When Should Cyclists Use Supplements Rather Than Food?

As sports nutritionists, we often come across extremes in nutritional approaches….

Athletes that avoid supplements at all costs, due to concerns with contamination, lack of efficiency and often a general aversion to consuming anything that isn’t a whole food. To athletes at the polar opposite, who consume an array of dietary supplements, often without much consideration for their underlying diet (which will have a far greater impact on their health and performance), or the general efficacy or requirement of the supplements they are consuming.

In this blog, we’ll look to address when an athlete should look to prioritise the intake of whole food over a supplement and equally when a supplement may be a better option compared to a whole food.

Within the world of sports nutrition, many nutritionists adopt a ‘The Food First Approach’ defined “as where practically possible, nutrient provision should come from whole foods and drinks rather than from isolated food components or dietary supplements”. As such, putting high-quality whole foods front and centre and ensuring they are the overall priority for the athlete when looking to consume adequate nutrients within their diet 

However there are a number of issues with blindly following this approach…

1. Some nutrients are difficult to obtain in sufficient quantities within the diet, for example, to get adequate creatine to maximise it’s performance enhancing effects would require the consumption of multiple kilograms of red meat on a daily basis which is simply to an intelligent approach or practical.
2. Many athletes don’t eat certain foods (i.e. vegetarians) which may mean the miss out on certain nutrients.
3. Foods often have high amounts of variability of certain nutrients. For example, the caffeine content of coffee can be highly variable, as such a supplement with a measured amount of caffeine is likely a safer approach to maximise performance benefits.
4. Some nutrients may require unpractical amounts of food to ingest enough to achieve benefits.
5. Some foods can be difficult to consume. Take carbohydrates for example, we can easily get carbohydrate from banana’s or mashed potato, but eating a large volume of these foods close to or during exercise maybe impractical compared to getting the same amount of energy from a small sachet of energy gel or a sports drink.
6. Supplements that have been tested for banned substances maybe a safer option for ingesting nutrients when food quality is questionable. I.e. a batch tested whey protein powder compared to contaminated meat. 

These reasons mean that relying just on food can be problematic or leave athletes at risk of poor health or decreased performance, as whilst a food first approach has considerable benefits, supplements can also play an important role in certain circumstances.

Before we get into a supplementation, it’s important to define what a supplement actually is? OG of sports nutrition, Professor Ron Maughan, defined it as….

“A food, food component, nutrient, or non-food compound that is purposefully ingested in addition to the habitually consumed diet with the aim of achieving a specific health and/or performance benefit” (Maughan et al., 2018b).

There are a number of issues with supplementation. From the risk of contamination with banned substances which can put the athletes at risk of failing anti doping tests, putting their entire careers and reputation at risk, to contamination with compound that can be negative to health. Lack of efficacy can also be an issue. Very few supplements are well documented to provide performance/health benefits and often these benefits only occur under very specific circumstances.

As such, there are aspects to consider from both sides of the argument which can make it challenging for athletes to know what to do. As such, the below decision tree or the guidance of a qualified profession (accessible through Fuel The Ride Academy Community) can help give you clarity on this issue.

Within Fuel The Ride Academy we cover in detail the use of supplements and within our community provide support to help ensure you are maximising the benefits of any supplementation. To join the academy and unlock extra performance, check out the links at the top of the page.

Coach Ben 

References

Maughan, R. J., Burke, L. M., Dvorak, J., Larson-Meyer, D. E., Peeling, P., Phillips, S. M., Rawson, E. S., Walsh, N. P., Garthe, I., Geyer, H., Meeusen, R., van Loon, L. J. C., Shirreffs, S. M., Spriet, L. L., Stuart, M., Vernec, A., Currell, K., Ali, V. M., Budgett, R. G., Ljungqvist, A., … Engebretsen, L. (2018). IOC consensus statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete. British journal of sports medicine, 52(7), 439–455. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-099027

Close, G. L., Kasper, A. M., Walsh, N. P., & Maughan, R. J. (2022). "Food First but Not Always Food Only": Recommendations for Using Dietary Supplements in Sport. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 32(5), 371–386. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2021-0335