The Final Verdict on Sports Supplements

Over the past 2 months I have been posting blogs focused on the idea of promoting public awareness. Awareness around specific sports nutrition supplements. I have tried to educate all of my blog readers on the advantages and disadvantages associated with specific supplements. I have come across many of the supplements touched on, and like many other young male adults, I have taken and explored most of them. As a young teenager I wished that there were more valid information sources like the one I tried to provide here. If I have educated at least one person through these blogs then I consider my job well done. But no matter how much public awareness I did or did not create, the final question that lingers in everyone's mind is; are sports supplements really worth it?

After assessing all of my past experience and education on sports supplements, I would have to answer YES, BUT, there's a catch. Yes sports supplements can be beneficial but its importance depends solely on health and what it means to be healthy. Lets make one thing clear, sports supplements are used to help enhance a person's nutrition/eating habits and performance. Whether it is to become a better athlete, to lose weight, to gain muscle or just to maintain a "healthy" lifestyle, supplements can be of great help, but its important to underline that they should be used only supplement a person's eating/lifestyle habits. They should not be relied on excessively because ultimately a proper balanced diet is wayyyyy better than expensive supplements.I hope that anyone who is curious about using/purchasing sports supplements questions their own life and what being healthy means to them. Different social determinants affect a person's health and these should come into play when determining whether or not a person truly needs sports supplements, here are a few examples:

First off, if a person has a restricted or lack of income, they are probably better off putting their resources into fresh food sources or other vital expenses (i.e. rent, hydro, transportation) instead of expensive supplements.

Second, if a person lacks education will they really be able to understand specific supplements? Or the benefits/disadvantages associated with them? This is an important point to consider because most people that take sports supplements don't understand the logistics behind them.

Third, if a person doesn't have access to an athletic center or facility, then most sports supplements will be a waste of time and money. Its important to understand that for sports supplements to bring about positive outcomes, most need to be paired with exercise.

Fourth, if a person isn't eating a well balanced diet to start with (due to lack of accesibility, food insecurity etc.), are sports supplements really going to help? The answer is NO! Disregarding this point often shocks me the most. I have tons of friends who fall victim to poor diets but expect a $50 supplement from GNC to counteract this, think again.

The list of determinants affecting whether or not a person should use or not use sports supplements can go on and on but ultimately it comes down to each person's individual definition of health. Sports supplements can be expensive and ineffective if not used correctly. Does a healthy individual really need sports supplements? No, but can they benefit from them? Yes. If a person is educated on a specific sports supplement and truly believes that taking it will make them feel better (i.e. physically, mentally, better self-esteem, better mood etc.), then why not. But if a person is happy just the way they are and has a good quality of life, then maybe sports supplements aren't for them. At the end of the day each person needs to ask themselves "what do I want?" "am I happy with my health?". Only pondering on the definition of health and the social determinants affecting it will reveal a final verdict on sports supplements.

I hope you the reader have learned something from my previous blog posts. It was a pleasure blogging over the past few months and I hope you enjoyed reading!

Until next time,

Happy reading!

Trev