoticeable. Most young and developing athletes should not consider these products until they have made considerable achievements through the foundation layers. As they begin to reach their peak potential, these special aids may provide a noticeable effect.

Our experience at the AIS has shown the following problems with the "try anything" approach to supplements

• Money, time and interest are all finite resources. Many athletes spend these limited resources on products that don't work, or produce very small benefits for the attention they receive.
• Supplements come and go in fashion. Most of the cool sounding supplements are the ones that have no support of their benefits. Athletes get sidetracked on chasing these supplements instead of looking to products and sports foods that can provide more substantial performance benefits.
• Athletes use supplements to try to take short cuts. They use them to replace the hard but really valuable factors of effective training, sensible eating, and good recovery techniques. There is no replacement!
• The fact that successful athletes are using a supplement lends undeserved credibility to the product and inspires other athletes to try them. And the cycle continues…..
• Athletes often follow hearsay about how to use their supplements, and take them in larger doses than needed or sensible, or in protocols that fail to achieve the real benefit.
• Some supplements can lead to a positive drug test.

Check out the fact sheets on the AIS Department of Sports Nutrition website on individual supplements and sports foods – as well as AIS Sports Supplement Program. For individual and specific advice, consult a sports dietitian, accredited sports scientist or sports physician.  Contact Sports Dietitians Australia for details of a sports dietitian in your area.