While nutritional supplements are not necessary for every athlete or required by coaches, they can be valuable pieces of the performance puzzle.  Consuming enough of the correct types and amounts of foods (nutrients) is critical for maximizing athletic performance and assisting in training recovery.  Hype and misinformation about nutrition and supplements can make supplementation more confusing than it needs to be.
  Basically, there are only six (6) groups of nutrients that humans need to survive: vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, fat and water.  There is a 60-90 minute window of time after training / exercise in which an athlete needs to replenish fluids, energy (calories), and nutrient stores to prevent tissue loss and optimize recovery (rebuilding).  Supplement use combined with eating 4-5 small, but balanced meals eaten 3-4 hours apart daily appears to be most effective way for athletes looking for improved performance.  Here is a summary of what I know and believe concerning supplements.

DAILY MILT-VITAMIN / MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS: (Highly Recommended)

 The best way to get any nutrient is directly from food in a balanced daily diet.  Realistically though, many young people’s dietary habits and lifestyles make it difficult to insure that a healthy balanced diet is eaten each day.  Snacking , skipping meals, and poor food choices make using a daily multi-vitamin / mineral supplement a good idea to insure that the athlete is getting all the essential vitamins and minerals.  Generic, Hi-potency multi-vitamin / mineral pills from Shopko, Walmart, etc. are inexpensive and contain the same nutrients as expensive “name brand” products.

Protein:   (Highly Recommended)

 It might sound stereo-typical for a coach to recommend increasing an athlete’s protein consumption; but I highly recommend doing so because it greatly assists in muscle growth and recovery.  Muscles are made mostly of protein and water making it one of the most important nutrients in an athlete’s diet.  However, protein is often neglected by young people since much of the “snack foods” eaten in place of meals tend to be very high in carbohydrate (sugar, flour, & starch) and fat but low in protein.  Research reports indicate significant gains in muscle size and strength with training subjects who consumed daily diets containing adequate amounts of protein.  It is estimated that the average person needs at least 70-100 grams of protein daily.  How much protein you need is largely determined by your body weight and the amount and type of activities you participate in.  Below is a listing of recommended daily protein intakes for both “endurance” and “strength” athletes compared to the government’s RDA (recommended daily allowance) which tends to be inadequate for the athlete looking to maximize their performance:  (at 1.25 –2.0 grams per kilogram of body weight)

Body Wt.      Strength:     Endurance:      U.S. RDA:
125 LB          97 grams      68grams         46 grams
150               116               82                 55
175               135               95                 64
200               155               109               73
225               174               123               82
250               193               136               91

Consuming higher amounts of high quality, lean protein is not difficult if you simply include some meat and or dairy products in meals spaced out 3-4 hours apart, 4-5 times a day.  If it is difficult for you to eat and or prepare extra meals then protein bars or whey protein powder shakes may help in this area.  Whey protein is the most popular and biologically available protein on the market. Many low-carb protein bars and shakes contain 20 to 50 grams of protein and 10 grams or less of carbs per serving.  Protein bars and shakes are great meal alternatives to sugary, starchy and fatty snacks (carbohydrates) which are cheap and taste good; but do little to build and repair muscle tissue.  There is research that suggests diets high in sugars and starches may actually promote body fat accumulation, diabetes and heart disease.  Without adequate amounts of protein in your daily diet gains in muscle strength and size will not be possible!  Eat to win by eating well.

Weight Gainers:
Adding size and weight for some athletes can be difficult to do and maintain.  Usually this can be done simply by eating more food consistently every day.  By adding an extra 500 calories to your diet every day along with intense weight training, one could gain 1-3 pounds a month (or 12-25 pounds a year!).  If eating extra meals / calories is difficult or not possible and you don’t mind the extra expense, then a weight gainer product may be helpful.  Many protein powders, weight gainers, sport shakes are loaded with extra calories and protein.  Usually, a whey protein powder is all that is needed since most “weight gainers” contain lots of sugar and promotes fat storage .
Meal Replacements / Weight Loss:
Currently there are no over-the-counter supplements that help anyone lose significant levels of body fat effectively or predictably.  The most reliable and safe method of fat loss is a combination of aerobic exercise, weight training and calorie restriction.  The aerobic exercise burns calories from fat stores; weight training builds muscle tissue which requires more calories to create and sustain the new tissue; and calorie restriction (dieting) forces the body to burn additional calories from fat stores to meet the body’s total daily calorie needs.  Patience and consistency are critical since changes in % fat may not be reflected in loss of pounds on the bathroom scale.  One diet strategy some employ is the substitution of meal replacement shakes / bars (Slim Fast, Ensure, Energy Balance) in place of some meals.  These products generally are low in fat and calories but include many vitamins and minerals.  The best plan is to both reduce your calorie intake by 500 calories a day through eating lower calorie foods and performing aerobic exercise for 30-40 minutes daily.  To lose one pound of fat, you’ll need to burn and or decrease dietary calories by 3500 calories.

Water & Sport Drinks:
The human body is over 60% water and (next to oxygen) is the most important nutrient in your diet.  We can go weeks without food, but only days without water.  The average athlete needs 1-2 liters of water every day.  Drink water whenever you can, especially in hot weather.  Sport drinks (Gator Aid, Power Aide) can be useful before, during and after intense exercise and competitions in which the athlete sweats heavily.  As a “post practice / game  recovery aide” sport drinks seem to help re-hydrate the athlete and elevate blood sugar / electrolyte levels (minerals) during and after heavy exercise.  It is recommended that these drinks be diluted with water by 50% or more since they tend to be overly concentrated with sugars and can cause stomach discomfort.  Remember, these drinks are of little use when one is not exercising.  They are not soft drinks but may cause increased fat storage much like pop does with over-consumption.

Creatine Monohydrate:
(Recommended for those with several years of lifting experience)
Creatine is a muscle metabolite (fuel) which attracts water to muscle cells (cell volumizing).  Creatine is already found in some foods (especially meats) and produced in muscle cells.  The problem is that creatine is used up quickly during exercise which causes fatigue, limiting the intensity and volume of our workouts due to lack of fuel (in other words our muscles get tired).  Creatine used prior to training and competitions increases anaerobic endurance and speeds recovery after workouts.  It is recommended that only athletes who have reached full chemical maturity and vertical height use creatine.  Creatine use is an advanced fueling tactic for those athletes with several years of training experience and have reached strength / size plateaus.  Although creatine appears to be a fairly safe supplement, problems have been reported with cramping and stomach / G.I. discomfort.  Users of creatine must drink plenty of water and cycle on and off of it after several weeks to let the body naturally adapt and adjust to training without supplementation.

Glutamine, HMB, Acetyl L-Carnitine, Methoxy Isoflavone, Ribose (anti-catabolics):  (Not Recommended)
There are numerous of these expensive products on the market that claim to suppress muscle tissue break-down, increase muscle protein synthesis, and promote muscle growth and recovery.  Some of these products appear to work for some people, yet do little or nothing for others.  Again, these products are recommended for athletes who have reached full chemical maturity and vertical height.

Pro-Hormones, Testosterone / Growth Hormone Boosters:
 (Not Recommended)
Basically these products attempt to help the body either produce natural testosterone and or create chemically altered hormones (steroids).  In reality these expensive products at best only produce weak androgens (hormones) which stimulate little muscle or strength gains. On the down side, the product may actually be converted into estrogen (female hormones) and cause growth of breast tissue, baldness, and other undesirable problems. As with the previous supplements, it is not recommended for younger athletes who have not reached full chemical maturity and vertical height.

Call or visit these web sites for discount supplement products:
ProSource  1-800-310-1555
The Power Store 1-800-382-9611
Netrition  1-888-817-2411  www.netrition.com
EAS   1-800-297-9776  www.eas.com
Met-rx  1-800-54met-rx  www.met-rx.com