Supplements - Benifits or BS?

multivitamin, fish oil, an occasional protein shake.

i see some people get so caught up in powders, drinks, mixes, pills they dont even eat that much actually food. If you have a healthy diet you really can get all the essential amino acids and vitamins you need. 

Focus on fresh veggies and lean proteins.  These will get you the vitamins and protein you need that people often use extra protein shakes for and vitamins. 

good luck!

X2 - This is exactly what I was going to say!

Some are good, some are worthless, and some are placebos and work when you believe in them.

Balanced diet attempt is probably better than spending more cash on pills.

-eric

Any legal performance enhancer is BS. Don't throw your money away.

Supplemental diet products can have a place, but they are not performance enhancers. They are a replacement for whole food. Whey protein is a protein just like chicken, only quick absorbing and without some of the other nutrients that the chicken may have. Whey protein will not turn you into Lance A. or Jay Cutler. Similarly, energy supplements are simple and/or complex carbs. They replace natural products like honey or a banana.

If you are not a big fish eater (like me), a fish oil supplement can provide the natural lipids that are good for your ticker. It does not enhance your performance, only supplements my diet where it is lacking.  

When considering a supplement or protien powder...simply read the nutrition info.  If it has the components you're looking for, and the price is about what you would pay...then give it a try. 

Don't read the marketing portion that says it gets absorbed 38% faster, and leads to 87% faster recovery...blah, blah, blah.  That's BS that is not proven.  At least the nutrition info is regulated by the FDA or some other organization...."I think"...

EXACTLY.

Protein shakes = useful, but not necessary

Multivitamins/fish oil, etc = useful

Creatine (if you're so inclined) = worthwhile when lifting, IMO, but don't believe the hype about "loading" and/or pay extra for the fizzy, flavored kind. They all seem to work the same for me.

all else = very helpful for reducing the weight of your wallet.

Nope. Supplements are a completely un-regulated industry.
If the label says "Supplement Facts" (as opposed to "Nutrition Facts") it is un-regulated.

This is pretty much exactly what my mom's doctor told her about multi-vitamins

I can see the need to take something specific if directed by your doctor such as iron, calcium, vitamin d.  but the rest - eat well and you're covered.

ahhh...good catch.  Well...I still tend to believe they won't lie about having X calories, Y carbs, and Z protien.  That's all I really look at anyway.  I'm not even quite sure what zinc, magnesium, or phosphorus does for you anyway.

I was going to try that new supplement but didn't want my face to melt off and have my kids weeping over my exploded body.

Supplements are completely unnecessary for the typical triathlete, and nearly the entire typical person.

Even the concept of taking vitamins can be called into severe question when dealing with people without obvious nutritional deficiencies, which is most people in the US except pregnant or soon-to-be mothers (folic acid). Nearly all large scale studies have negated any additional benefit of ingesting extra vitamins. There are a LOT of anecdotal small-scale and nonhuman studies suggesting benefit, but for they're usually eventually rebutted by a major large-scale study in a major journal. Even taking calcium pills for osteoporosis has questionable efficacy in pill form it seems - for sure you cannot stave off osteoporosis just by taking more calcium.

Medical schools do NOT teach to recommend vitamins and supplements as a regular part of the diet.

For malnourished folks in the developing world, vitamins & other supplements can have a huge difference. But for folks in the US, it's all marketing hype. The microquantities of minerals / vitamins required for health is easily acquired in a regular varied diet.

Sports drinks companies can also be thought of as marketing machines. It is very profitable to sell maltodextrin which you can buy in bulk online for $1/lbs (which was the way pro triathletes did it before they got paid by current companies to tout their products) at $10-$20/lb by adding a few proteins and salts and then marketing it aggressively as an endurance product. Nearly all of these caloric-fueling drinks are 90+%, if not 95+% maltodextrin, which is pretty much the active ingredient. Quite a number of people on this forum use malto in lieu of Perpetuem and other fuel drinks.

One of his first comments in that chapter is that all the good supplements have been banned.   I tend to agree with him. 

Except, of course, anything by Bill Conti.  That dude is money.

As far as what supplements actually work and what don't, this was posted at the Sports Science blog not too long ago.  (I take vitamin D supplements, nothing else.)