With the recent boom in the healthcare industry, dietary supplements have become increasingly common. Whey protein supplements, casein protein, vitamin A, C, D, pre-workout supplements, post-workout supplements, late night protein supplements, creatine, branched chain amino acids and the list is endless . There are numerous products on the market, with very attractive offers that sell food supplements to consumers and which could lead them to believe false facts and rumors. The average consumer is bombarded with countless articles, options, advice from gym instructors and sports stars supporting a "dream supplement pill", making it impossible for a consumer not to accept these unfounded arguments. There is a lot of falsehood regarding nutritional supplements to increase athletic performance. There are some bizarre claims that whey protein supplements must be taken within thirty minutes of finishing a gym workout to achieve optimal benefits. There are other products on the market that claim to help burn fat in the body while maintaining muscle mass. Reading about these gimmicks by the dietary supplement industry has made me very curious to investigate the truth behind supplements and their effectiveness. What's even more important to know is whether they are as good as they say they are? Does an average healthy person who follows a balanced diet really need food supplements? The only way to answer these questions is to look at research papers that have conducted double-blind, randomized trials. This would eliminate any kind of bias, placebo effect and allow us to discover the real truth behind dietary supplements. The following is an analysis of the effectiveness of dietary supplements. I will start by discussing the studies that favor dietary supplements, and this is the general consensus in the market and industry that dietary supplements are necessary and good. Next I will move on to discuss studies that completely dismiss the effectiveness of dietary supplements. Next, I plan to talk about how most of these dietary supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and could contain dangerous and potentially lethal substances. I don't think anyone really talks about these studies. Talking about the negative studies will help me compare the positives and negatives of this controversial topic and help my ultimate goal of proving that nutritional supplements are not the “Holy Grail” for improving your body and performance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Most of the studies I would investigate are double-blind, randomized controlled trials. A randomized control trial is often considered a gold standard in clinical trials. A blinded study is one in which information about the experiment is hidden from the study subjects. This reduces bias and excludes placebo effects on participants. A double-blind study is one in which both the tester and the subject are blinded. It is a well-known fact that a double-blind randomized study provides credible results and will help answer most of the falsehoods about the dietary supplement industry. In most of the studies I will review, I have found that the study subjects are quite diverse in terms of age, nationality, ethnicity, and BMI (body mass index). BMI is defined as an individual's weight in kg divided by the square ofhis height in meters. Most subjects were aged between 18 and 55, with varying BMIs. Due to the wide range of participants in these studies, it is safe to assume that we have ruled out any bias related to age, gender, ethnicity, and other related issues. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that a high level of protein-fortified whey and vitamin D supplement helped preserve muscle mass in obese older adults during a resistance training program. (Verreijen 286). The subjects of this study were obese Dutch men and women over the age of 55 years. Obesity is defined as a BMI greater than 0.30 and a waist circumference of 0.88 cm in women or 0.102 cm in men. The subjects were included in a double-blind randomized controlled trial lasting 13 weeks and divided into 2 groups. One of the groups consumed a dietary supplement high in whey protein and vitamin D, while the other group was given a substance that was intended to serve as a model of the dietary supplements that group one was taking. All subjects were asked to strictly follow the dietary guidelines established by the experiment and a list of possible foods to consume was distributed to all. Each of them was required to respect the rules and maintain a very strict diet. Additionally, all subjects were asked to train under the supervision of a qualified health trainer for a period of 13 weeks. Starting with 10 minutes of warm-up exercises and progressing to 20 repetitions of 10 exercises each, which included various body parts, each training session lasted an hour and was performed three times a week. All parameters have been carefully measured and double verified by experts. At the end of the study, it was found that the appendicular muscle mass was preserved in the first group, while the other group had lost some muscle mass. Given that both groups followed the same isocaloric diet and 13-week resistance training program, it is reasonable to conclude that the only variable was dietary supplements. The first group saw a significant increase in skeletal muscle mass in obese older adults. These findings support the currently accepted consensus that increasing protein intake will help increase muscle mass during a resistance training program. Let's now look at some studies that dismiss whether whey protein supplements are effective. This study “Effects of whey protein and carbohydrates on the effectiveness of resistance training in older adults: double-blind randomized controlled trial.” was published by Arnarson A in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Like the previous study, this study was conducted on older men and women. A total of 161 people participated in this double-blind, randomized controlled trial. As in the previous study, all variables were normalized and rigorously monitored. For example, the two control groups were asked to follow a strict diet and undergo a rigorous 12-week resistance training program. Towards the end of the program it was found that both groups had added significant muscle mass to their bodies. Body fat percentage decreased and lean muscle mass increased, with no additional benefits seen in the control group who were taking whey protein supplements. This study makes a truly surprising discovery: whey protein supplements can beoverrated. (Arnarson 5) Consider looking at the nutritional profile of whey protein versus that of whole foods like chicken. Chicken is known to contain many B vitamins such as vitamin B1, B2, B3 and B5; Selenium, which is a natural antioxidant; Phosphorus, essential for strong, dense bone growth; Iron, important for red blood cells; and zinc which is vital to the human immune system. Although whey protein has a higher protein content than chicken, it is clear that chicken has a well-balanced nutritional profile that can be very beneficial for anyone who wants to get enough different essential nutrients. Whey protein powder is also highly processed to extract. them from dairy products. During this process, many impurities, fats, cholesterol and other unwanted substances can concentrate in proteins. Now, whether synthetic substances are good for your health or not is a completely different debate, but it is very reasonable to say that all the contents and nutrients in chicken are naturally occurring and have not been processed or improved. The effectiveness and safety of many supplements are unknown. The truth is that not enough research studies have been conducted on each of these supplements available on the market. What's worse is that these supplements are advertised as "natural" and this pleases the consumer. This leads the consumer to be enchanted by the word "natural" and to believe that it is good for health. As a matter of fact, most of these supplements have not been regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. This is because supplements have been treated like food and the FDA has limited oversight to regulate new foods entering the market. There are so many products entering the market and it is a gigantic task for the FDA to keep track of each of these new products on the market. In a study sponsored by the company GlaxosmithKline, which had been granted clearance by the FDA for a weight loss supplement, approximately 3,500 Americans were surveyed. They were asked whether they used dietary supplements to aid weight loss and whether they thought such supplements were effective. The results were surprising. The majority of Americans who participated in the survey thought weight loss supplements were safe to consume and approved by the FDA. Some even thought that these supplements were better and more effective than over-the-counter medications and medications prescribed by doctors. (Pillitteri 794) Companies target different people and tell them lies, thus tricking them into buying products they may not need. Consider, for example, vitamin supplements. Companies market vitamin supplements for children by claiming that they will help brain development and therefore make your child smarter. The reality is that there is no clear research and studies that prove the fact that vitamins will make your child smarter. In fact, it's not even clear whether vitamin supplements really help a perfectly healthy child. (Moyer 462) It is widely known that vitamin deficiency can cause ailments, but the odds are against vitamin supplements helping a perfectly healthy person. If you get all your vitamins by eating fruits and vegetables, there is no need for vitamin supplements at all. It is also known that dietary supplements cost much less than prescription drugs, and this makes the consumer more attracted to dietary supplements. This means that if the FDA approved every dietary supplement placed on the market, the price of these supplements would increase. The consumer should.