Workout supplements: Are they right for you?

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: MELISSA NOVACASKA
Vitamins and Supplements are becoming all the more popular in our culture, but are they right for you?

Mapping out, planning and sticking to a personal fitness and health plan can be a tricky thing to keep up to date.

Many aspects are taken into consideration including time, energy, efficiency and financial situations, and sometimes it becomes all too much to balance.

One way in which some people try to get into shape and have a healthier lifestyle includes the use of vitamins and supplements.

It once seemed quite easy to just take them and go about the rest of your day, but the culture has shifted and vitamins and supplements are now a bigger aspect of people’s lives.

The media has also played a large role promoting vitamins and supplements, with ads all over and advice on how to get the best body yet with a new and improved product.

Sometimes it can become overwhelming and difficult to know which products actually work, and which ones are a waste of time, and more so, money.

Even well-known television talk show personality, Dr. Mehmet Oz, was caught promoting and making statements about the health benefits of certain supplements, without any factual, medical or scientific evidence to back up his words.

This billion dollar industry is not an easy one to completely understand.

Studies done at Harvard University show that vitamins and supplements can be costly, not just in monetary units, but for health and need for them.

Oxford University conducted a study of more than 200 people in 2008 and found that those who took vitamin E and selenium supplements, were more at risk to develop prostate cancer.

A 2013 study at John Hopkins University showed that those taking vitamins on a regular basis tend to make less healthy food choices.

With that being said, not all vitamins and supplements are wrong for you, it just depends how you use them and finding the best one that works for each individual.

Michael Newman, a fitness professional, who taught part time in Fanshawe’s health and fitness program and is the manager of one of London’s Popeye’s Supplements stores said there are a number of things he does when people come to him looking to start taking vitamins and supplements.

Newman said he first finds out what the person’s goals are for using vitamins and supplements, then sees if they have any health problems or are currently taking medication. He also finds out if the person has ever used supplements before, which ones, the brand and how they responded to it. He also asks what their diet is like. This allows him to determine which kind of vitamins or supplements might be best for each individual.

Newman mentioned there are four key ingredients he recommends to people, no matter their goals of either wanting to gain muscle, lose fat or for their overall health. These include greenth products such as a vital nutrient and Progressive Nutritional Therapies’ VegeGreens, multi vitamins and multi mineral supplements, fish oil and fruit concentration like Phyto- Berry, also from Progressive Nutritional Therapies.

“All of those four are what they need to be able to really make the body work more effectively and efficiently with them,” Newman said.

Newman mentioned some nutrients can have one scoop that generally replaces the six to eight servings of vegetables.

“Taking something like that once a day allows the body to have that, to balance with your blood PH level, which is crucial for overall health and well-being.”

Newman said for students, they do not have the money to necessarily buy a lot of vegetables for example, and therefore buying them in a supplement source is cheaper.

“I am big on whole foods. But I think that you have to find the missing link in your diet and supplement it… that’s why we call it a supplementation,” Newman said.

According to Newman, vitamins and supplements are cost effective, stating that a month’s worth of multi vitamins for example might add to a dollar a day, which would still be cheaper than with fruits and vegetables.

However, he still supports these foods.

“It is more cost efficient to having supplements, but again whole foods is always the best step.”

Newman also said that vitamins and supplements work differently for everyone and it’s just about finding the best one for you.

“Supplements kind of all work the same, they just won’t work for each person because everybody’s body makeup is different,” he said.

Though Newman encourages supplementation, he agreed that they need to be combined with eating correctly, having a healthy diet and exercising as well.

One thing Newman said people need to do before starting on vitamins and supplements is to do your research.

“Unfortunately you’ll have some stores that will just sell you their name brand or just sell you what they want to sell because it’s better for their bottom line of business,” Newman said.

This is all part of his ‘buyer beware’ approach.

“You really want to find a company or talk to people that actually are asking you quality questions about what you want, quality questions about your health and well-being and then you know that they have you in their best interest as opposed to them having the best interest in their company.”

Karen Nixon-Carroll, Fanshawe’s fitness program manager has another view on vitamins and supplements all together.

“You’re going into a crazy territory because anything that’s extra beyond real food, it’s a supplement to supplement an already healthy diet. If you’re not eating a healthy then why take supplements? You should be focusing on healthy food first,” Nixon-Carroll said.

Nixon-Carroll said there are some reasons people choose to take vitamins or supplements, such as if someone is low on iron because they choose to not eat red meat.

However, she said there are other foods that can still provide that source of iron, it just comes down to talking to someone with an educational background and experience on the subject.

“There’s definitely a case for some supplements in terms of making your workouts go better, but again, it should be food first and then whatever you can’t get from the food then you can try the supplements,” Nixon-Carroll said.

According to Nixon-Carroll, the same effects one gets from taking supplements can be found through food.

“Especially for students, supplements are very costly and you can end up spending a good chunk of change on that and if you balance that out with healthy grocery shopping, you will spend far less on what you would in supplements,” she said.

Nixon-Carroll also pointed out that students tend to not have the healthiest diets to begin with and if students want to take healthy supplements to make workouts go better, they can’t counteract that with bad food and drinks.

Nixon-Carroll said to also not self-diagnose, if something does not seem right with your diet and health, rather go to your doctor and they can direct you accordingly.

“Start eating healthy and everything else should fall into place,” Nixon-Carroll said.