According to my mentor Dr. John Berardi, there are over 40,000 nutritional supplements for sale in the United States.
Pretty ridiculous considering that natural, whole foods are the best prescription for fat loss.
The word supplement means to add to or enhance. It does not mean ‘replace’.
Supplements can potentially be useful in some regards. However, the importance and success of fat loss supplements are over estimated.
I am asked almost daily, “What supplements should I buy?“
So today, I’m gonna make things very simple for you. I’m just gonna come out and tell you exactly what supplements we have our clients use when it comes to performance, fat loss, and endurance for our golfers.
And guess what? There are only five of them.
One approach, and it’s a perfectly legitimate approach, is to take nothing. The truth is — you don’t need supplements. After all, they’re supposed to supplement other things, like the food you eat and the physical activity you do.
Lots of people have gotten in shape over the years taking nothing at all!
Let me present the opposite side of the coin here. Some supplements have tons of research behind them. Publicly available and valid research that anyone with an internet connection can read. Of course, to read it, you’ve got to be a doctor or extremely bored, but it can be done. That’s where good advice comes from.
Legitimate research. Evidence.
So, the two strategies that make sense are:
1) to avoid supplements altogether
2) to examine legitimate research and use that to decide
In all the research I’ve looked at, there are really just 5 supplements I recommend – supplements that go hand in hand for golf performance and overall health. Safety is our number one concern here as well. I don’t recommend things that are not safe to take on a regular basis.
Top 5 Supplements
1) Fish oil. You hear on the news all the time about Omega-3’s – fish oil is the key source. Tons of research prove that fish oil is great for fat loss. Positive side effect, it’s been shown to improve mood and MOTIVATION. However, not all Fish Oils are the SAME… click here to see what fish oil I recommend. They are running a 50% off special where you can get Fish Oil plus what I suggestion as Supplement #4 below.
2) Vitamin D3. The modern diet often leads to deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals – weather even plays a role. You can make ALL the vitamin D3 you ever need with sufficient exposure to sunlight. With the winter we just experienced here in the US, you know right away why this supplement is essential. Vitamin D3 is important because it boosts immunity, reduces risk of cancer, improve mood and combat depression, and support optimal hormone levels, like testosterone for men. Not all Vitamin D3 supps are created the same though, click here to read about one I found to be the highest quality.
3) Protein powder. Protein powder’s not entirely necessary if you get enough protein from the foods you eat, like lean meats, chicken, fish, and vegetarian sources. I would rather you plan ahead so you always have whole foods around you (even at work). However, I know this isn’t reality for a lot of people, so a powder can be a life saver in a pinch. It’s important you use a protein powder with no artificial colors or sweeteners, and one that is hormone-free.
4) Greens supplements. In fact, Tim Ferris calls this his all-in-one greens “Insurance Policy”. A greens supplement is just a power of dried vegetables that you can mix into a drink. Most taste awful, but the one I recommend is pretty, pretty, pretty good.
5) Hydration drink. As golfers, we are faced with a unique situation. Our sport asks that we spend up to 6 hours playing it. If you are playing in dry conditions or heat, this poses a dehydration problem. As we have exposed before, this affects your brain and ability to judge distance. My suggestion is to use a box of Hydration Pro from Golf Fuel and 4 bottles of water per round. 2 per 9 holes… at a minimum in extreme heat.
That’s it.
Hope this helps get you moving in the right direction!
