Bodybuilding Supplements Facts

Many bodybuilders take dietary supplements -- usually sold as powder or pills -- in an effort to enhance their weightlifting performance, results or recovery. Some supplements that may benefit bodybuilders include creatine, protein and amino acids. However, there is greater risk involved with taking bodybuilding supplements compared to getting nutrition from food alone, especially as the FDA does not regulate dietary supplements.

Creatine

Creatine is probably the most popular nutritional supplement for bodybuilding. Americans use more than 4 million kilograms of creatine every year, according to the National Institutes of Health. Creatine supplementation can delay muscle fatigue and help muscles produce more adenosine triphosphate, which is used for short, intense bursts of activity like lifting weights. However, creatine may benefit vegetarians more so than it does meat-eaters, as diets that include meat generally contain adequate amounts of creatine. Creatine is likely safe when used at recommended doses, according to Medline Plus, although it can cause gastrointestinal upset and often causes water retention.

Protein

Protein supplements, such as whey, casein, soy and colostrum, are also popular in the world of bodybuilding. It is important for bodybuilders to get enough protein as protein is necessary for muscle growth repair. However, the National Institutes of Health's stance on protein and bodybuilding is that the American diet is already high in protein and that bodybuilders do not require substantially more protein than do nonathletes. Conversely, other health authorities, including American College of Sports Medicine and the American Dietetic Association, have said that resistance athletes need 1.6 to 1.7 grams of protein/kilogram of body weight -- or about 150 to 200 percent of current U.S. recommended dietary allowances.

Amino Acids

Many bodybuilding supplements also contain amino acid cocktails or individual amino acids such as glutamine and arginine. Amino acids are theorized to enhance bodybuilding activities in a number of ways, including raising the secretion of anabolic hormones, regulating fuel use during exercise and preventing mental fatigue; however, there is not sufficient evidence to support most of these claims. According to a 2005 article published in Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, consuming a cocktail of essential amino acids one to three hours before or after exercise may aid muscle protein synthesis, although the same effect can be obtained by eating a small amount of protein and carbohydrate from whole foods.

Bodybuilding Foods

The ingredients of many popular bodybuilding supplements are already present in many common foods. Meats, for instance, are a good dietary source of creatine and most foods contain varying amounts of protein, amino acids and carbohydrates. For example, milk is considered an excellent bodybuilding food, as it offers carbohydrates, whey protein and casein protein, as well as electrolytes and other key nutrients. Rather than risk experiencing side effects associated with taking high doses of certain nutrients, including protein, it is more prudent for most bodybuilders to obtain their nutrition from diet alone, Medline Plus says.

Considerations

Dietary supplements, including bodybuilding supplements, are not categorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as foods, or drugs, and are therefore not regulated as such. This means the FDA does not test bodybuilding supplements for safety or effectiveness. When you take a dietary supplement, you are trusting that the manufacturer's claims about the product are true, and that the product even contains the given nutrient in the amounts listed on the label.