Do runners benefit from taking supplements?

Supplements are very popular with runners and athletes and an estimated 46% use them – compared to 35-40%  of the general population. Elite athletes have an even higher usage of supplements, 59% report using them. Of the wide range of supplements used by athletes, only a few have been comprehensively evaluated and tested thoroughly by scientific studies. However, there is some evidence to support the use of creatine and caffeine in running training.

Many runners and athletes turn to supplements to enhance their energy or recovery to give them an edge over their competitors, but there is a down side, which is that many performance enhancing supplements come with a whole host of side effects.

Here’s our lowdown on the more commonly used supplements for runners and athletes:

Anabolic steroids
Anabolic steroids are synthetic drugs similar to the male hormone testosterone and are associated with increasing strength and muscle mass. Anabolic steroids are a prescription medication with clearly defined indications; using them without a prescription is illegal. Most sports organisations have rules that ban the use of anabolic steroids for any reason. Some of the serious and irreversible side effects of anabolic steroids include high blood pressure, liver tumours and psychosis otherwise known as ‘steroid rage’. Some of the reversible side effects are decreased libido, acne, aggression, nausea and increased urination.

Creatine
Creatine is a chemical made naturally by the body from amino acids readily obtained by meat and fish. Inside the body creatine is involved in energy expenditure, and the theory is that the more creatine in the body, the more energy there is available for high intensity exercise or lengthy running sessions. Taking creatine increases athletes’ body weight, muscle mass and strength.  Weight gain has been reported as a side effect and therefore this may not be beneficial for distance runners wishing to keep a low body weight. Most of the research that has been undertaken investigating the use of creatine in sport has only been for three month periods; therefore the long-term effects of creatine use are unknown. It is actually legal to use creatine for use in amateur and professional sports and running races.

Caffeine
Many studies have associated caffeine with increased endurance times as it is thought to boost performance by improving muscle strength and reaction times. However, doses of caffeine that allow increased endurance times may also cause unpleasant side effects such as restlessness, nervousness and insomnia. Many athletes take caffeine in pill form; 250-500mg is required to see increased endurance times. The legal urine level for athletes is 12 ug per ml (IOC standards).

Iron
Some marathon runners may be deficient in iron. Women runners are particularly at risk because of the iron that is lost through menstruation, in sweat, gastrointestinal damage and low dietary iron intake. Many women have a low intake of iron from meat sources. This is the best type of iron to be absorbed by the body (it is easier for the body to absorb than the plant source of iron). One of the main symptoms of iron deficiency is feeling tired, if you have this symptom, approach your doctor and ask for a blood test to check out your iron status.

Do you need to supplement your running diet?
The major nutritional concern for both athletes, runners and the average physically active person is the excess energy used during training. If this energy is not matched by food intake then both performance and training capacity are reduced. This is more important than taking supplements.

Key issues to remember:

• Many female runners and athletes do not consume enough zinc, vitamin B 12 or calcium. Therefore it is really important that red meat and dairy products should form part of the staple diet of the male and female athlete.

• Carbohydrate intake is paramount for those athletes training more than once a day. The timing of carbohydrate intake is necessary for full recovery after long, hard training sessions. To top up your stores of glycogen, ensure your carbohydrate intake is soon after the finish of one session of training.

• Fluid intake is also a huge consideration for athletes and runners. If you are running for long distances, more than 15km in warm temperature conditions or for longer than an hour; take a pint or approximately 500ml spread over the distance.