[Madmick]

Okay, I've alluded to Susan Kleiner's "Power Eating" on here multiple times, but in the past I've been too lazy to quote it in depth. Chapter 7 of the book is entitled "Muscle Building Products" and discusses at length a number of the current generation of sports supplements (by no means a complete list). She categorizes the supplements into four lists:
1) Definitely Worth It
2) Possibly Useful
3) Wasting Your Time
4) Potentially Harmful
I won't reproduce the entire chapter with explications of the usefulness of each supplement, but I will post the chart. The book's publication date was 2001.


DEFINITELY WORTH IT
Carbohydrate/Protein Sports Drinks
Creatine
Weight Gain Powders
Glucose-electrolyte solutions
Caffeine

POSSIBLY USEFUL
BCAA's
Carnitine
CoEnzyme Q10
Glucosamine/Chondroitin Sulfate
Glutamine
Glycerol
HMB
MCT Oil
Protein Supplements
Ribose
Taurine
Zinc-Magnesium

WASTING YOUR TIME
CLA
Inosine
Pyruvate
Tryptophan

POTENTIALLY HARMFUL
Amino Acids
Bee Pollen
DHEA
DMG
GBL
Plant Sterols


*EDIT*: Amino Acids and Bee Pollen belong in the "Potentially Harmful" category. Sorry, my mistake.

[Boondocksaint]

I'd add fish and flax seed oils to the definately worth it category

[ragefactor]

Glutamine

Move it up a category, Do it now!!

[Tom_4]

Nitric oxide and Tribulus terrestris are in the 1st category too IMO

[TKMaxx715]

ehh id actually move glutamine down to wasting your time if anything. Most whey has glutamine in it anyways and glutamine isnt really all that much needed in your body taking in protein. Id throw weight gainers and creatine to possibly useful and protein supps along with adding fish oil to definately worth it.]

Where would you guys stick shark cartilage? I know they help joint pain but does fish oil cover that job pretty well? Should i take both?

[Madmick]

Originally Posted by Boondocksaint

I'd add fish and flax seed oils to the definately worth it category

I'm confident fish oil pills and multivitamins would appear there if Susan wasn't a bit of a diet nazi and insisted these could be yielded from whole foods (if you follow her plans, you wouldn't need to supplement these).

[Madmick]

Originally Posted by ragefactor

Glutamine

Move it up a category, Do it now!!

I think there's still some back and forth on this one. I use it. But this isn't my chart, so it's staying where it's at.

[Madmick]

Originally Posted by TKMaxx715

ehh id actually move glutamine down to wasting your time if anything. Most whey has glutamine in it anyways and glutamine isnt really all that much needed in your body taking in protein. Id throw weight gainers and creatine to possibly useful and protein supps along with adding fish oil to definately worth it.]

Where would you guys stick shark cartilage? I know they help joint pain but does fish oil cover that job pretty well? Should i take both?

Weight gainers belong in the top category. They do what they say. You can't argue with macros. Creatine belongs in the #1 category, too.

I'm pretty sure shark cartilage is bogus.

[Rjkd12]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...658&query_hl=2

A very interesting paper/review. If you are a student at a college you can get the paper there, just ask a librarian. The paper itself is useful since it talks about how it tests each supplement and why they think it works/doesn't works. The abstract is only OK in showing the results.

[my big toe]

Amino acids, plant sterols harmful? Everything I've read or heard says just the opposite. Plant sterols or "phytosterals" can be used to lower cholesterol levels. Phytosterals are the plant form of cholesterol, which competes with the body's cholesterol receptors and can help lower blood cholesterol levels.

New USDA Study Shows Plant Sterols Lower Cholesterol
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2000/000418.htm