Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  Typically, supplements are marketed to athletes as a means to help with weight loss or gain, muscle recovery, improve immunity, gut health and metabolic support. Many athletes look to supplements for a mental or physical edge in training or competition. Supplements come in a variety of forms; tablets, liquids, powders, bars and capsules. Some of the most sought-after vitamin and mineral supplements include iron, B12, vitamin D, calcium, multivitamins, Ashwagandha, creatine, BCAA, whey protein, ketones and antioxidants like vitamin C, E and Q10. Some supplements are problematic to health and performance. A review in the Journal of Physiology showed no strong evidence that antioxidant supplementation, such C and E, can improve performance or health. Furthermore, high-dose antioxidants may prevent important training adaptations such as creating new muscle mitochondria, muscle growth, and improving insulin sensitivity. In addition, supplements contain multiple ingredients, maki...

From the Quality Supplements website:  "The term “dietary supplement” describes a broad and diverse category of products that you eat or drink to support good health and supplement the diet. Dietary supplements are not medicines, nor should they be considered a substitute for food. Dietary ingredients can be one or a combination of any of the following: -Vitamin -Mineral -Herb or other botanical -Amino acid (the individual building blocks of a protein -Concentrate, metabolite, constituent, or extract Although some herbal and mineral compounds have been used for hundreds of years to treat health conditions, today dietary supplement manufacturers are not legally allowed to say their products cure, treat or prevent disease. Supplement makers can say their products support health or contribute to well-being. That is because Congress does not regulate dietary supplements the same way it regulates medicine. Except for new dietary ingredients, dietary supplement manufact...

Recently there has been more and more talk about eating our medicine instead of relying on pills (or believing in the hype) for an additional intake of vitamins and minerals to improve overall health. I agree that we should not be spending money  on over the counter supplements as a first response to wanting to be healthy especially if you have access to a variety of real food options to boost your immune system. Supplements are designed to supplement what you can not get in your diet and there are cases (ex. folic acid for pregnant women, B-vitamins for vegans, etc.) when a single vitamin or mineral supplement may be needed. Although I don't feel that athletes need supplements like antioxidants and anti-inflammatories to boost performance there are some supplements (ex. BCAAs, protein powders) that may assist in proper functioning of the body during times of extreme intentional training stress. I love the concept of plates not pills beca...