Supplement Caution

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Supplement Caution


Please note that taking supplements can help you achieve fitness and health goals, but are not always necessary. The supplements you want to avoid are supplements that offer extremely fast and easy results with minimal work. Workout supplements are usually the culprits in this case.

Many vitamins and minerals are an advantage to your health because they provide you important vitamins and minerals you might be lacking in your everyday diet.

Also note that supplements are not 100% regulated by the FDA. Thanks to Utah's Senator Orin Hatch's proposal, a bill was passed restricting the FDA from regulating supplements like they do many foods. This means that a company can sell you sugar and nothing else, but put other ingredients on the package and list benefits that 100% will not happen. Find reviews on different websites about supplements you are considering and see how reliable the company producing the supplements can be. For example, NSI is my favorite supplement company. I have seen many results from there products in my general health.

Protein Powders/Shakes/Bars

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Protein Supplements


Pros: Protein helps rebuild muscle after stress (working out of any sort).

Cons: If too much protein is taken it can effect your kidneys, and most excess protein is wasted.

Myths: Protein will make me bigger! Protein is the major building block of life. My college biology professor used to tell us, "If you want to rule the world, control protein and it's all yours." Protein is made up of various amino acids that do many things such as provide a little extra energy, rebuild, reboot your body, etc.

When looking for proteins you want to be careful what kind of brand you buy, what it says it does, and if the ingredients are actually in there (read my caution blog). Some tips to purchasing protein:

1 - Find protein with a variety of amino acids and maybe some added vitamins. The more healthy ingredients the more benefits up to a point.
2 - Avoid high sugar proteins.
3 - Find one that mixes well and tastes good. I know it's all about the ingredients, but if you can't even choke down the stuff then you won't take it often and you'll waste your money.
4 - Liquids are more easily absorbed, so shakes and mixed powders have more benefits than bars and pills.
5 - Use a reputable company's protein.
6 - If you ever have questions about it, ask a physician or even a chemist. Both can tell you if the mumbo-jumbo claims on the packaging even make physiological sense or if a bunch of fancy words are thrown into the mix.

Many people eat enough protein in foods to where they don't need excess protein. However, if you do decide to take a protein supplement, I'd recommend starting off with less than up to half the recommended daily amount. See how you feel, then work up to however much you feel you need. Remember, protein DOES NOT make you bigger, it helps you rebuild muscle.

Hydroxicut, Xenadrine

Pros: Increased boost of energy. Quick weight loss.
Cons: Headaches from excess caffeine. Heart rate speeds up too much. Dehydration. Summary: Hydroxicut and Xenadrine are both full of caffeine, the main ingredient to provide you with the energy you need to continually move and burn calories/fat. However, the caffeine led to an increased heart rate too fast for me, extreme headaches when the caffeine consumption was lowered, and severe dehydration if I wasn’t drinking at least a gallon of water per day. Overall, not recommended.