What supplements actually work?<\/p>\n
Supplements are widely used by athletes at all levels and can be consumed for several reasons. Professional athletes may take them to obtain a high dose of a particular nutrient in concentrated form and help meet the high-energy needs of an endurance event.<\/p>\n
Creatine, for example. It\u2019s a compound produced in the body and found in protein-rich food such as meat. It can act as a quick source of energy for muscles, and some research recommends<\/a> that people who exercise consume up to 20g of creatine per day to maintain their body’s stores of the compound. But that would mean eating 4kg (8lbs) of steak.<\/p>\n \u201c[Creatine] needs to be used as a supplement in that regard because it would be very uncomfortable to eat that amount of meat,\u201d says Dr Stephen Bailey,<\/a> a leading expert on exercise physiology from Loughborough University in the UK.<\/p>\n Supplements also have the potential to enhance performance. Bailey thinks that athletes should prioritise eating a nutrient-rich diet, fine-tuning how much water they drink and perfecting their training to obtain the best results. But supplements could provide an additional boost once those are all taken care of.<\/p>\n \u201cIn elite sport, the margins between success and failure are very small,\u201d he says. \u201cSo if you\u2019ve done everything else well and you\u2019re looking for that very small incremental improvement, then [supplements] might be able to give you a meaningful performance outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n Ketone drinks, for example, have become popular among elite endurance athletes looking to gain a competitive advantage. When the body turns fat into energy during prolonged exercise, molecules called ketones are produced that can be used as a source of fuel for muscles and the brain. They\u2019re an alternative to glucose, the body\u2019s main source of energy.<\/p>\n \u201cKetones are there to top up glucose levels,\u201d says Prof Keiran Clarke<\/a>, a biochemist at the University of Oxford. <\/p>\n Clarke and her colleagues invented a ketone drink that was shown to help professional cyclists ride 400m (1,300ft) further over half an hour, on average<\/a>, compared to those who consumed energy drinks containing carbohydrates or fat. <\/p>\n Ketones can also provide a cognitive boost, which Clarke thinks is more significant. At the Tour de France, for example, riders may start to lose their ability to think strategically when their glucose levels are low at the end of the day.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s where [ketone drinks] really help,\u201d says Clarke.<\/p>\n Sports supplements can also help with recovery after a competition. It\u2019s likely to be the main benefit of tart cherry juice since it has anti-inflammatory properties<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a fairly successful way to try and manage inflammation post-exercise,\u201d says Bailey. \u201cThat might then lower soreness.\u201d<\/p>\n The problems<\/p>\n The big problem with sports supplements, however, is identifying which ones are effective<\/a>. The market is flooded with them and while all claim to have benefits, many haven\u2019t been rigorously tested.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of money in the dietary supplement business,\u201d says Floris Wardenaar<\/a>, an associate professor in sports nutrition at Arizona State University in the US. \u201cIt\u2019s really easy to start your own supplement business: basically anyone, without any knowledge, can create something.\u201d<\/p>\n Even in cases where a supplement has been studied, it might have been tested on muscle cells in the lab, but not when ingested by humans. <\/p>\n In a consensus statement issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2018, just five supplements (caffeine, creatine, nitrate, beta alanine and sodium bicarbonate) were backed for athletic use<\/a>. They were the only supplements supported by significant evidence showing performance improvements in specific scenarios.<\/p>\n Besides their concerns over their efficacy, contamination is also an issue. In the UK, supplements are regulated as food, but it can still be hard to control what\u2019s in them<\/a> (in the US, they\u2019re not regulated as tightly). <\/p>\n Nevertheless, it\u2019s not impossible for impurities to be introduced during the manufacturing process, and analyses of supplements have found banned substances, such as anabolic steroids, in 14\u201315 per cent of samples tested<\/a>.<\/p>\n Athletes typically take several supplements, many of which may be contaminated, making the issue even more complex. Wardenaar says that small amounts of banned substances in different products could add up and, in theory, cause a positive doping test. A result that could see the athlete banned from competition.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing to a third-party testing organisation is the route to go to make sure a supplement has the substances [an athlete] is looking for, as listed on the label,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n The changing landscape<\/p>\n Whether certain substances in sports supplements should be prohibited can also be a grey area. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), an international independent agency that aims to prevent doping in sports, bans substances that satisfy two out of three of the following criteria: <\/p>\n If they enhance sports performance The list is reviewed annually to address substances that have come to prominence and may have the potential to be misused.\u00a0<\/p>\n Caffeine, for example, used to be on WADA\u2019s prohibited list.<\/a> But in 2004, its use was permitted again for a number of reasons, including that the performance boost was considered to be minor and the fact that it\u2019s so widely present in foods and drinks that it\u2019s hard to control.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, determining how a supplement might affect an athlete isn\u2019t always straightforward since the effect can vary between individuals. Some people will be set for the day after one cup of coffee, for example; others will need two or three.<\/p>\n Complicating matters further, according to Bailey, is the fact that the personalisation of supplements<\/a> is becoming more widespread. Genetic testing technologies are being used to examine how an athlete\u2019s genes may affect their response to nutrients or other food components, for example.<\/p>\n![\"Creatine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Protein-Powder-Getty-1.jpg\")
It’s not always clear what ingredients are in supplements – Photo credit: Getty<\/p>\n
\nIf they represent an actual health risk to an athlete
\nIf they violate the spirit of sport<\/p>\n