Livestrong disses 12 popular supplements. What do you think?

Kaprice

Kaprice

Well-known member
This article makes a pretty strong (and somewhat disappointing) case against 12 popular supplements. What do you think?

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I'm not presently taking any of the 12. In the past I've taken several on the list, but I eventually came to the same conclusion as the author of the article.
 
It's a good list in general, but what is even meant by "nitric oxide?" If they're talking about arginine, then yeah, it's overrated, but things like citrulline and/or nitrates can be pretty useful. Granted, they're not going to provide drastic improvements in body composition or strength, and they're often really under-dosed, but I do think they're still "effective" and aren't a waste of money. Other than that, it's a pretty good list.
 
I agree - "Overrated" is the key word here; and as muscleupcrohn said, NO is a definitive exception. If they're talking about arginine, which they seem to be, then yeah - big let down. NO in general though, how do you overrate that? It's under rated from a general health standpoint and has implications in all kinds of pathologies - especially cardiovascular and neurological diseases. From a "pump" or "muscle building" stand point though - every big box store in the world carries a "NO" product, so it's overhyped a bit and won't change much.

ZMA I think falls into this same general guideline - if you're looking for it to boost testosterone and GH and be a magical product, you'll be let down. If you're looking for better sleep and general health benefits - it's a good tool.

And CLA is the one that was overhyped in the beginning and now has gone the other way where everyone says it's junk, and I personally would use it year-round if I had the funds and it was cheap enough. At large doses over 5-6 months the effects are noticeable; but I'm not sure it's worth it. So yeah, over hyped.

Most supps are just junk anyway.
 
I think that not stating uses and then saying something is useless like BCAAs is a bit ridiculous. I do agree if you are getting a meal about an hour or so before training and having another meal shortly after training, they wouldn't benefit you much. But for someone like me that trains first thing in the morning and doesn't have time for a meal, BCAAs before and BCAA/EAAs during have benefited me greatly. I haven't lost any muscle during my cut and in fact look much bigger at 190 than I did at 200. So they have their place, it's up to the consumer to utilize them properly.
 
ryane87 said:
I think that not stating uses and then saying something is useless like BCAAs is a bit ridiculous. I do agree if you are getting a meal about an hour or so before training and having another meal shortly after training, they wouldn't benefit you much. But for someone like me that trains first thing in the morning and doesn't have time for a meal, BCAAs before and BCAA/EAAs during have benefited me greatly. I haven't lost any muscle during my cut and in fact look much bigger at 190 than I did at 200. So they have their place, it's up to the consumer to utilize them properly.
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I was going to slam them on that but went back and they did mention that BCAAs were not necessary considering someone gets in their required amount of daily protein intake. With that footnote I considered it good enough for me haha. But I do understand what you are saying, I do the same thing on the weekends.
 
Yeah - I think the thing to keep in mind is they are saying "over rated" which - in my mind - doesn't mean useless; just over hyped or over used. I'm sure there are a ton of guys going to the gym who use BCAA's and get little if any benefit from it but still think they are 100% necessary and don't ever train without them. This is where the NO thing comes in too - can you train without a pump ingredient and see gains? Absolutely. But are they useless? Try not getting enough BCAA's or NO-products in your body for a while and see how it goes (although, again - diet covers this).
 
HIT4ME said:
Yeah - I think the thing to keep in mind is they are saying "over rated" which - in my mind - doesn't mean useless; just over hyped or over used. I'm sure there are a ton of guys going to the gym who use BCAA's and get little if any benefit from it but still think they are 100% necessary and don't ever train without them. This is where the NO thing comes in too - can you train without a pump ingredient and see gains? Absolutely. But are they useless? Try not getting enough BCAA's or NO-products in your body for a while and see how it goes (although, again - diet covers this).
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I see what your saying. BCAAs are conditionally beneficial, so you may not always benefit from using them, but I don't think any diet, perhaps with the exception of eating a ton of beets pre-workout (nitrates), would make citrulline/nitrate supplementation not have benefits. Of course, you don't "need" any pre-workout ingredients, but isn't that the definition of a "supplement?"
 
muscleupcrohn said:
I see what your saying. BCAAs are conditionally beneficial, so you may not always benefit from using them, but I don't think any diet, perhaps with the exception of eating a ton of beets pre-workout (nitrates), would make citrulline/nitrate supplementation not have benefits. Of course, you don't "need" any pre-workout ingredients, but isn't that the definition of a "supplement?"
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Well, that's really the key I guess - do you "need" them? Because the article is talking "over rated" - and if someone has the mentality that they are "needed" then, they aren't realizing you can make 95% of the gains without them (or more). NO products fit this category precisely. Do you "need" a pump? Nope. Will it make your gains 2X better? Nope. Most people over-rate almost all supplements in this light.

Of course, the article doesn't talk about the fact that just because they're over-rated or people don't view them correctly, that doesn't mean they aren't a potential tool in the toolbox. And it also doesn't mean that the ingredients don't have benefits beyond what we normally try to use them for. I mean, look at agmatine - not needed to make great gains; maybe over rated as a pump product - but completely under rated as a general health product.
 
HIT4ME said:
Well, that's really the key I guess - do you "need" them? Because the article is talking "over rated" - and if someone has the mentality that they are "needed" then, they aren't realizing you can make 95% of the gains without them (or more). NO products fit this category precisely. Do you "need" a pump? Nope. Will it make your gains 2X better? Nope. Most people over-rate almost all supplements in this light.

Of course, the article doesn't talk about the fact that just because they're over-rated or people don't view them correctly, that doesn't mean they aren't a potential tool in the toolbox. And it also doesn't mean that the ingredients don't have benefits beyond what we normally try to use them for. I mean, look at agmatine - not needed to make great gains; maybe over rated as a pump product - but completely under rated as a general health product.
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Isn't every supplement "overrated" then, since none of them are necessary?
 
muscleupcrohn said:
Isn't every supplement "overrated" then, since none of them are necessary?
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Yeah, you are right about that. Makes it easy on the guy writing that article though :)
 
The only ones I take on the list are BCAA and glutamine. The BCAA I just can't stop using it's like a completely mental barrier I can't get over and the reason I take glutamine has nothing to do with building muscle
 
Personally, I think BCAAs are highly overrated. I train fasted and have never experienced any improvement in muscle mass, endurance, recovery, or energy. I've done many experiments with it over the years and always came back to the conclusion it is just spending money for no reason.
 
I came off of BCAA and fatigued pretty fast during my fasted workouts. I can tell you that while drinking BCAAS during my workout I can train harder, stronger and longer! It's night and day! I have to make myself leave the gym. Maybe a protein shake or carbs does the same thing but I am cutting Right now and not ready to try that.
 
kisaj said:
Personally, I think BCAAs are highly overrated. I train fasted and have never experienced any improvement in muscle mass, endurance, recovery, or energy. I've done many experiments with it over the years and always came back to the conclusion it is just spending money for no reason.
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I prefer EAAs to BCAAs intra-workout.
 
The article TITLE says "overrated" but the body of the article tends to dismiss every one of them as either "unproven" or "proven ineffective".
 
larrybailey said:
I came off of BCAA and fatigued pretty fast during my fasted workouts. I can tell you that while drinking BCAAS during my workout I can train harder, stronger and longer! It's night and day! I have to make myself leave the gym. Maybe a protein shake or carbs does the same thing but I am cutting Right now and not ready to try that.
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I came to the opposite conclusion regarding BCAAs. I train fasted am and found the only thing that improves my workout & recovery is sugar in my intra.
 
BennyMagoo79 said:
I came to the opposite conclusion regarding BCAAs. I train fasted am and found the only thing that improves my workout & recovery is sugar in my intra.
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My BCAA's is from ON, it has Glutamine in it. I noticed a lot of BCAA's do not have glutamine. So maybe it's the Glutamine. I was doing 4 sets of 10 and I was exhausted half way through. Now I start with a 20 rep warm up and add weigh on each set. Hour or so later I have to tell myself that I am over training. Big difference.
 
kisaj said:
Personally, I think BCAAs are highly overrated. I train fasted and have never experienced any improvement in muscle mass, endurance, recovery, or energy. I've done many experiments with it over the years and always came back to the conclusion it is just spending money for no reason.
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It's so funny how different people are. My experience is the complete opposite. That being said, if I ever find myself with the time to have a meal before I train, I wouldn't even bother with them.
 
Interesting article. I agree many of these are overrated. Having more studies or documents to follow up
On their info would have been good.
 
larrybailey said:
I came off of BCAA and fatigued pretty fast during my fasted workouts. I can tell you that while drinking BCAAS during my workout I can train harder, stronger and longer! It's night and day! I have to make myself leave the gym. Maybe a protein shake or carbs does the same thing but I am cutting Right now and not ready to try that.
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i'm with you....I've shared the story before but I went 3 months using a bcaa product intraworkout, didn't think it did much....stopped using the product and found my endurance and energy levels drop within the workout much faster...went back to using aminos

I've also noticed that it doesn't matter if it's bcaa, bcaa+eaa, eaa, and intraworkout cocktail product....it provides a big boost over just water during a workout.....muscle gains or reduced soreness are kind of a side note, if I can hit the 12th set harder with a product than without, that's a product I want to use
 
Kaprice said:
This article makes a pretty strong (and somewhat disappointing) case against 12 popular supplements. What do you think?

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their top 10 best is just as bad as the bad list....tells me everything..

these blanket lists are always super generic and human beings are not generic creatures.

Is CLA a sham for fat loss, probably but is a sham for health, well that depends.
 
Young Gotti said:
i'm with you....I've shared the story before but I went 3 months using a bcaa product intraworkout, didn't think it did much....stopped using the product and found my endurance and energy levels drop within the workout much faster...went back to using aminos

I've also noticed that it doesn't matter if it's bcaa, bcaa+eaa, eaa, and intraworkout cocktail product....it provides a big boost over just water during a workout.....muscle gains or reduced soreness are kind of a side note, if I can hit the 12th set harder with a product than without, that's a product I want to use
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Whats ur natural protein intake?
 
I disagree with tribulus. It might not increase testosterone but it definitely increases libido and performance/stamina. At least for me.
 
Pec.Major said:
I disagree with tribulus. It might not increase testosterone but it definitely increases libido and performance/stamina. At least for me.
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that's where articles and some studies lack.....they are only looking at products for one use and not the fact that there are other factors of why a product or diet may be useful to someone
 
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