Don’t run alone - be part of the global running community and feel the support of millions of other runners right across the planet
Register and we’ll keep you up-to-date with how the campaign is progressing
The use of dietary supplements is widespread in sports, but runners should not expect benefits from most of these supplements.
Athletes look to nutritional supplements for many benefits, including:
Few of the supplements available are supported by a sound research base and some may even be harmful.
All athletes should look carefully at the risks and rewards of individual supplements before trying them.
Where there is a demonstrated deficiency of an essential vitamin or mineral, and an increased intake from food is not possible, a supplement may be helpful as a short term solution. The use of supplements, however, does not compensate for poor food choices and an inadequate diet.
Many athletes ignore the need for caution in supplement use, and take supplements in doses that are not necessary, and may even be harmful.
The case for protein powders and supplements is difficult to make, since a balanced diet will provide the protein required by the body.
Based on current research, there is no evidence that fat reduction and muscle building supplements offer any substantial benefit.
Supplements aimed at increasing energy supply - such as carnitine, pyruvate and ribose - are also not likely to improve performance.
Hard training may increase the risk of picking up minor illnesses or infections. However, there is no strong evidence that taking nutrition supplements - like glutamine, zinc, Echinacea, colostrums and others - will boost the body's immune system. The best evidence supports the use of a high carbohydrate diet, which lowers stress hormone levels, and appropriate rest periods.
Extensive training can also put extra stress on the bones, joints and associated structures. Numerous supplements are available that claim to promote healthy bones and joints but there is similarly little evidence to suggest that products that contain glucosamine, chondroitin or MSM provide any tangible benefit. Healthy bones need a good supply of calcium and Vitamin D.
Calcium can be provided by a well-chosen diet, while Vitamin D comes from well-managed exposure to sunlight.
Some supplements do offer the prospect of improved performance: these include creatine, caffeine, buffering agents, and perhaps a very few others.
Creatine supplements can increase the amount of high-energy creatine phosphate stored in the muscles, and may improve performance in single or multiple sprints. It may also lead to a gain in muscle mass, which may be helpful for some but harmful for others.
As with all supplements, exceeding the maximum effective dose is not helpful. Creatine is normally found in meat and fish, but the doses used in supplementation protocols (10-20g per day for 4-5 days to load, and 2-3g per day for maintenance) are more than is found in normal foods. Creatine supplementation appears not to be harmful to health.
A small amount of caffeine (1-3mg/kg) can help performance in prolonged exercise and may also be helpful in exercise of shorter duration. Such moderate doses can be found in everyday amounts of coffee, cola drinks and some sports products (e.g. gels). For example, 100mg of caffeine is supplied by a small cup of brewed coffee or 750ml of a cola drink. Larger doses of caffeine do not seem to be more effective, and may have negative outcomes such as over-arousal and poor sleep patterns.
In very hard exercise, the muscles produce lactic acid. This is both good (giving energy to allow hard efforts) and bad (causing pain and interfering with muscle function).
In the same way that excess stomach acidity can be neutralised by taking bicarbonate, so buffering agents taken before a training session or event can counter the negative effects of lactic acid. Bicarbonate supplements are widely used by athletes in events that cause fatigue within a few minutes. There is a real risk of gastrointestinal problems and athletes should experiment in training.
Citrate can also be effective as an alternative to bicarbonate. Recently, Beta-alanine supplements have been shown to enhance muscle buffering. There is some evidence that this can improve sprint performance although there is not yet evidence of long-term safety of this supplement.
