Dietary Supplements And Sports Performance

Written by Ben Bunting: BA, PGCert. (Sport & Exercise Nutrition) // British Army Physical Training Instructor // S&C Coach.

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There are a lot of reasons why people take dietary supplements. People take them to give them a boost, to help their immune system, and one of the most common is to give them a boost when it comes to their sports performance.

You will no doubt have seen the commercials for products that claim to be able to give you a boost where it counts.

Still, there is a big difference between the generic brands that make vague promises and carefully engineered supplements that target key areas to help you make big improvements.

In this article, we will cover the following points:

• What Is A Dietary Supplement?
• Why Do People Take Supplements For Sport?
• How Dietary Supplements Get To Work
• What Do Dietary Supplements For Sport Contain?
• A Growth Industry
• Are Sports Supplements Legal?
• Are Sports Supplements Safe?
• A Final Word

What Is A Dietary Supplement?

A dietary supplement is, to put simply, something that contains ingredients that you may not be getting enough in your diet or things that your body may not be producing enough of.

These can include vitamins, minerals, herbs, plant or food concentrates, extracts, or botanicals. The ingredients will have been selected by the manufacturers of the supplement to target specific areas of your body and performance.

Why Do People Take Supplements For Sport?

When you exercise, your body is working at full capacity. It is drawing on everything it can to give you the energy and endurance you need to finish.

As a result, your body will burn through nutrients quickly. You will also lose nutrients through sweat.

People who exercise a lot and do a lot of high-intensity workouts and training regimens may find that they are not able to get everything they need from their daily diet, or they simply cannot replenish everything they need to before the next session.

It can be particularly difficult if you are a vegetarian or vegan or if you do not have the time in your schedule to look for and prepare the kind of ingredients that contain the minerals and vitamins you need. This is where supplements come in.

How Dietary Supplements Get To Work

The question of how dietary supplements work varies depending on the kind of supplement and the ingredients.

For something that is designed to increase athletic performance and muscle growth, the ingredients chosen will be aimed at boosting testosterone or at increasing your blood flow and oxygen delivery.

There are also recommendations for supplements such as caffeine that are designed to boost your energy levels.

What Do Dietary Supplements For Sport Contain?

When you take dietary supplements for sport, there are several ingredients that you will see in a lot of different brands.

Some of the most common go-to’s include vitamin C, which can boost your immune system, vitamin D, which can help with your cardiovascular function, potassium, which helps with your muscles and avoid any cramping.

Another common ingredient found in supplements sold to help with exercise is protein, which helps with muscle growth and repair.

Now, protein comes in different forms, and one of the reasons why it is so popular in supplements is that it is often found in meat and meat products. Vegans and vegetarians need supplements that contain do not contain any meat products.

> Top Tip! You only need 20-25g of protein in one sitting to maximise muscle repair and recovery after exercise.

Iron is another crucial ingredient that is needed for blood transport and for energy metabolism.

The most readily absorbed form of iron is heme iron often found in meats, whereas non-heme iron is found in plant sources. Other ingredients in sports supplements are a little harder to find in everyday diet plans.

Plant extracts and other ingredients are carefully selected to help your body make sure that it is performing to the highest level.

A Growth Industry

We do not need to tell you how widespread the use of dietary supplements is. As a result, we are seeing more and more businesses launch, all pledging to have the secret formula to help with whatever issues you may have.

The problem is not that there is a lot of competition, but that a lot of manufacturers are simply not doing the research and not delivering what they promise.

That is why it is so important that you find a supplement provider that has gone out and done the work to create a blend of ingredients that they know will help.

With sports supplements like Military Muscle, the team has extensive experience in the industry, and they have gone out and talked to people in sports and the military to find out where they need help and what ingredients have helped them.

Are Sports Supplements Legal?

The short answer is yes, absolutely. However, if you are in the military or a competitive athlete, for example, there are some supplements out there that have been banned.

That is because there are some ingredients that the military has either deemed to be unsafe or because they are too closely linked to other banned products.

For example, a food supplement containing hemp would not be permitted in the military even though it only contains a very small amount of THC, which is the ingredient in marijuana plants that makes you high.

Some supplement products also contain hormones, which have an anabolic effect on your muscle growth and can damage your organs such as the liver and kidneys, and these are banned in the military.

If you are serving in the military or if you are preparing for a sports competition and you are looking for a food supplement to help with your sports performance, then it is always worth checking that none of their ingredients are on the banned list.

Military Muscle has been designed with these considerations in mind, and all its ingredients are fully approved for use in the military.