March/April 2020 - 32

UNDERSTANDING SUPPLEMENTATION
What strength and conditioning coaches need to know about
the supplement market
When it comes to your athletes, knowing what types of
supplements are going into their body is vital to not only their
health, but potentially their eligibility to play in games and
participate in the team's organized activities.
Now more than ever, information about your athletes and
supplementing their health is of the utmost importance. From
the safety and effectiveness of supplements, to the testing
and regulations, there's a lot of information to take in when
selecting the right supplements for their goals.
SUPPLEMENTS FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES
Health supplements are best described as vitamins,
minerals and herbal products that supplement a studentathlete's
routines, helping the body in various different
ways. The most common supplements come in the form
of powders, pills or liquids and can easily be added to your
everyday routine.
Bryan Morin, the sports brand manager for NOW Foods,
said that when it comes to supplements for your athletes, it's
important to remember that it's a " supplement " and not a
replacement for proper nutrition or fitness routines.
" One of the most important things, and what we always
preach here at NOW Foods, is supplementation in addition to
healthy diets and exercising, " Morin said. " There is no magic
pill that you're going to take that's going to make you stronger,
or faster, or lose weight. It will work with the adherence to
whatever the end-goal is. "
SUPPLEMENT SAFETY
The most beneficial supplements, according to Morin and
NOW Foods, depend entirely on the person using them and
their goals. However, one of the hottest trends in supplements
are Branched-Chain Amino Acids, or BCAAs, that help fuel
intense exercises.
" (BCAAs) are great support for helping to build muscle
proteins, and the body, and are used to help fuel intense
exercises, " Morin said. " A good BCAA supplement can help
preserve existing muscle tissue, and in addition, can help
support the recovery process, in addition to playing an
important role in the immune system. "
Another potentially beneficial supplement that carries a
large popularity in the industry is the well-known Creatine,
which helps preserve lean body mass. Morin describes the
supplement as a " mass building-type product, " and says it is
potentially the industry's most studied supplement to date.
With seemingly thousands of different types of
supplements on the market, however, there is a heightened
potential for false claims and confusion surrounding
products. Morin adds that while the industry continues to
grow and expand, the importance of understanding what's
in a supplement, and how it works with your body, is at an
all-time high.
" There (are) a lot of companies that come up and are trying
to get into it quickly, " Morin said. " So you don't really know
where they are sourcing ingredients from, and whether or not
they have any studies to back up the claims being made on
their label. "
NOW FOODS: QUALITY ASSURANCE & TESTING
At NOW Foods, there are roughly 140 products in the sports
category, including products like amino acids, energy production
categories, endurance categories and more. But what makes
NOW Foods unique is its exhaustive testing and audit process
of all of its products, including the company's regular auditing for
Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance.
NOW Foods' testing and auditing processes are what helps
set it apart from other supplement companies - going the
extra mile to test products twice, once internally and then
once externally.
" We test to make sure that the product is exactly what it
says it is, and to make sure there's nothing added that doesn't
need to be in there, " Morin said. " If we're stating that it's a
90% protein product, we're actually testing to make sure it hits
that level before releasing the product. "
For athletes in particular, the importance of understanding
the ingredients in a supplement is more than just a practice
in health - it's also a precautionary step in preserving their
current or future career. Following NOW Foods' internal
testing, it sends the products to Informed-Sport, a third-party
quality assurance program for sports nutrition products, to
ensure that its products provide athletes with the highest level
of assurance, as well as pass the standards of the World AntiDoping
Agency (WADA)'s list of 200-plus banned substances.
" We cannot release a product for sale until (Informed-Sport)
gives us the OK to do so, " Morin said.
To learn more about NOW Foods, the supplements they
produce or their testing and auditing programs, visit
www.nowfoods.com today.
ADVERTISEMENT | © 2020 NOW Foods
http://www.nowfoods.com
March/April 2020

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