5 myths that the sports nutrition industry imposes on us

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2015-03-23

Constantly communicating and corresponding with many fitness enthusiasts, I've come to the conclusion that many people's minds are completely cluttered with various types of information that are pushed by stores and manufacturers of sports nutrition. This happens not only due to advertising but mainly because the overwhelming majority of people simply do not want to think for themselves.

In this article, we will talk about how the sports nutrition industry encourages you to buy more different sports supplements. After all, it is profitable for stores and manufacturers for you to spend as much of your money on sports nutrition as possible. You need maximum results for minimal money, not sports nutrition as such. So, let's get started.

1. Buy BCAAs along with Protein

Store salespeople often advise: “To get better results from protein — get BCAAs!” they insist.

But you don’t need to be an academic to read the composition of protein and understand that any protein already contains 17% - 15% BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine, and valine). In other words, by consuming 100 grams of protein a day, you're also getting 15-17 grams of BCAAs. If you are a typical casual gym-goer, that’s usually enough for you.

I’m not saying that BCAAs are bad. They are a good, effective, and versatile supplement. However, you should only consider taking them after you have bought everything else you need and don’t know how else to spend the remaining money on sports nutrition. That is, if you are not restricted in funds.

2. Whey Protein - After Training, and Casein - At Night

Salespeople often suggest you buy multiple types of protein. Buy whey protein and take it after workouts because it absorbs faster. Also, buy casein and take it at night because it digests more slowly.

Yes, that’s true. Whey protein does absorb faster than casein. However, it is not by several hours, as the manufacturers and sellers assure. The difference is about 2 hours. Personally, I see no significant reason to buy different proteins. Casein will also be beneficial after a workout and is no worse than whey. It will simply be absorbed 1-2 hours later, and there won't be any adverse effects on your body from that.

So the difference in absorption speed is exaggerated. This is done so that you purchase different proteins. And this benefits not you, but the sellers and manufacturers.

3. Composition Indicated Not in %, but Per Serving

Sometimes I am amazed at how many people are somewhat clueless. I once spoke with a guy who was comparing two types of gainers: Serious Mass from Optimum Nutrition and another one. In Serious Mass, the serving size specified by the manufacturer is 334 grams, and there are 50 grams of protein per serving! This means that it’s only 15%, which is quite low, even for a gainer. In the other gainer he was comparing, the serving was 160 grams and had 40 grams of protein per serving, which means 25%.

So, he was arguing with me that Serious Mass is better because it contains more protein. After all, it has 50 grams, while the other one only has 40 grams. It seems he completely did not understand what percentage means. And this is just one of the cases. I encounter such ignorance regularly in my practice.

Most manufacturers indicate composition per serving to obscure the product's true nature and present it in a more favorable light. After all, 15% protein sounds much worse than 50 grams per serving.

4. Too Large or Too Small Serving Sizes

In relatively inexpensive products (which are usually gainers), excessively large serving sizes are often noted to encourage people to consume it faster and repurchase. For example, in Serious Mass, the serving size is 334 grams. Can you imagine what that is? That’s 1250 kcal!! And almost all of that is carbohydrates! Such a supplement would be too much even for a healthy man. Men need to reduce this serving size by about half. For women, it should be cut down by about three times.

On the other hand, in expensive products (like amino acids, BCAAs), they typically indicate smaller serving sizes. If a person sees they are paying a lot for a product that will be gone in 10 days, they won’t buy it. But if it shows small servings, they will see that it lasts a month or two and will consider it a good deal.

For example, BCAA 1000 Caps from Optimum Nutrition has a serving size of 2 capsules, which contain only 1 gram of BCAAs. 1 gram!!! In 100 grams of protein, there are 15-17 grams of BCAAs. Here, they are offering us a mere 1 gram. So, to consume 10 grams of BCAAs (which is the minimum needed even for women), you would have to swallow 20 capsules a day! That’s the minimum for women. And for reasonably sized men? 40 capsules a day. Hence, this expensive package lasts only 10-20 days. But if you knew this, many of you would simply not buy it.

5. The “Invention” of New Supplements

This includes most new or “improved” versions of old supplements. All of this is done to encourage you to buy more novel products that supposedly work even better, or to purchase completely new items. Here are some examples:

1. ZMA. The effectiveness of this supplement has only been proven by one experiment funded by the ZMA manufacturing company. Meanwhile, another independent experiment found no effect of ZMA on testosterone levels.

2. Various forms of creatine and creatine with additives. Scientists have long determined that the only form of creatine that can be reasonably absorbed in our bodies, from which creatine phosphate can subsequently be synthesized, is creatine monohydrate. All other forms are just another commercial ploy. The same goes for creatine with a transport system. They take creatine and add carbohydrates to it, then sell it at twice the price.

3. Post-workout complexes. These are a mix of 3-4 substances that can easily be purchased separately and are cheaper in total.

Conclusions

In fact, there are many marketing tricks and myths in the sports nutrition industry that compel you to spend your money. I’ve listed the most common ones. There are also plenty of relatively harmless options. For example, they add creatine to protein, and suddenly it is protein with creatine!! Which they sell for 1.5 times more. Although, creatine costs about the same as protein. Or they dump sugar into gainers, significantly cheapening the product. You need more for less, right? And so on.

In short, to avoid falling for most of these tricks, it’s often enough to simply use your brain, logic, and the math you learned in grades 1-3. Good luck!