Supplements Flashcards
Three groups of Supplements
1) Vitamin and mineral supplements
2) Specialized sport foods that address the specific nutritional needs of athletes
3) Nutritional ergogenic aids
Natural Health Products (NHP’s)
vitamins and minerals
herbal products
homeopathic medicines
Regulation of Dietary Supplements
2004 - NHP regulations came into effect in Canada
- Regulates manufacturing, packaging, labeling, storage, importation, distribution and sale of NHPs
Certain requirements for product label (name, product license #, all medicinal & non-medicinal ingredients
- Do NOT require a prescription, are NOT regulated as drugs!
Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act in the USA does the following
Nut. Supps that do NOT claim to diagnose, prevent or cure disease are NOT subject to regulation by the FDA
- No requirement to prove claimed benefits
- No req. to show safety for acute & chronic intake
- No req. for quality assurance
- No req. for stringent labelling restrictions
Canada’s regulations
- Sports supplements such as sport drinks protein powders, energy bars, & meal replacement products are regulated by Health Canada’s Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
- Energy drinks, vitamin/mineral, herbal supps, vitahim-enhanced water, and amino acid supps fall under the NHP Regulations
Measures to take with supplements
- Analyze your total diet
- Check with your health care provider
note: some supplements can interfere with some prescription and over the counter medications!
Benefits of supplements
- Canadian food supply is not void of nutrients
- Foods contain a diverse combination of compounds that are critical to our health
- Vitamin & Min. supps don’t contain the same amount or variety –> Not food substitutes
- Some supps (e.g. omega-3) show no or negative effects when the whole food (fish) shows positive effects
Types of Health Supplements
- Healthy fats (flax, fish, hempseed)
- Joint Formulas
- Cleanse products
- M/F enhancement
- PMS/Menopause formulas
Claims of Health Supps
- Healthy hair, skin, nails
- weight loss
- digiestion aid
- prevent arthritis
- Improve sexual performance
What’s the evidence of Supps?
- NA diets are low in omega-3 fats in general
- Joint formulae (glucosamine) have been linked with possible benefits for symptoms of osteoarthritis
- Not much evidence to support hormonal balancing & enhancement products
- Cleansing - a natural process
- Hair, skin, & nail issues may stem from variety of illnesses/deficiencies
Antioxidant supplements?
Vitamin C?
- High dose antioxidant supplements have not been shown to enhance health, prevent diseases, improve endurance or strength performance
- evidence linking Vit.C with lower incident of URTI’s
Reccomendations
- Natural omega 3 (fish&nuts)
- Joint health also impactde by exercise&diet, can be complex medical condition
- Be careful of supplements with claims for medical issues
Cleansing mechanisms
- Fibre is your digestive system’s ‘exercise’
- probiotics/prebiotics in food improve digestion
- kidneys and the liver are constantly cleansing the blood
Types of supplemental food/drinks?
- sports drinks
- protein powders & bars
- Meal replacements
- weight gainers
Claims? (in order from last card)
- performance enhancement in endurance, speed & power
- increased muscle gain
- fat loss
What is the evidence for above?
Tips for athletes?
1) - artificial foods are expensive foods
- sport drinks shown to improve performance & reduce fatigue
- whey - HBV (high biological value protein)
2) - improvements in muscle building/weight gain(post-exert, protein + CHO)
- athletes have to be careful of consuming more energy than they need
- right type of training program
1) Protein reccomendations
2) real food alternatives?
- protein&AA powders aren’t any better than food based, whole proteins
- many busy people/athletes find sport bars&drinks easy and convenient replacements for food
2) 1/2 juice, 1/2 water + pinch of salt
Read labels!
Protein supplements?
- protein is plentiful in canadian diet
- increasing protein intake above RDA will not make your hair shine, protect you from disease, or make your muscles - protein synthesis is a rate limited process
- supplements are potentially harmful, expensive, and can add calories to the diet
- consistent high protein intake can lead to dehydration
Sport/ Weight loss Supp. Types
- caffeine (improved performance)
- fat loss supps (rapid weight loss)
- single amino acids (rapid w. gain)
- pro hormones (reduced lactic acid build up)
- creatine (improved hydration status)
- sodium bicarbonate
Evidence?
- many fat loss products contain caffeine/ephedrine
- nothing will replace diet & exercise
- muscle growth&weight gain depends on training and diet
- caffeine can improve performance (for some, permitted in regulated amounts)
How can high intakes of ind. AAs harm health?
- can disrupt normal protein production
- overwhelm cells with surplus of some AA & relative deficit of others
- some AAs are absorped using the same transport systems so supplementing one can cause a deficiency in others
- currently little evidence to support use of AA supplements by ahtletes or for health & are not recommended
What causes muscle growth?
- protein powders & AA supps DO NOT cause muscle growth
- healthy diet and strength training DOES
- current research - enhance muscle build up by eating 20g of complete protein w/ CHO immediately following exercise
safety of AA supps?
- no safety research in existence so no tolerable upper limit can be set
- long term consumption NOT recommended
- cannot be certain of their safety/effectiveness
Why athletes use sport supplements?
fear - competitors might be taking sups and believe they might have performance edge
- think it will improve health, enhance body composition, provide extra energy
- testimonials from role models/successful athletes
Considerations for athletes?
- in many countries (including NA, Europe), manufacturing of dietary supps is not appropriately regulated
- can contain prohibited substances
- undeclared substances can include one that’s prohibited under anti-doping regulations
what percentage of supps available to athletes contain ingredients not declared on label?
20%
what have positive doping tests been attributed to?
mislabelling & contamination of supplements
WHy has there been very few formal studies on use of nutritional supps by athletes?
- manufacturers wont spend $ on research & laws do not require them to do so
- supplements always changing
International sport org’s warn of legal supplements due to what?
contamination
subtances that have been detected/banned by the IOC/WADA?
- ephedrine
- strychnine
- androstenedione
- dhea
- pro hormone precursors
Range of steroids found in IOC lab in Germany?
- nandrolone, testosterone, & pre cursors found in various dietary supps tested
- of 634 tested, 94 (~15%) contained enough anabolic agents to cause a positive result on a drug rest!
how many US supps contaminated?
240 tested, 20% (1 in 5) contained pro hormones
tips where to purchase supps (if benefits outweigh risks) from?
- reputable companies, brands
- companies that do not sell roads, pro hormones, and other pharmaceuticals
- athletes must weigh risks - positive doping test has big consequences*
when can a supplement be harmful?
- fluoride supps for children who already drink fluoridated water
- taking supps to cure a disease
- taking supps with medicines (e.g. Vit E and blood thinning drug Coumadin or aspirin - excessive bleeding)
When to DEFINITELY avoid supps?
- those with liver or kidney disease (high risk for toxicity)
- Beta-carotene if you are a smoker (increased risk for lung and other cancers)
- taking single nutrient supps (unless qualified health care practioner prescribes one for diagnosed medical condition) –> high risk for toxicity
How do we protect ourselves from fraudulent or dangerous supplements?
- Look for a drug (DIN), naturopathic (NPN) or homeopathic medicine (DIN-HM) ID #
- buy recognized brands of supps
- don’t assume ‘natural’ means safe
what is natural that can also kill you?
arsenic, lead, & mercury
what to look for in internet sales?
- purpose of site, sales or info?
- accuracy of info (scientific research, testimonials)
- reputable references (peer-reviewed journals w/ complete references)
additional red flags in supps?
- promotes quick weight loss/increase in muscle mass - esp. w/o changing diet or exercise
- promotes solution to issue that is hard to cure (baldness, parkinsons, MS, etc.)
- use of testimonials
- before and after photos
What is the #1 source of micronutrients?
Food! This is where they are naturally found
What percentage of canadians have used vitamins & minerals, herbals and homeopathic medicines?
73%
Why dont many report diet supps to their physicians?
they have little trust & physicians have biases
why do so many ppl take diet supps?
- believe they cannot consume adequate nutrients in their diet and take supp as ‘extra nutritional assurance’
- believe they can use certain supps to treat diseases
What else are supps. called?
- Natural health products (NHP)