drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
Today, we are bombarded with images of half dressed men and women trying to get our attention and our dollars. If you use this product you can look like me, if you use this program you can gain 10 pounds of muscle in 90 days. I could go on and on with the examples that we see on a daily basis. One thing that is true is that the supplement industry is very profitable. The most recent statics has the supplement industry at over 30 billion dollars made in the last year. Couple that with 21 billion spent on vitamins and an additional 60 to 80 billion, depending on source, spent on gym memberships and you are looking at an industry that is financial juggernaut. Now, one would think that with all of that money that has been invested, we would see a decline in health issues, a decrease in the cost of medical expenses due to overall better health for everyone. The truth is exactly the opposite, we are getting less healthy, we have more obesity than ever before and over half of those under 20 years of age suffer from obesity.
So where is the disconnect?
At first glance, one would be hard forced to make a positive correlation between the two, but I am sure that if we set up the correct study, we could see that there are some positives that do come out of the supplementation, but we would be hard pressed to come up with a significant data that would lead to a cause and effect relationship. There are a few supplements that have been tested significantly over the years that have been found to have positive correlation with the proposed positive outcomes. Those being Protein and Creatine, they have been established as the cornerstones of the supplementation industry and have the scientific research to back the claims that have been made. The research is still out on many of the others.
So what about all of the experts?
I have always heard that it takes a few hundred hours and you can become an expert in just about anything. The fitness industry is full of these so called experts. So how do you find out what you should and shouldn’t take, in an industry that produces thousands of experts each year? One is forced to do their own research, looking at all sides of the issue and then through trial and error see what works for them.
How many people do you know that have put on 30, 20 even 10 pounds of solid muscle using just protein and creatine? Without the use of PEDS, the body cannot process, breakdown and use an overload of protein at one time. Same way with creatine, once the body has all that it can process, the body voids them. Yep they get pooped or peed right out. Who hasn’t taken vitamins and the next time you went to the bathroom your urine was neon yellow? What your body doesn’t need gets eliminated. There are a few exceptions that can have deadly results potassium being just one of them.
Do your research!
Be your own advocate, learn to look at the marketing of any product and see where the real value lies. A few years ago there was a product line that came out and it was marketed to cross fitters. These products were no better or worse than others that were on the shelf, they just had the right push behind them, the right endorsements and enough money to get people excited. They were more expensive than other supplements, but due to the successful marketing campaign they flew off the shelves. Just because something is more expensive, has better packaging, and may be endorsed by a pro athlete doesn’t make it better. Never forget to follow the money. Supplement companies spend huge amounts of money to get your attention, which leads to getting you to purchase their products. One only had to walk the aisles of the Arnold or Olympia Expo’s to see this scenario being played out.
Supplements need to be just that, supplements to a very regimented diet that provides the needed protein, carbs and fats to feed your machine. They should never be the main source of your nutritional needs.
So where is the disconnect?
At first glance, one would be hard forced to make a positive correlation between the two, but I am sure that if we set up the correct study, we could see that there are some positives that do come out of the supplementation, but we would be hard pressed to come up with a significant data that would lead to a cause and effect relationship. There are a few supplements that have been tested significantly over the years that have been found to have positive correlation with the proposed positive outcomes. Those being Protein and Creatine, they have been established as the cornerstones of the supplementation industry and have the scientific research to back the claims that have been made. The research is still out on many of the others.
So what about all of the experts?
I have always heard that it takes a few hundred hours and you can become an expert in just about anything. The fitness industry is full of these so called experts. So how do you find out what you should and shouldn’t take, in an industry that produces thousands of experts each year? One is forced to do their own research, looking at all sides of the issue and then through trial and error see what works for them.
How many people do you know that have put on 30, 20 even 10 pounds of solid muscle using just protein and creatine? Without the use of PEDS, the body cannot process, breakdown and use an overload of protein at one time. Same way with creatine, once the body has all that it can process, the body voids them. Yep they get pooped or peed right out. Who hasn’t taken vitamins and the next time you went to the bathroom your urine was neon yellow? What your body doesn’t need gets eliminated. There are a few exceptions that can have deadly results potassium being just one of them.
Do your research!
Be your own advocate, learn to look at the marketing of any product and see where the real value lies. A few years ago there was a product line that came out and it was marketed to cross fitters. These products were no better or worse than others that were on the shelf, they just had the right push behind them, the right endorsements and enough money to get people excited. They were more expensive than other supplements, but due to the successful marketing campaign they flew off the shelves. Just because something is more expensive, has better packaging, and may be endorsed by a pro athlete doesn’t make it better. Never forget to follow the money. Supplement companies spend huge amounts of money to get your attention, which leads to getting you to purchase their products. One only had to walk the aisles of the Arnold or Olympia Expo’s to see this scenario being played out.
Supplements need to be just that, supplements to a very regimented diet that provides the needed protein, carbs and fats to feed your machine. They should never be the main source of your nutritional needs.
