Anyway, I thought to re-start my blogging efforts, I’d throw together a very short summary of all things protein powders.

Protein powders still seem to be shrouded in mystery for many people and I’ve heard all kinds of claims associated with them: protein powders are a bad for your kidneys (most definitely not), protein powders are a processed food (true) and all processed foods are bad (incorrect), protein powders are dangerous for kids (not unless they trip over a tub and break a wrist), and so on and so forth.

“Safer for Kids than a Plastic Bag!”

Let’s look at the question of “processed” because that’s where a lot of people cognitively struggle with protein powders. Yes, all protein powders are a processed food (let’s be honest, our ancestors never hunted tubs of protein in antiquity), however, they still rank fairly high on my “foods to build a diet around” recommendations.

Why is this?

Simple: our food supply has changed dramatically in the past 100-150 years and it’s unrealistic to expect we return to a time where everyone eats solely pasture-raised meat that was butchered by hand, eats copious amount of fresh fish caught in pollution-free waters and consumes fruits and vegetables that have never seen a pesticide, nor have traveled further than 50 miles.

Of course, if you are able to eat this way then by all means continue doing so… it’s just unrealistic to expect the 400+ million people living in North America to all be able to do it.

Given that this is our new reality, I’m quite happy to recommend people incorporate protein powders, omega-3 fish capsules and vegetables and fruits flown to us from far away lands as part of a healthy diets because let’s be honest, for the vast majority of people, incorporating “processed” foods like protein powders into their daily routine represents a quantum leap forward in terms of their diet quality.

And you know me, I’m a diet quality guy. Of course, getting 100% of your dietary protein from powders isn’t wise (as a general rule, whole foods are better), but a scoop or two or protein can be a boon to most people’s diets.

So now that that’s out of the way, let’s start looking at type of protein powders you may see on the shelves. I won’t go into specific brands (as there are thousands) but rather provide my thoughts on the different types of protein powders that exist.

Animal Proteins

Whey
Whey protein (one of the dairy proteins) has the highest lecuine content of any protein powder, making it the most powerful stimulator of protein synthesis of all the proteins.

Concentrates
Whey concentrate is considered less “pure” and contains less protein per scoop (often containing higher amounts of carbohydrates and fat as well). That being said, it undergoes the least amount of processing of any whey protein and retains the largest number of bioactive subfractions, which have a variety of health benefits.

Some individuals do struggle to digest whey concentrates, so before buying a huge tub, test your individual tolerance to a particular brand. Many people find that finding a brand that includes supplemental digestive enzymes (look for things like Aminogen or Proteases on the label) significantly improves digestibility.

Isolates
A pure whey protein, containing over 90% protein per scoop. Whey isolate is digested rapidly, making it a popular choice for protein powders ingested immediately post-workout.

Due to the processing techniques required (cold filtered is best), whey isolates do tend to be more expensive, however, they also produce less gastrointestinal distress than do concentrates.

Hydrolysates
Any hydrolyzed protein is digested and absorbed extremely rapidly. However, they tend to taste quite bitter and are very expensive. As a result, we don’t recommend going this route unless you absolutely can’t digest concentrates or isolates.

Blends
Typically a mix of concentrate/isolate, these proteins often offer the benefits of both types. Considering most of us aren’t elite athletes training 2-3x/day, the absolute speed of nutrient absorption is a minor concern, so we’d be better off choosing a blended whey protein.

These proteins tend to be quite affordable (~$50/5 lbs, which is 75 x 25 g servings) and can be found in a variety of flavours.

Casein

Casein (the other dairy protein) is digested very slowly. This lengthy speed of digestion makes casein a subpar choice for spiking protein synthesis, however, it does make it strongly anti-catabolic (which means it is great at preventing protein breakdown).

Casein-based powders tend to be superior choices for hunger managements and as pre-bedtime options with cottage cheese being a food naturally high in casein.

Several people do have dairy allergies though, particularly to casein, so if you are someone who does not tolerate dairy well, you are best to look into alternate sources.

You’ll often see “micellar” casein listed on a label. This tells you that your protein will form a “micelle” (a tiny ball) when mixed with liquid. Because of this tendency to ‘clump’, 100% pure casein powders are best mixed with a blender and not by hand.

Egg white protein

Egg white protein is one animal-sourced protein that is incredibly easy to digest making it suitable for many diets. Some people find the taste a little bland/salty though.

Pasteurized egg whites in the carton (best price is at Costco, 3 x 500 ml for under $5) are another easy way to incorporate more egg protein into your diet.

Vegetarian proteins

When it comes to vegan proteins, one (minor) concern is that they are not as bio-available as animal proteins. However, given that North Americans generally eat quite a bit of protein, this isn’t the end of the world.

Soy

Soy protein is the most “complete” of all vegetable proteins (meaning it contains all the essential amino acids). However, there are conflicting reports on soy’s ability to provoke negative hormonal impacts in certain individuals. For this reason, I tend to not recommend frequent usage of soy as a primary source of protein.

When it comes to soy products in general, I don’t recommend ingesting large amounts of refined soy products like soy protein, soy milk, soy burgers, soy cheese… etc. However, fermented soy products (tempeh, miso, some tofu and natural soy like edamame) are a valuable addition to any diet.

Pea protein
Pea protein is a fairly innocuous protein that I generally recommend ahead of soy (for the aforementioned reason). It’s inexpensive, tastes ok and isn’t overly allergenic. It’s got a nutty taste to it.

It’s also a really great protein to use in baking as it doesn’t have the same “turn into a leathery boot  upon cooking” feature that whey does.

Hemp
Hemp protein is another great product. However, in contrast to the proteins listed above, it’s not a pure protein source (it contains some fat, fiber and carbs), which renders it a little less versatile for certain recipes.

Hemp also is pretty gritty, so it won’t mix crystal clear in a shake. However, like pea protein, it does work well in oatmeal, muffins and pancake type recipes.

As an added bonus, a serving of hemp protein provides a modest amount of vegetable-based omega-3s (not quite as awesome as the animal sources ones, but still pretty damn good for you). So for anyone who doesn’t eat fish (or is allergic to it), finding a way to get more plant-based omega-3s is always wise.

Rice protein
The best feature of rice protein is that it ranks pretty low on the allergenic scale, however, it lacks a complete spectrum of amino acids and doesn’t taste all that great.

Protein Wrap Up

All protein powders (and protein sources in general) have their pros and cons. The key is to find one that fits with your overall dietary approach (animal vs. vegetables), doesn’t provoke allergies, and fits your budget/taste preferences. For best results, try to rotate between a couple of different types/brands just to err on the safe side when it comes to avoiding the development of any potential allergies.

So there you have it, a very quick rundown of what to look for in your protein supplement.

Till next time, train hard and eat clean!

While it is true that many physique athletes do fit the profile of body dismorphic image disorder, I’d argue that many of their diet and exercise practices are much closer to our “healthy” ideals than are John Q. Public’s.

That being said, “old school” bodybuilding and figure athlete nutrition is often laughable. While I don’t disagree that chicken breast, brown rice and broccoli are healthy foods, exclusively eating these foods for a 4 month period is not my idea of good health. Similarly, freaking out because you ate 6 stalks of asparagus instead of 4 reeks of a total lack of understanding about proper nutrition.

This is why I relish the challenge of working with physique athletes, even those who come to me with a seriously disordered relationship with food.

The way I see it, they can come work with me and learn a whole lot about how to get lean, while staying healthy… or they can go work with a coach who tells them the only way to get stage ready is through a ridiculous amount of cardiovascular training and a healthy dose of syringe-nutrition.

Sure the latter approach can get you lean but when you go into renal or adrenal failure, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.

“What’s that popping noise? Oh wait, that’s your kidney exploding”

Ok, while kidney explosion is a joke, getting someone lean through a stupid amount of overtraining is not. I’m a strong believer that any coach worth their nutritional salt must be able to get someone stage ready, while keeping them as healthy as possible leading up to and coming out of their show.

Sure this requires more vigilance on the coach’s part, but isn’t that what these athletes are paying for? It makes my blood boil to see the number of physique coaches out there who simply regurgitate the same “off the rack” piece of junk program to all their clients. Typically, these program are neither appropriate, nor effective for the vast majority of athletes who use them.

Obviously I place a tremendous value on personalized programming. However, before I agree to design a “show prep” diet for any athlete, I always make sure to grill them on their motivation for doing a show. A common misconception is that preparing for a show is a great way to get lean.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Preparing for a show is a great way to look shredded for ONE DAY. Doing a show is also a tremendous mental and physical challenge; however, 48 hours after the show, you’ll be bloated and puffy as your body refills with water and glycogen. The psychological toll this takes cannot be overstated.

Contest prep dieting is not a good solution if your real goal is to be lean year round, which is what most people are actually after. That’s a whole different program and one I think everyone needs to follow BEFORE doing a show.

One of the points I stress to people is that after a show is done, your body is going to want to return you to the body fat level you started at. If you aren’t prepared to deal with that rebound, you probably need to get “lifestyle lean” before attempting your first show prep.

As a rule of thumb: if you can’t maintain a reasonable level of leanness through your diet and 3-5 hours of physical activity a week, then what you are currently doing is wrong and you still have major changes to make in your approach.

FYI: Two hours of cardio a day or a daily fat burner chasers are not reasonable weight control measures and have no part in a healthy lifestyle.

As a result of these little “pep talks”, I actually wind up dissuading far more individuals from competing than I wind up taking on as clients. Less money for me, but I only want to work with people who stand a realistic chance of doing well.

I’m going to level with you, getting ready for a show sucks. Towards the end of your 12-16 weeks of preparing, you’ll be starving, exhausted and you’ll routinely ask yourself “why am I doing this?”

You’ll also be somewhat of a social reject, you’ll be constantly bombarded with people bothering you about what you are eating and on many days, dragging your butt to the gym will seem like an insurmountable chore. But if walking across the stage wearing your underwear for the chance to win a trophy is truly a goal you have, then you’ll leap at the chance to put yourself through the process.

Over the next couple of posts, I’m going to spotlight a couple of my past (Emily Zelinka) and present clients (Nikki Olivastri). Their stories will help you see what it takes to get started in figure competitions, as well as what it requires to excel on the National and International stage.

Stay tuned for their stories.

Till next time, train hard and eat clean!

Without any further ado, here we go!

1. The only way to lose body fat is through diet.

Before anyone argues that their 3rd cousin twice removed once lost 50 lbs strictly from walking 30 minutes a day… realize that when you are academically inclined, you tend to disregard exceptions and follow the rule.

Sure a couple of lucky individuals can get lean just by exercising, but for the vast majority of individuals, making significant dietary changes is the only way to go.

2. Squats are the best exercise for body recomposition.

Learning to squat properly is the most important training investment you can make. Really bad squatting form leads to injuries, good form leads to spectacular gains.

Squats may be hard, but the world’s best bodies are built on a foundation of squats and lots of ‘em.

3. The bench press is the most overrated exercise there is.

Don’t get me wrong, I love bench press as much as the next guy. However, the bench press just isn’t that great for body composition. If you want to build a great chest, use dumbbells.

4. If you are training 3 of fewer times per week, steady state cardio will not improve your physique.

At low volumes of training, the intensity needs to be high. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

5. Sleep is the most underrated component of body transformation.

Once you get passed the age of 25, trying to build muscle or lose fat with poor sleep habits is as counterproductive as trying to empty the Atlantic ocean with a spoon.

Sleep is free, improve your sleep habits before you blow hundreds of dollars on training or nutrition supplements.

6. The food most responsible for weight loss struggles: bread.

Who doesn’t love bread? This is the problem. Almost without fail, removing bread from someone’s diet makes them feel and look better. Just my observation… but gluten is not a friendly protein for many individuals.

I was tempted to put high fructose corn syrup here, but that deserves its own special column.

7. If your personal trainer never has you squat, deadlift or perform chin-ups, fire them.

Excluding the olympic lifts, these three exercises give you the biggest bang for your buck. Whether you want to lose weight or gain muscle, these 3 lifts (or some variant thereof) need to be the cornerstones of your program.

8. Avoiding dietary cholesterol diet is idiotic if you are serious about training.

Our body makes many of our most anabolic hormones from cholesterol. Remove cholesterol from your diet and say goodbye to your gains.

9. Too much is made about the “speed” of absorption of various proteins in workout shakes.

Funny – millions of awesome physiques were built back in the day before designers workout shakes. I have nothing against supplementation and I am a firm believer in nutrient timing, as I feel it enhances results. However, the real focus needs to be on total nutrient quality and quantity, rather than how quickly your post-workout shake is absorbed.

Most of these studies that show markedly greater gains using fast absorbing proteins suffer from serious methodological flaws (like studying fasted individuals, using novice exercisers, etc). If you are serious about gaining muscle, your diet as a whole must provide the proper building blocks.

10. “Everything is ok in moderation” is terrible advice.

Does moderation mean once a day, once a week or once a month? Nowadays, moderation is just used to justify terrible food choices.

I wouldn’t recommend you drink a cup of cyanide even once.

11. If you insist on doing steady state cardio, opt for the step mill.

For best results, don’t hold onto the railings and decrease the resistance so you actually have to pump your legs at a good clip.

Just you against gravity. Good luck.

12. If you could only take 1 supplement, it should be vitamin D.

I’m going to call vitamin D even more important than omega 3 and protein powders. In the supplement world, this is as close to a magic pill as we’ve got.

Obviously, if you live in year-round sunshine, this advice does not apply.

13. The real magic pill: avoiding added sugars.

People are always looking for what they need to add to their diets to make them healthy. This is totally the wrong mindset. Eliminating added sugars is hands down the biggest thing you can do to improve your health.

14. Fruit and berries are health promoting.

The last statement applied to added sugars. Natural sugars IN THEIR WHOLE, UNPROCESSED FORM can be health promoting. Fruit still contains the fiber to slow absorption, as well as the complete vitamin and enzymatic complement required to properly process the sugar it contains.

Highly processed “natural” sugars like agave nectar or Demerara sugar are still junk.

15. Many vegetable oils are trash (including their by-products).

Speaking of junk, most bulk vegetable oils are more appropriate for your car than your body. A few of the oils of vegetable origin you should use are:

• Olive
• Coconut
• Walnut/hazelnut/almond/macademia
• Avocado
• Flax

16. Natural saturated fats do not cause heart disease.

The paranoia surrounding saturated fats is based on terrible science. Literally, it’s laughable. Saturated fats were an integral part of our diets for millenia, to think they somehow became deadly starting in the 1950s is crazy.

17. Milk is the ultimate double-edged sword food source.

Milk is highly anabolic. Used properly, it contributes to significant muscle gain. Used incorrectly, it just prompts the formation of body fat and a whole host of food allergies.

18. No one ever got fat eating vegetables.

It doesn’t matter how many you are currently eating, you should be eating more. Lots more.

19. Sprinting is the best activity for stripping body fat.

Ever seen a fat sprinter? Nuff said.

20. Green tea may be even better for you than water.

An essentially calorie-free beverage that increases metabolic rate and decreases your risk for various chronic disease? If you aren’t already drinking this stuff, you need to be. And trust me… the loose leaf tea tastes vastly superior to the stuff you get in tea bags. You can thank me later.

21. Red meat isn’t endangering our health, how we treat red meat sure is.

Let me get this straight, we feed cows corn, which they can’t digest. As a result, they get fat and sick and we give them antibiotics and hormones to keep them “healthy”. We then wind up ingesting unnatural amounts of fats and chemicals… and somehow it’s the cow that is the problem?

Does deep frying broccoli and smothering it with CheeseWhiz make broccoli fundamentally unhealthy?

Do yourself a favour, opt for grass fed meat or befriend a farmer who practices sustainable agriculture and livestock practices. Your health and the environment will thank you.

22. Even a bogus workout supplement will produce results for newbies.

The placebo effect coupled with even basic nutrient timing can be a very, very powerful thing.

23. Fish oil helps everyone.

The laundry list of positive health outcomes associated with omega-3 fats gets longer by the day. If you aren’t taking some, stop reading this article, run to the store and pick some up. I’ll wait.

24. We don’t appreciate or understand stress, and it’s killing us.

Nothing ruins physiques or your health faster than poorly regulated stress. There isn’t a trainer or nutritionist alive who can design an effective program for someone with poorly regulated stress levels.

A good rule of thumb is to learn to not sweat the small stuff… and it’s all small stuff.

25. The idea of “eating right for your type” is 100% correct.

However, the notion that it’s simply a product of your blood type or lectin content of food is not.

Correct typing involves looking at family history, hormone levels, activity levels, age, gender, medications…

26. Training the abdominals with repeated flexion (e.g. situps or crunches) makes no sense.

The primary function of the abdominals is stabilization of the torso and spine, as such abdominal training should always start and end with planks.

27. Everybody needs to stretch more.

Flexibility training isn’t glamorous, but it’s necessary. Think of it like going to work.

28. Distance running causes more injuries than all other forms of training combined.

Slight exaggeration, but it’s probably not far off the truth. This isn’t to say distance running is bad, because it’s not. It’s just that too many of us don’t have the body structure or running mechanics to run long distances. At the very least, humans weren’t designed to run on asphalt and pavement.

29. There is no one perfect diet or approach to training.

People who spend their time claiming to have invented the “perfect” approach to anything are morons. Inter-individual variability is too great for universal recommendations. Lots of dietary and exercise approaches work; the key is finding one that satisfies your moral, religious and health parameters and stick with it.

30. Success doesn’t happen by accident, planning is paramount.

The only people who experience success long term are those who are following a plan. Workouts… diet… life, you need to have an objective measure of whether you are progressing towards your goals. Otherwise, it’s too easy to find excuses for failing.

Where there you go: 30 lessons from the past 30 years and I feel like I was just getting started!

I guess I’ll have to hold some of them back until I hit my next milestone birthday. Of course, by that time my feelings on most of this list will probably have changed 180°. Such are the joys of nutrition science.

Till next time: train hard and eat clean!

Q: How do you turn an ineffective, weight-loss program into a fat incinerating activity?

A: Couple exercise with the correct nutritional intervention!

Increasingly, researchers, as well as the lay public, are recognizing that fat-loss programs consisting of exercise alone are remarkably ineffective. Recent studies have shown that even after three months of 4-5 hours of structured, supervised physical activity per week, many adult fail to lose more than a couple of lbs. Imagine – you sign on with a personal trainer and three months later and several thousand dollars poorer, you have only lost 3 lbs of fat for your efforts; talk about depressing!

If losing body fat is your goal, it is paramount to remember that you don’t actually lose body fat or build muscle at the gym. Weight training and cardiovascular training are just stimuli for change. In the absence of the proper nutritional and recovery practices, sustainable fat loss is next to impossible.

In fact, one weight loss truism is:

You can’t out-train a bad diet.

Consider the following example. It takes you approximately 30 minutes of treadmill running to burn 300 kcal. Conversely, in 20 seconds you can consume a 300 kcal donut. So unless you plan on devoting 6-8 hours a day training away enough calories to eat whatever you want, the greatest way to control calories is through your diet.

Unfortunately, complicating the fat loss picture is that not all calories are created equally. A 2000 kcal diet consisting of cakes, cookies, breads and sugary drinks produces vastly different metabolic outcomes than a 2000 kcal diet consisting of lean proteins, vegetables, healthy fats and natural water. In fact, your body will store much less body fat eating 2500 kcal worth of clean foods than it will if you eat 1700 kcal worth of junk. The interaction between certain nutrients and our hormonal system is just that significant.

Given our complex, and often confusing, biological system, trying to lose fat can be frustrating. But what if I told you there is one simple dietary change that could transform whatever exercise you are currently doing into one exponentially more effective in helping you lose body fat? I thought that might get your attention.

For a long time now, many highly regarded strength coaches have been touting the wonders of fish oil for body composition. However, despite numerous coaches claiming impressive results using fish oil with their athletes and clients, research support for fish oil as a fat-loss tool has been lacking (in humans anyway, fish oil is some kind of wonder drug for rats).

Although decades of research has shown fish oil to be beneficial for cardiovascular health, brain function and inflammation control, it wasn’t until relatively recently that studies have demonstrated that fish oil consumption may assist with body fat losses in humans. Thankfully, a short while ago, a study out of Australia by Alison Hill and colleagues demonstrated just how effective fish oil can be.

Hill et al. investigated the effects of high dose fish oil consumption on blood lipids and body composition, in a group of overweight volunteers. The researchers placed their subjects into one of four treatment groups.

1. A group receiving 6 g/day of safflower (a predominantly omega-6 fat)
2. A group receiving 6/day of a tuna oil (a predominant omega-3 fat, including 1500 mg DHA)
3. A group receiving the safflower oil + three 45 minutes exercise sessions per week
4. A group receiving the fish oil + three 45 minute exercise sessions per week

The entire study ran for 12 weeks, which is a pretty standard length of time for an exercise and diet intervention. None of the participants received specific diet counseling other than regular check ups to ensure they were consuming their fish oil. Additionally, the researchers took diet records at regular intervals to verify that all groups consumed a similar diet throughout the entire study period. So in terms of dietary control for free-living individuals, the researchers did a good job minimizing potential confounding variables.

Unfortunately, the researchers selected a pretty terrible exercise intervention from a fat-loss perspective. Subjects were only required to walk for 45 minutes, 3x/week at 75% of their theoretical maximum heart rate. This is pretty much the bare minimum you can do and still call it exercise. Sad they weren’t asked to do more, but I suppose the primary goal of this research project was to assess changes in risk factors for cardiovascular disease and not prepare someone for a figure competition.

At the conclusion of the 12-week intervention, the researchers found that both fish oil groups experienced significant improvements in their blood lipid profiles and arterial compliance. Obviously these outcomes are tremendous and suggests that fish oil helps reduce your risk for a heart attack. But that is old news. What was truly novel was their findings of the effects of fish oil on body composition. Take a look at their results:

Hill et al.  Am J Clin Nutr 2007; 85:1267–74.

From these results we can draw several important conclusions:

Fish Oil

1. Fish oil makes even a lame exercise intervention, dramatically more effective for fat loss
2. Taking fish oil alone does not magically burn fat

Safflower Oil

1. A diet high in omega-6 fats impedes fat loss and catabolizes muscle tissue
2. Exercise helps minimize the harmful effects of high dose omega-6 fat consumption

What is clear from these results is that the combined effects of diet and exercise produce significantly better results than either approach alone. Even though total fat loss was only 4 lbs in the fish oil + exercise group, remember this study didn’t entail any specific calorie reduction and consisted of a terrible exercise program. In light of those considerations, a 4 lbs loss of body fat is actually pretty spectacular. One could reasonably conclude that even better results would be obtained by optimizing both your diet and exercise program.

My theory for why Hill and colleagues were able to show these impressive results where other people have not is due to their use of a very concentrated dose of fish oil. The dose of they used provided almost 2 grams of combined eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) per day, with the DHA concentration contributing over 1500 mg! Conversely, most fish oil studies use a relatively modest dose of 1-2 capsules per day. Given that most commercial fish oil contains 180 mg of EHA and 120 mg of DHA, the dose commonly studied is likely too low to assist with fat loss.

At present, it’s unclear whether EPA or DHA play a greater role in assisting with fat loss. If we consider DHA to be the key ingredient (I’m not stating that for a fact, I’m merely going on what this study showed), then it would take 13 regular strength fish oil capsules to provide the optimal fat loss dose. Which is quite the number of pills!

Clearly not everyone seeking extra fat loss is jumping at the prospect of ingesting 13 giant pills a day. If popping pills isn’t your idea of a good time, many health food stores carry concentrated liquid fish oil supplements that provides almost 1500 mg of DHA in a 1 tsp serving. I’ve currently starting using a liquid fish oil concentrate from Trophic Nutrition. In my opinion, this is definitely the way to go. You get a maximal dose for a minimal cost and inconvenience.

Now before anyone decides to start flooding my comment section with claims that 13 fish oil pills a day is dangerous, consider that a 3-oz piece of salmon provides almost 600 mg of EPA and 1200 mg of DHA. There are countless populations around that world that consume fatty fish on a daily basis with no apparent ill-effects to health. In fact, regular fish eaters tend to be a lot healthier than your typical North American.

So if building a bullet-proof heart and a slender physique seems like a good idea to you, starting making fish or a concentrated fish oil supplement part of your daily routine. The only thing you have to lose are those few extra pounds around your midsection.

During an interview the other day, I was asked whether multivitamin supplementation was necessary or even beneficial. Although it’d be nice to have a definitive answer to both those questions, like most other aspects of nutrition, the answer is usually “it depends”.

A lot of time and words have been spent debating the relative merits of multivitamins. The common argument against multivitamin use is that people can meet all their nutrient needs from food alone. This statement presupposes two things: 1) nutrient needs are defined as the amounts required to prevent acute disease (i.e. rickets, scurvy, or pellagra) and 2) most people are willing to eat a healthy diet.

In reality, gearing nutrient recommendations towards the prevention of acute disease is a little shortsighted. Although our dietary recommendations do keep people from suffering the immediate, ill-effects of insufficient vitamin and mineral intake, there is growing evidence that many of our current recommended intake levels are insufficient for the prevention of chronic diseases such as cancer or heart disease.

Take for example, vitamin D. Our current recommended intake of vitamin D is 400 IU, which we’ve determined to be adequate to prevent rickets. However, general consensus is that vitamin D intake at the level of 1000-2000 IU is optimal for cancer prevention. Given a glass of milk only provide 100 IU of vitamin D (1/10th the required amount) and that most people aren’t salivating at the prospect of consuming the three cans of sardines daily needed to cross the 1000 IU threshold, opting to go the supplement route starts to sound a whole lot more appealing.

A second problem with saying that people can get all the vitamins and minerals they need from food is that they don’t. Astonishing as it may sound, as many as 35% of North Americans are not even consuming the 5 servings of vegetables and a fruit a day considered to be the MINIMUM requirement. Clearly, the “eat healthy” message has yet to sink in for many North Americans. Considering we can’t convince people to do the bare minimum, getting people to consume enough vegetables and fruit to optimize health is likely a pipe-dream.

Even the conservative American Medical Association has changed their anti-multivitamin stance in 2002 to endorse the utility of multivitamin supplementation in the war against chronic disease. But simply recognizing multivitamins as potentially beneficial is not enough, people need guidance in making proper choices.

One of the problems with supplements of any type is the issue of quality. Just as the “beef” in a McDonalds hamburger is a very different animal than grass-fed, organic, free-range beef (pun fully intended), the quality of many supplements lining the shelves tends to be quite variable. Remember, just because you can buy 240 multivitamin pills for $15, doesn’t mean you should. Quality comes at a price, whether we are referring to food or supplements.

Many cheap supplements are cheap for a reason. They may not contain what they claim to on the label, they may be providing an inferior form  of the supplement in question or they may contain such a low dose of the active ingredient that no possible benefit could ever be obtained even if you were to consume the entire bottle in a single sitting (warning, don’t ever consume a whole bottle of anything just to test this theory).

An additional consideration is absorption. People in the nutrition business love the phrase, “you are what you eat”. Not a bad saying, however in the interests of accuracy it should be, “you are what you absorb”. If you aren’t absorbing your food or supplements properly, then you are flushing money and potential health benefits down the drain. Considering vitamins and minerals, minerals in particular, are poorly absorbed at the best of times, the issue of bioavailability is a very real concern.

One of the most useful reviews I have come across on the topic of multivitamins is the Multivitamin Guide, written by Lyle MacWilliams (download available here: Multivitamin Guide: 2009 Edition). In the guide, McWilliams has short-listed 510 multivitamin formulations currently sold in Canada and the US. and gives each product a percentage ranking out of 100. He bases his rankings on a number of factors including:

Out of the 510 products he tested, a mere 8 scored higher than 80%. His top 4 formulations: Essentials by USANA Health Sciences, Ultra Preventative X by Douglas Laboratories, Extend Plus by Vitamin Research Products and Life Force Multiple by Source Naturals are superior products offering considerable benefit. Unfortunately, none of these products can be considered cheap, as the cost per day ranges from $1.50-$2.50. While these products might exceed the budget of most people, keep in mind they back up their costs with high standards of purity and bioavailability.

Among the guide’s most eye-opening findings was that the majority of the popular “one a day” tablets were essentially worthless. Manufacturers such as Centrum, Jamieson, Equate, Kirkland, Life, and One a Day all scored pretty abysmally, with GNC not doing much better. These products scored so poorly, it’s not a stretch to say they add little benefit to anyone’s diet and should largely be avoided.

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Therefore, to answer those questions from earlier, are multivitamins beneficial or necessary? In terms of benefit the answer should be: no, not if you are buying a cheap multivitamin. If, however, you are opting for a high-quality multivitamin, your health stands to benefit in a meaningful way.

As to whether multivitamins are necessary, let me put it this way. If your diet consists predominantly of pesticide-free, in-season vegetables and fruits, sprouted grains and a proper complement of organically-raised, pasture-fed animal proteins, then you’re pretty set from a vitamin and mineral perspective. Alternatively, if you tend to be a creature of habit who eats the same foods every day and whose diet contains a meaningful percentage of processed foods, then adding a high-quality multivitamin is a wise investment.

Remember, your goal should always be to focus on food first and supplements second. No pill in the world will undo a steady diet of deep fried candy bars and Frappamocachocolatto frozen beverages. But with today’s radically altered food supply, increasing environmental toxins and constant stressors, a high-quality multivitamin can help “fill-in the cracks” in anyone’s diet.

Making it a priority to invest in high quality foods and supplements is a smart decision. Even if you aren’t prepared to shell out $2 a day for a multivitamin, there are many products available to suit everyone’s tastes and budgets. To assist you in making an informed decision, I strongly recommend the Multivitamin Guide as the place to start.