Part 5:
Promotion & Quackery
Introduction
Athletes Are Targeted
It is often said that Americans have the most expensive urine in
the world.
Vitamin and mineral supplement sales are big business. Many
athletes take scores of pills daily. Companies try to distinguish themselves from others by claiming that their formulations are superior. As noted throughout this
book, there is very little evidence
that
any
supplements are worth it.
Food is likely to contain ye
t unknown important substances.
Vitamin and mineral pills may not
meet our yet unknown needs.
Mainstream scientists do not r
ecognize any significant difference
between natural and synthetic v
itamins or between different
formulations. The cost of such suppl
ements can be very large and is
not worth it.
Most of us get all the vitamins
and minerals we need with a good
diet. If you want to be safe, you can take (1) a daily multivitamin/multimineral such as Centrum or a major-chain grocery store brand and (2) a calcium supplement if you do not consume at least 16 ounces or more of milk or yogurt and other calcium-rich foods daily. Centrum costs a few dollars per month at the local grocery store or pharmacy. Spend more money than that on vitamins, and you are probably wasting your money. Even worse, you may experience side effects and decreased performance.
“Fad Compounds” & Ergogenics
Some substances called vitamins are not recognized as such by
the scientific community. The prom
otion of these substances more
often benefits the seller’s pocketbook than the performance of the athlete who purchases them. “Vitamin B
15 ”—pangamic acid—is an
Nutrition for Sports, Essentials of 132
