Sports Supplements and Teens? 3 Reasons Why Sports Dietitians Recommend Against It

From creatine to pre-workout to anything in between…

More and more adolescents (both athletes and non-athletes alike) are moving towards the use of sports supplements or are considering using one.

I have had more and more parents bring their teens to see me and provide advice around supplement use.

It is a topic worth looking into as there is a good chance you are a teenager taking or wanting to take one or are a parent concerned and wanting more information.

The truth is that everything is contextual to nutrition and the same applies to the use of supplements with adolescents, so it is not black and white either. 

However, the general consensus is that the first action should be to try and sway them away from thinking they should take supplements. 

Whether you are a teenager wanting to use supplements or you are a concerned parent wanting to learn more about this and seek insight, it is important to understand where we as health professionals stand in general. 

In this blog post, I share 3 reasons or considerations on why we as Dietitian’s tend to try and sway teenage athletes and gym goers from the use of or strict reliance on sports supplements. 

DISCLAIMER: The information in this post is for guidance only and is not individualized advice for you! Your unique situation needs to be taken into consideration and adjusting your dietary intake.

1. Focus on Building Habits and Behaviours

Adolescent athletes need to be focusing on their priorities!

One of those is leveraging the potential for habit and behaviour growth which will act as guardrails moving forward and enable you to establish key levers in your life to ensure you fuel yourself the right way, for the long haul.

Supplements do not promote correct habits and behaviours at a young age and are often used hastily and with the purpose of getting “quick and easy wins”. 

Building the right habits and behaviours takes time and the right mindset. Unfortunately for many, the use of supplements can get in the way of this. 

Put your energy elsewhere basically!

2. Overemphasises the ability to manipulate performance

Quite frankly, sports supplements are viewed incorrectly by most teenagers and as a result, this means that the use of supplements tends to lead to an overemphasis on one’s true ability to manipulate performance and results at this young age.

You can not manipulate your progress as much as you think and the use of some supplements tends to create the wrong mentality in regards to this.

Teenage athletes and non-athletes alike, will think that this powder or that drink will take them from point A to point Z. There will be a belief that it is the missing ingredient.

They will think that the supplement is what stands between them and the body they desire….

This simply isn’t the case, especially for young and growing athletes where we don’t even truly know how effective supplements are in this group AND where whole food and exercise are where the biggest impact lies. 

You do NOT have that much control over your performance and physique at your age, stop thinking supplements will change things to the degree you hope.

3. Potential for Greater Performance Enhancement and Muscle Growth Through Maturation and Experience

You will absolutely, positively, undeniably….will gain greater performance growth and muscle growth through simply trusting in the process and being patient as you go through your growth and development into adulthood. 

The amount of improvements you will actually see from supplements (assuming they even work), will be marginal in comparison and will come with it the risk in taking substances you are not familiar with.

Supplements, even when warranted in adult situations, account for maybe a total of a few percentage points of improvement.

Yet going from being a teen to being an older teen to being an adult….you will see true optimisation in results and potential.

Couple that with experience by just doing the fundamentals consistently over time and practising…

Well that is where it is at and the focus should be.

Recap

There you go!

Now you know why, fundamentally, we as Dietitian’s will tend to try and sway teenagers away from the use of supplements, especially sports supplements when it comes to their nutrition.

It is not even always a case of that you truly can not take some and maybe see some change. And it is a bit of semantics, I know. It is simply that getting fixated on supplements at a young age can create problems with time if not done correctly. 

The reality, however, you will decide to take (or your child will do so) a sports supplement because you heard about it or your friend is doing it, whatever it may be.

So if you are thinking about it, I would encourage you to seek the advice of a Sports Dietitian and work with one to enable yourself to use any supplement in the safest and most effective way possible. 

I work with Basketballers, netballers, soccer players, Rugby players, tennis....name the sport and I am likely to be able to assist you. 

But before I leave you….

I have a couple of questions for you. 

Do you feel you need expert guidance when it comes to your fuelling, recovery, and nourishment?
Not seeing the body you feel happier, healthier, and more confident in?
Performance lagging like an early 2000’s dial up internet setup?

I may be able to be of assistance. 

If you are ready to take your nutrition and body to the next level and elevate your performance (which ever that may look like for you) in a way that doesn’t make you want to punch your Sports Dietitian, then let’s chat.

I have developed a bespoke nutrition coaching solution that allows you to work with me personally 1:1 to help start bridging the gap between where you are now and where you want to be with your physique & performance. 

In this program, I'll personally coach you using my flexible nutrition system to help you harness the power of calories and macro strategy to regain your competitive edge - think of it as a bespoke nutrition solution that empowers you to eat better to achieve better. 

Let’s take out the guesswork from performance nutrition strategy and set you up for true success going forward - all with me by your side. 

If you want to have someone in your corner guiding you with all this, ensuring you only focus on the ‘right stuff’, and get better results while doing it all… send me an email and let’s chat.

I do high level nutrition coaching for active professionals and athletes and I have spots open for new clients wanting to leverage the power of nutrition with a Sports Dietitian. 

Interested in learning more? 

Simply email me at: [email protected] to have a chat about this and see if we are a good fit to work together and get you your best results yet. 

Or to apply now to see if you are a good fit, simply CLICK HERE and start the process for reaching your peak potential. 

Sports Dietitian and Coach Aleksa

Brisbane Sports Dietitian and NUtritionist