What Are Dietary Supplements?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, defines dietary supplements as such:
Dietary supplements are intended to add to or supplement the diet and are different from conventional food. Supplements are ingested and come in many forms, including tablets, capsules, soft gels, gel caps, powders, bars, gummies, and liquids.
Common supplements include:
- Vitamins (such as multivitamins or individual vitamins like vitamin D and biotin).
- Minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, and iron).
- Botanicals or herbs (such as echinacea and ginger).
- Botanical compounds (such as curcumin).
- Amino acids (such as tryptophan and glutamine).
- Live microbials (commonly referred to as “probiotics”).
Dietary supplements do not replace diet, since diet is foundational to overall health. Also, dietary supplements can’t fix a poor diet. Additionally, you should always consult your healthcare professional before starting any new dietary or lifestyle routine, including dietary supplementation. For minors, parents should be consulted, involved and give permission for any dietary supplementation use.
Do Dietary Supplements Offer Benefits?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also weighs on the benefits of dietary supplements. They state:
Dietary supplements can help you improve or maintain your overall health, and supplements can also help you meet your daily requirements of essential nutrients. For example, calcium and vitamin D can help build strong bones, and fiber can help to maintain bowel regularity. While the benefits of some supplements are well established, other supplements need more study. Also, keep in mind that supplements should not take the place of the variety of foods that are important for a healthy diet.
Why Do Athletes Use Dietary Supplements?
Athletes want to perform to their fullest capacities and seek continual improvement, so for many, they use dietary supplements to gain that competitive edge. For instance, they may want to improve their performance in the areas of speed, focus or endurance. Or maybe they want to improve their energy, recovery, muscle tone and strength. It’s possible, too, that athletes like the convenience of supplements. They’re eating as healthy a diet as possible but still may lack enough of certain nutrients or the time it takes to prepare and eat a meal that contains all the nutrients desired. The reasons can vary from athlete to athlete.
Young athletes, in particular, have a high energy demand, since they’re still growing and developing as they regularly engage in elevated levels of activity. They may have to work extra hard to meet their nutritional needs as an athlete, so they will often use dietary supplements to fill those nutritional gaps. In short, dietary supplements can provide vital nutrients necessary to keep young, active bodies healthy and functioning properly—and to help them perform well and feel good while doing so. For the young athlete and their busy family members and lifestyle, dietary supplements can be a beneficial lifestyle choice to integrate into their routine. Of course, taking dietary supplements is a personal choice between the athlete, their family and their healthcare professional.
What Supplements Do Young Athletes Often Use and Why?
Dietary supplement use among young athletes is widespread, and while studies on adult athletes and supplement use are well documented, the number of studies for young athletes (children and adolescents) is not as common overall. However, overall, one of the most frequently used supplements for child and adolescent athletes are vitamins and minerals. Studies from the past 18 to 30 years also point to the prevalence of dietary supplement use in young athletes, with multivitamins and minerals, vitamin C, iron, calcium, sports drinks, energy drinks, herbals, protein (including protein bars), energizers and others making the list of dietary supplements used. In more recent years, clinically studied ingredients (including human clinical studies) have informed dietary supplements for targeted benefits. Some of those are clinically studied fermented eggshell membrane, ashwagandha and muscle-building and strength-building ingredients as part of dietary supplement formulations.
Maintaining health is one of the primary reasons for dietary supplement use, but enhancing athletic performance is also a high motivating factor. Other reasons include promoting recovery, supplementing the gaps in a healthy diet (since not all athletes have the ability to consume a diet that meets their nutritional needs), building muscle mass and strength, and boosting performance and energy. Oftentimes, when a young athlete is involved in more than one sport, the use of dietary supplements is greater than when a young athlete participates in only one sport. Overall, young athletes have a desire to excel and reach higher levels in sports or continue playing sports competitively in the future, so they will use dietary supplements as a means to boost their ability to play at elite levels and/or catch the eye of professional scouts. They want the edge that dietary supplements can deliver.
When Should Athletes Take Dietary Supplements?
When to take dietary supplements can depend on the person, the intention, the supplement and more. However, in general, all levels of athletes use dietary supplements more frequently during training, while some use them during training and competition. Let’s take protein supplementation, for example. While circumstances can vary, supplementing with protein can boost a workout when it’s taken within 30 minutes after completing exercise or training. Some even suggest a way to remember that is “30 for 30,” meaning that you can take 30g of protein within those 30 minutes post-workout.
A multivitamin/multimineral supplement can be taken at about any time you prefer, although it’s important to note that the body absorbs some of the vitamins better with a meal or a snack. Most want to avoid taking it on an empty stomach, though, to avoid any stomach or digestive discomfort. In short, you can take it with your breakfast, lunch or dinner—or even snacks, if you prefer. Water-soluble vitamins (those that the body doesn’t store and need replenished every day) include vitamins C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12. Vitamin B12 is typically absorbed better with a meal. Fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A, D, E and K should be consumed with healthy fats, such as those from an avocado.
What Time of Day is Best to Take My THREAD Supplements?
The time of day to take your THREAD supplements can be important, but the main thing to remember is to take them regularly—every day. Consistent use is how you will experience and see the benefits from these “Daily” THREAD supplements.
Here are suggestions for use on both workout days and recovery days.
For Daily Fuel, you can take it daily at any time of day prior to going to sleep—whether that’s when you wake up, as a snack in between meals or even as part of a meal replacement. It’s a great supplement to take any time to optimally fuel your performance, since it provides grass-fed whey protein, essential vitamins and minerals, probiotics, enzymes and clinically studied fermented eggshell membrane and more.
On workout days, take Daily Fuel immediately following your workout. On recovery days, take Daily Fuel at night in the evening before you go to bed to empower your sleep and to provide the protein you want to recover. It’s a nourishing, fueling, birthday cake-tasting reward for all your efforts!
For Daily Edge, you should take it every day, too, since it helps drive energy levels. When it comes to energy, you usually want the height of its levels earlier in the day. Ideally and preferably, it should be taken with a meal before the mid-afternoon timeframe, since your body absorbs iron better during that time of day. In fact, your body produces a hormone that can restrict the absorption of iron as the day goes on.
The hormone hepcidin is often referred to as the “master iron regulator,” since it functions as the controller of iron and how your body uses it. It determines iron’s availability for cells to perform their important processes, such as making hemoglobin and red blood cells. That’s significant, too, since hemoglobin is a star component of red blood cells, binding to oxygen and enabling red blood cells to do their work of transporting oxygen to bodily organs and tissues.
On recovery days, you can take Daily Edge early with your breakfast. On workout days, you can take Daily Edge with a daily meal, as long as it is prior to mid-afternoon. Either way, it gives you the energy edge you want.
For Daily Strength, you should take it every day as well. On your workout days, take Daily Strength post-workout, preferably. On your recovery days, you can take it any time with a meal. The key clinically studied ingredient in Daily Strength can make a positive difference in muscle size, muscle endurance and upper- and lower-body strength when combined with your weight-training or muscle-building workouts.
We’re pumped about this product for you! In short, we believe you’ll experience some transformative results in muscle size and strength, including strength benefits after as little as a few weeks, due to the clinically studied ingredient this product features. So, keep taking it daily and enjoy the benefits.