Supplements are increasingly common among amateur and professional athletes and the general public. But how do we know whether we need them, whether they work and what affects their usefulness?
A common mistake is trusting supplements to improve performance without first managing rest, nutrition and training.
You would not buy the hob for a future kitchen before designing the house. Likewise, good supplementation cannot fix poor food intake, rest or training. The aim is an integrated approach, not compensation or oversimplification.
Only some supplements have strong evidence for specific uses. Yours may be one of them. Read the A, B, C and D of supplementation, where you can learn how supplements are classified by evidence.
Usefulness depends on your sport, goals and diet. Before buying supplements, understand what your food already provides.
Can we find supplements in food?
Strictly speaking, no.
Food contains nutrients, phytonutrients and bioactive compounds.
Some can be isolated or synthesised in supplement form for a particular purpose, including potential performance effects.
In other words, food and supplementation are different but connected.
Instead of viewing them as isolated blocks, look at the many connections in sports nutrition.
These examples explain what we mean:
Tuna – creatine
Many people obtain creatine from food, while others also supplement it. The image illustrates a food source; vegans do not consume dietary creatine but can synthesise it.
Creatine is not an essential dietary nutrient because the body makes it. It synthesises roughly 1 g per day, while daily turnover is around 1.5–2 g, varying with body size and diet. These are not total storage amounts: a 65 kg person might have around 120 g stored, mainly in muscle.
Creatine supplementation can support repeated high-intensity efforts and training-related strength and muscle gains. Creatine monohydrate is among the best-supported sports supplements, as discussed by the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
The post Creatine: now you know contains more information about timing, effects over time and other questions.
Poke bowl – omega-3
Omega-3 fatty acids are important dietary fats. This omega-3 group includes ALA, which is essential and must come from food; the body can convert some to EPA and DHA, but conversion is limited.
The 3 main omega-3s discussed here are EPA, DHA and ALA. EPA and DHA are longer-chain forms, often obtained from fish and algae; ALA is primarily found in plant foods.
They have roles in cardiovascular function, cell membranes, the brain, vision and inflammatory regulation. Claims about preventing depression or reliably improving cognition, performance and recovery depend on the population, dose and evidence, rather than applying to every food or supplement.
Sources include chia and flaxseeds, walnuts, soya oil, oily fish such as salmon, herring and sardines, oysters, some eggs and algae. The type and amount of omega-3 differ.
The original article cites omega-3 intakes of 1000–3000 mg daily, but this is not a universal minimum: recommendations distinguish ALA from EPA/DHA and vary by authority and context.
The illustrated poke bowl contributes omega-3, but one meal cannot guarantee the absence of excess or deficiency. Consider quantities, sources and your whole diet over time.
Chickpea and tofu salad – BCAAs
Amino acids are protein building blocks. Essential ones must come from the diet; the body can make the others.
The 3 branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are valine, leucine and isoleucine. All are essential.
Proteins supplying all essential amino acids in adequate proportions are often called complete. Whey, for example, provides them all, including BCAAs. Plant foods may be relatively limited in particular amino acids rather than completely lacking them.
Isolated BCAAs do not generally offer an established extra muscle-building benefit when adequate complete protein is already consumed. Protein intake depends on the type, variety and quantity of food across the whole day.
With adequate good-quality, digestible protein, BCAA supplementation is usually unnecessary. Any proposed specific use needs an individual assessment and stronger supporting evidence.
The original article discusses low-energy diets, difficulty meeting protein needs and an endurance-fatigue hypothesis involving competition with tryptophan. These are not established reasons to prescribe BCAAs routinely; adequate total energy and complete protein take priority.
Food can meet BCAA needs. The image shows one example, and a meal provides many other nutrients—as well as flavour.
Maize – leucine
As mentioned above, leucine is one of the 3 BCAAs and plays an important signalling role in muscle protein synthesis.
Sources include maize protein, Greek yoghurt, chicken breast, eggs, whey, soya and chickpeas, in different concentrations.
Tofu – glutamine
Glutamine is abundant in the body and present in food. For healthy athletes, increasing it specifically has not shown a consistent performance benefit.
The original article describes it as an evidence Group B supplement requiring more research. Classifications can change and do not establish individual suitability.
Watermelon – citrulline
The original comparison gives 36 mg per 100 g for yellow watermelon and a figure of 16 per 100 g for red watermelon in this study. The source mixes gram and milligram units, so the figures require verification and should not be used as a reliable food ranking.
Although some citrulline studies have reported improvements, findings are mixed. The original article concluded that citrulline malate did not have sufficiently established performance benefits; this historical assessment is not an updated supplement protocol.
Cocoa – polyphenols
Polyphenols are bioactive compounds with antioxidant and inflammatory-regulation roles. Some are studied for effects on cognition and blood flow.
Examples include anthocyanins, flavonoids, tannins and phenolic acids; these categories can overlap.
The original article found insufficient evidence to recommend specific polyphenol supplements or doses routinely for amateur, competitive or elite athletes.
Food sources include grapes, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, goji berries, cocoa, nuts, aubergine, some spices, tea and coffee.
Beetroot – nitrates
Nitrate supplements are used by some amateur and professional athletes.
Dietary nitrate can be converted to nitrite by oral bacteria and then to nitric oxide (NO) in the body. Potential effects include altered blood flow, muscle function and oxygen cost, with responses depending on exercise and the individual.
The original article highlights team sports, intermittent high-intensity work and some events under 40 minutes, noting potentially smaller effects in highly trained endurance athletes. These are general research observations, not guarantees.
Beetroot is a nitrate source. The original research discussion cites 6.4–12.8 mg/kg, or roughly 450–900 mg for a 71 kg athlete, and 300–600 g of beetroot juice, approximately half a litre. Actual nitrate content varies greatly: food volume is not a reliable dose without product information, and these figures are not a personalised recommendation.
For more detail, see the review on beetroot supplementation in high-intensity exercise published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition.
Sesame seeds – arginine
Arginine is an amino acid the body can make and a precursor for nitric oxide. This biochemical role has prompted research into blood-vessel responses and exercise, but does not itself prove a performance benefit.
The cited meta-analysis discusses acute arginine protocols of 0.15 g/kg, 60–90 minutes before exercise, and longer protocols of 1.5–2 g/day for 4–7 weeks for aerobic outcomes or 10–12 g/day for 8 weeks for anaerobic outcomes. However, the findings are not conclusive, and these research protocols should not be treated as an individual prescription.
Arginine sources include fish and seafood (tuna, salmon, sardines, crab), meats (including liver, pork, turkey and chicken), pulses such as peas and lentils, and eggs.
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