The 5 Best Sports Supplements

The best sports supplements available today are numerous, each with their respective functions or effects.

However, although it may seem strange, few have been shown to have an ergogenic effect on the body or athletic performance.

In this article, we will argue the effects of the 5 best sports supplements with the most scientific evidence. These are: protein, Creatine, Caffeine, HMB, and Beta-Alanine.

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Best sports supplements: protein

The consumption of protein as one of these sports supplements has always been in the spotlight of those who, for various reasons, want to see their strength and muscle mass increased.

The truth is that the latest research recommends, for a significant improvement in muscle hypertrophy, between 1.4 and 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (1.2-2.0 g/kg) should be consumed (1).

Within the group of macronutrients we know as proteins, we can find different groups: animal origin proteins, plant-based… and although all favor protein synthesis, we must consider two fundamental aspects to discover which of these groups can benefit us the most (1).

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Types of protein

Firstly, within protein supplements, we must consider two aspects:

The biological value, which explains the efficiency with which the consumed protein leads to protein synthesis in the tissues once absorbed (it has a maximum value of 100) and digestibility, which lists its content in essential amino acids (it has a maximum value of 1.0) (2).

These two scales are important for understanding the bioavailability and quality of different protein sources (2).

Regarding protein supplementation, the dairy source is the most used, with its 3 branches: cow’s milk, casein, and whey (2).

Bovine milk has a Biological Value of 91 and a digestibility of 1.00. This indicates that it is easily absorbed in the body.

Casein has a Biological Value of 77 and a digestibility of 1.00, it is the predominant protein in bovine milk and gives milk its white color (2).

Whey has a Biological Value of 104 and a digestibility of 1.00. As we can see, this last one is superior to both the BV of milk and casein.

Additionally, it contains all essential amino acids and its excellent bioavailability leads to rapid protein synthesis in the body (2,3).

Ergogenic effects of protein

After reviewing numerous articles (4,6), it has been shown that the intake of protein sports supplements before and after strength training is vital for achieving increases in muscle mass.

Although improvements have also been found when ingested in the morning and at night (5).

In summary, it has been shown that protein intake before and after strength training causes, in addition to the increase in muscle mass, the following effects:

• Physical performance (4,7).
• Recovery from the training session (8).
• Lean body mass (5,7).
• Muscle hypertrophy (6,7).
• Muscle strength (4,5,7).

Sports supplements: creatine

Creatine supplementation (SCr) began in the 90s after the high level achieved by strength and speed athletes at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992 (9).

Today, creatine is one of the most used sports supplements in the world (10). It is one of the sports supplements that is not considered a doping substance (11).

Creatine is a compound created in the body from certain amino acids present in the diet, where it is mostly stored in the muscle as phosphocreatine (PCr) (12).

It is this increase in total creatine in the muscle through creatine sports supplements (SCr) that generates an ergogenic effect by improving ATP resynthesis during high-intensity exercise and recovery (13).

The goal of this intake is to improve the ability to produce energy during explosive actions and high-intensity movements, as well as to recover faster after performing this intense exercise (14,15).

Ergogenic effects of creatine

Most studies investigating creatine supplementation have shown increases in strength, power, speed, and the total amount of work done at high intensity (11).

Some examples would be weightlifting and bodybuilding athletes (11) or sprinters (16).

Sports supplements: caffeine

Caffeine is also recognized as one of the most scientifically supported sports supplements, as several studies show that it can help enhance athletic performance (17, 18).

Caffeine, which is present in many foods like coffee, chocolate, or tea, is consumed worldwide, reflecting a great acceptance for its consumption in the sports field (18).

Like creatine, caffeine is not classified as a doping substance within sports supplements (19).

Ergogenic effects of caffeine

The effects of caffeine in sports are demonstrated in both aerobic endurance activities and high-intensity, short-duration ones (18,20).

In the former, caffeine causes fat mobilization due to an increase in adrenaline levels, resulting in a delay in the use of the body’s carbohydrates (18,20).

In the latter, caffeine improves the propagation of nerve impulses and acts on the affinity of myofilaments for calcium (18,20,21).

We must highlight that in both activities, caffeine directly influences the central nervous system, reducing the sensation of effort (18,21).

Caffeine: recommended dose and side effects

This will depend on each person and the sport they practice, although the recommended dose, in general sports levels, would be between 3 and 9 mg/kg of body weight (22,23).

Doses of 4 mg/kg have been shown to have effects on aerobic performance, and their intake should be about an hour before sports practice (21).

Excessive and continuous consumption over time could lead to toxicity in the body, gastrointestinal problems, insomnia, irritability, body temperature regulation issues, and tachycardia (18,22,23).

Below, we present a caffeine-based supplement with ideal ingredients to take as a pre-workout and increase physical performance.

Sports supplements: HMB

Next, we analyze HMB

What is HMB

HMB (β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate) is a metabolite of L-leucine. HMB sports supplements have been shown to reduce muscle damage after intense exercise (24).

From here, a hypothesis has been generated where HMB may be responsible for the inhibitory effect on protein degradation during high-intensity physical exercise (25).

Ergogenic effects of HMB

Among the ergogenic effects attributed to HMB in sports or exercises with high muscle impact (strength), we find:

• Reduction of muscle damage during exercise (26).
• Decrease in CPK production (25).
• Modulation of enzymes responsible for muscle catabolism such as cortisol, testosterone, or insulin (27,28).
• Doses of 3 mg/kg of body weight have shown the most benefits (28).
• Increase in muscle mass and strength (29).

Among the ergogenic effects attributed to HMB in sports or exercises related to enduring a load for a prolonged period (endurance), we find:

• Longer time to reach maximum oxygen consumption (30).
• Decrease in PFK activity in endurance tests (31).

Sports supplements: beta-alanine

Now we will analyze beta-alanine.

What is beta-alanine?

Beta-alanine is an amino acid produced in the liver. The main aspect of using beta-alanine sports supplements is that they limit carnosine synthesis in the muscle (32,33).

Scientific studies have shown that in strength sports and high-intensity exercises, higher concentrations of carnosine are reached in the muscle (34,35).

The role of carnosine is as an intracellular “buffer” (36), and it has also been shown to act as a natural antioxidant, eliminating free radicals (37), which reduces oxidative stress.

Ergogenic effects of beta-alanine

Supplementation with beta-alanine helps in explosive and high-intensity sports because it increases carnosine concentrations in the muscle (38,39).

In a very comprehensive review (39), it was indicated that beta-alanine could improve performance in exercises lasting 60 to 240 seconds, but not in those shorter than 60 seconds.

On the other hand, for activities lasting more than 4 minutes, where the energy demand comes from the aerobic pathway, supplementation with beta-alanine is not recommended (40).

Beta-alanine: recommended dose and side effects

To date, research suggests that a dose of 4-6 g/day of beta-alanine divided into 2 doses over 4 weeks could increase muscle carnosine levels by 40-60% (41).

Paresthesia (tingling sensation) is the major side effect of beta-alanine supplementation and is common in subjects taking doses higher than 800 mg in non-sustained release formulas (32).

This paresthesia usually disappears 45-60 minutes after ingestion and is greatly reduced when sustained-release formulas are taken (41).

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