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Sports supplements - invaluable or inconsequential? 🍎
Appealing to emotions is something dietary supplements for athletes do very well. Helping you gain muscle, descrease fatigue, affect body mass - stop us if you've heard it before.
But do they actually make a significant impact on the user? Barca Innovation Hub outlines the results of studies testing the real effect of supplements.

☀️ MICRONUTRIENTS
UEFA nutrition experts recommend mcronutrient supplements only be taken in the presence of a corresponding deficiency and just long enough to treat the issue, as "innapropriate dosage could pose a risk to the athlete's health."

🥤 FOOD REPLACEMENTS
During a day packed full with intense training, athletes may have difficulty taking in a meal in a traditional form. It those cases, sports drinks, electrolyte replacement drink, energy bars and shakes are a good short-term alternative.

🏋️ PERFORMANCE ENHANCERS
Studies of football players analyzed by the Innovation Hub were in agreement on this - there is very little effect to using performance supplements. Using caffeine or ceratine can have a positive effect, but comes with side effects like anxiety, insomnia and trachycardia for the former and, in extreme cases, kidney problem for the latter.

Bottom line is - nutrition is very important, but supplementing it with special enhancements designed for athletes? Maybe not so much. Situations like that are always a case-by-case scenario, but it's always useful to talk to a doctor about the supplements you're interested in and check if you're not doing yourself more harm than good.