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Are The Supplements You’re Taking A Waste Of Money?

Posted by Katherine Crawford, M.S. in Weight loss on 02 4th, 2010 | no responses

Who wouldn’t want to take a pill and watch fat magically come off or the muscle magically appear? The supplement industry knows we all want a quick fix and because of this there are way too many ineffective supplements on the market.

But how can you tell what works and what doesn’t work? How do you avoid spending hard earned money on concoctions that don’t work?

To save you some headache, here are some supplements that are a potential waste of money:

1. Nitric oxide boosters: The main supplement here, Arginine, is an amino acid that the body uses to produce nitric oxide. Supplement companies claim that taking Arginine increases muscle growth and growth hormone levels. And none of the above claims are true.

2. Carnitine: In the mitochondria of your cells, carnitine transports fat cells to be oxidized. Taking supplemental carnitine, however, will not significantly increase the amount of fat your body burns. You are far better off spending your money on wholesome foods.

3. Cell hydrators: Cells grow whenever they are hydrated. And creatine is a cell hydrator and volumizer. Creatine, however, does not work as good as the supplement companies claim. It does have an effect on your body, but don’t expect massive gains here.

4. Testosterone boosters: ZMA is the main supplement in this category. The problem with this supplement is that you can’t simply take a pill and watch your hormone levels elevate, the body is too smart for that. Once hormones go up, your body will naturally bring them right back down.

5. Casein protein: Compared to other protein powders, casein is a good choice because it digests at a much slower rate. And just like carbohydrates, your body does better with slower digesting sources of protein. This supplement, however, has been overhyped. You are far better off eating a solid source of protein with lots of vegetables.

There is lots of money to be made by selling supplements. So expect many more supplements to be hitting the market again and again. The key is to not buy into the hype and stick to what has worked for centuries: regular food.

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