Table 6.
Ergogenic effect and advising of nutritional supplements by sports health professionals.
| Do You Think This Supplement Has an Ergogenic Effect? | Do You Advise This Supplement to Your Athletes? | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (n = 305) | Dietitian (n = 58) | Other (n = 247) | p-Value | Total (n = 305) |
Dietitian (n = 58) | Other (n = 247) | p-Value | |
| Dietary supplements (i.e., vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids) | ||||||||
| Multivitamin | 31 (94) | 33 (19) | 30 (75) | 0.363 | 57 (174) | 91 (53) | 49 (121) | <0.001 |
| Fish oil | 29 (87) | 33 (19) | 28 (68) | 0.207 | 45 (136) | 79 (45) | 37 (91) | <0.001 |
| Magnesium | 27 (81) | 7 (4) | 31 (77) | <0.001 | 37 (113) | 31 (18) | 38 (95) | 0.147 |
| Vitamin D | 22 (66) | 36 (21) | 18 (45) | 0.001 | 33 (99) | 71 (41) | 23 (58) | <0.001 |
| Iron | 19 (59) | 16 (9) | 20 (50) | 0.207 | 30 (90) | 50 (29) | 25 (61) | <0.001 |
| Vitamin C | 16 (48) | 14 (8) | 16 (40) | 0.326 | 25 (76) | 36 (21) | 22 (55) | 0.014 |
| Vitamin B-complex | 16 (48) | 16 (9) | 16 (39) | 0.480 | 24 (72) | 40 (23) | 20 (49) | <0.001 |
| Anti-oxidants | 13 (40) | 12 (7) | 13 (33) | 0.397 | 18 (55) | 24 (14) | 17 (41) | 0.090 |
| Vitamin B12 | 14 (43) | 8 (5) | 15 (38) | 0.092 | 18 (55) | 28 (16) | 16 (39) | 0.018 |
| Zinc | 12 (35) | 7 (4) | 13 (31) | 0.113 | 16 (48) | 17 (10) | 15 (38) | 0.364 |
| Sports foods (i.e., sports drinks, protein shakes, energy bars and isolated carbohydrate or protein supplements) | ||||||||
| Recovery drink | 61 (185) | 86 (49) | 56 (136) | <0.001 | 65 (195) | 91 (52) | 59 (143) | <0.001 |
| CHO-electrolyte beverage | 46 (139) | 84 (48) | 38 (91) | <0.001 | 53 (159) | 95 (54) | 43 (105) | <0.001 |
| Protein drink | 44 (130) | 46 (26) | 43 (104) | 0.341 | 44 (101) | 54 (31) | 41 (101) | 0.038 |
| Energy bar | 41 (124) | 67 (38) | 36 (86) | <0.001 | 48 (144) | 79 (45) | 41 (99) | <0.001 |
| CHO-PRO electrolyte beverage | 36 (108) | 67 (38) | 29 (70) | <0.001 | 37 (112) | 74 (42) | 29 (70) | <0.001 |
| Energy gel | 35 (104) | 72 (41) | 26 (63) | <0.001 | 35 (105) | 74 (42) | 26 (63) | <0.001 |
| Protein bar | 29 (86) | 32 (18) | 28 (68) | 0.289 | 30 (89) | 39 (22) | 28 (67) | 0.049 |
| Ergogenic supplements (i.e., supplements other than above, claiming to aid in performance, recovery or health) | ||||||||
| Creatine | 39 (115) | 67 (38) | 32 (77) | <0.001 | 32 (95) | 63 (36) | 25 (59) | <0.001 |
| Caffeine | 36 (107) | 56 (32) | 32 (75) | <0.001 | 30 (88) | 53 (30) | 24 (58) | <0.001 |
| Amino acids | 31 (91) | 32 (18) | 30 (73) | 0.403 | 30 (99) | 30 (17) | 30 (72) | 0.481 |
| Probiotics | 13 (37) | 40 (23) | 5 (13) | <0.001 | 26 (75) | 77 (44) | 13 (31) | <0.001 |
| Beetroot/dietary nitrate | 29 (85) | 54 (31) | 23 (54) | <0.001 | 25 (74) | 49 (28) | 19 (46) | <0.001 |
| B-alanine | 18 (54) | 44 (25) | 12 (29) | <0.001 | 13 (38) | 32 (18) | 8 (20) | <0.001 |
| Sodium bicarbonate | 15 (44) | 32 (18) | 11 (26) | <0.001 | 10 (30) | 14 (8) | 9 (22) | 0.144 |
| MCT | 11 (32) | 4 (2) | 13 (31) | 0.023 | 13 (39) | 7 (4) | 14 (35) | 0.069 |
Beverages: 84% vs. 38%, energy bars: 67% vs. 36%, CHO-PRO electrolyte beverages: 67% vs. 29%, and energy gels: 72% vs. 26%, p < 0.001). Protein drinks were reported to be ergogenic by 44% (p = 0.341), and a protein bar by 29% (p = 0.289). Except for amino acids (32% vs. 30%, p = 0.403) and medium-cyclic-triglycerides (MCT, 4% vs. 13%, p < 0.001), sports dietitians more often than other professions determine the listed ergogenic supplements as an ergogenic (creatine: 67% vs. 32%, caffeine: 56% vs. 32%, probiotics: 40% vs. 5%, beetroot/dietary nitrate: 54% vs. 32%, B-alanine: 44% vs. 12%, sodium bicarbonate: 32% vs. 11%, p < 0.001). Significant differences are expressed in bold font.