Magic Potions, Powders and Pills
This is something that I’ve touched on a little bit in the past, but I’ve really wanted to write in detail about for quite a while. I’ll probably hurt some feelings with this, but I'm going to talk about the shady side of the supplement industry and the dishonest tactics used to cash in on the hopes and dreams of those wanting to improve their physique. Caveat emptor (buyer beware) has never been more valid than when buying supplements.
First off I'm not absolving the consumer of responsibility of knowing what they put in their bodies. Even with food a person should have an understanding of what they’re consuming. Different foods could cause allergic reactions, undesired interactions with medications or simply poor choices leading to deficiencies in needed nutrients. Understanding supplementation is even more imperative. Supplements can contain ingredients not found in most foods and in amounts far higher than that found in food. Unfortunately we live in an instant gratification society where most people don’t want to put in the work to achieve their goals, but instead put their faith in the latest fad supplement. Even after being burned countless times in the past! The famous quote attributed to P.T. Barnum, “There’s a sucker born every minute” seems to be the mantra of the less scrupulous companies, and people keep proving them right.
Some warning signs to beware when choosing supplements:
1. Only available through a multi level marketing format. Ask yourself why this would be? If you created a product that truly delivered wouldn’t you want to make it as accessible as possible? Why sell it only through people who have no expertise (other than corporate provided indoctrination, I mean training)?
2. Proprietary formulations with a multitude of ingredients. This is used to include hot ingredients on the label. If there’s a recent study in the news about how cactus leaves enhance metabolism, companies lacking integrity will throw a bit in the magic potion so it can be included on the label. The trick is that in a proprietary formulation the amount is hidden. Read the research, if the study found a dose of 1 gram per day of leaves is the effective amount and your proprietary formula is a dose of 2 grams containing cactus leaves along with 20 other ingredients and cactus leaves is mid-way down the list you can be fairly certain that you aren't getting enough to do what it claims. Ingredients still have to be listed in descending order of predominance, meaning the first ingredient is the most and the last the least. I’m not going to name any specifics, but there are more than a few of the popular shakes that use this tactic. Save your money.
3. Purchase of supplements is required to participate in the program or the level of support is dependent on a purchase. Supplement literally means, to complete or enhance something else when added to it. So if it's just supplements on it's own what's being completed? To put supplementation before nutrition and exercise is putting the cart before the horse and nothing more than throwing your money away.
4. Labels claiming “cure all status”. If one product claims to help lose weight, improve energy, gain muscle, help improve sleep, improve blood pressure, raise intelligence and cure cancer (ok, those last two were a joke, but some of the claims I've seen go nearly that far) be assured you’re getting scammed. This is the old, "If it seems to good to be true it probably is".
5. If you're skeptical and ask questions and the MLM representative points you to the company home page that’s a sure sign that they don’t understand what they’re trying to sell you, they’re nothing more than a parrot. Or even worse if they become angry that you’re skeptical or that you ask to see independent peer reviewed scientific studies that support their product’s effectiveness. I was asked to participate in a webinar for one particular brand, but when I asked questions that the company rep was uncomfortable with and couldn't answer I was kicked off and blocked from rejoining. A company with integrity will be happy to provide answers to your questions and will know exactly where to find the research because it was utilized in formulating their product.
I certainly don’t want to give the impression that all supplements are bad, but it doesn’t hurt to be skeptical. I recommend a few supplements to my clients, but it's up to them to use them or not. The first thing I recommend is a protein supplement because for most people it’s difficult to get in enough just from food. I even suggest a specific brand, Divine Nutrition, but I do so because I believe it's the best, not because I'm getting rich selling it. They can buy it from me, directly from the manufacturer, or they can buy a different brand from GNC, bodybuilding.com, Walmart, etc or not buy any at all. The other thing I recommend is a preworkout supplement, this is appropriate for certain individuals, but most of the people who are my clients are regular people and this is not necessarily needed. Another is a quality fat burner when that type of thing is appropriate to their goals. Last, but maybe first in order of importance is a quality multivitamin. When following a restrictive diet and exercising intensely it’s not difficult to be lacking in some of the needed vitamins and minerals. This is a great insurance policy to maintain optimum health and performance. It’s definitely not a glamorous supplement protocol, but it’s also not built on empty promises and dreams. It fits the definition of enhancing or completing something and that something is proper nutrition and exercise. This is where long term, sustainable results come from. Think back to all the various supplement and diet trends that have existed over the past decade or two. Other than true nutritional education plans such as Weight Watchers none of them last very long. You know why? Because they don’t work or it’s discovered that they’re dangerous! Stop throwing your money away and wasting time on fads and trends. The last 10 things you tried didn’t work, why believe the next magic potion, powder or pill will be any different?
