Powders
I spent a lot of money on all this
There’s a possibility that none of this does anything. I’ve read all the product descriptions and all the reviews and I Trust The (Not evaluated by the FDA) Science but I cannot point to any one specific thing that makes me certain that these supplements are providing the marginal gains they’re alleged to.
If that’s the case, why take them? Very simple. I have to.
I cannot live with the thought that I could have just purchased athletic perfection. Maybe it can all be done with normal food. Maybe I could eat Wendy’s every day and get the same results but this makes me FEEL like I’m doing everything right, so let’s go down the line here and see which thing allegedly does what.
At the end of each product description a ruling will be made. There are only two choices: Real or Fake.
Huel
I have no questions about Huel. It’s a meal replacement powder and it works inasmuch as I am less hungry after drinking it. Whether or not all the vitamins in there are truly doing anything for me isn’t really quantifiable without getting regular blood work and this publication lacks the financing to research that further.
Huel and their main competitor Soylent (which I actually think is the superior product in their ready to drink bottles) have a reputation as Gamer Slop for people who have no time to eat for some self imposed reason. That’s not unfair because it’s barely food, but if you lack freezer space or just don’t feel like making sure you always have smoothie ingredients on hand it’s a very convenient breakfast. “How hard is it to crack three eggs and cook them for 90 seconds?” Shut up, bitch.
Price: 34 servings for $75
Verdict: REAL
BPN Strong Greens
Nick Bare is very fascist-coded. He’s ex-military, drives a Raptor, has his last name tattooed across his obliques, and most problematic of all he is a small business owner. Despite all this, I kind of like him. His videos are well produced and they have the best music of anyone making this type of content (The absolute worst music can be found in the otherwise excellent videos from BPN athlete Eric Floberg).
Strong Greens are a budget option for those who don’t want to commit $79 a month to AG1 (née Athletic Greens) which you’ve almost certainly heard about 1000 times if you’ve listed to a podcast at any point over the last five years.
It’s gritty and the Lemon flavor doesn’t taste great. Maybe the Pineapple Coconut flavor is better but I’m going to explore other options. I suppose this type of thing replaces taking a multivitamin but a multivitamin doesn’t require me to wash another shaker.
Price: 30 servings for $45
Verdict: FAKE
BPN Creatine Monohydrate
I like taking creatine because it makes me feel like a proper meathead. This might be working but I’ve only been taking it for about three weeks and I don’t think that’s enough time to build a noticeable amount of muscle without steroids or at least a lot of professional help.
The creatine is flavorless and it’s a really small serving size so taste and texture barely factor here. It doesn’t dissolve so well but the grains are very fine so it doesn’t clump either, kind of like when you try to stir sugar into a cold drink. Good enough!
Price: 60 servings for $35
Verdict: REAL
REDCON1 MRE Lite
I learned about this brand while reading an interview with the hardcore band The Armed. REDCON1 have very stupid branding in an industry that has much of the worst branding of any products commercially available. They have products with names like TOTAL WAR, SILENCER, WAR ZONE, and CLUSTER BOMB. They have Mossy Oak editions of certain items that are the exact same apart from having a Mossy Oak camouflage label. Deion Sanders has purchased a part of the company so I suspect 90% of the University of Colorado football program’s budget is being spent on their supplements.
MRE Lite is just their protein powder. Not a whey protein, mind. Their blend is beef protein isolate, pea protein, brown rice protein, chicken protein, egg albumin, and salmon protein. Does vanilla flavored powdered salmon taste great? Not really.
Price: 30 servings for $45
Verdict: REAL
PILLAR Performance Triple Magnesium
This would be easier to evaluate if I had more self discipline. If you eat a bunch of garbage or drink a lot of Wild Turkey 101, a sleep/recovery supplement alone is not going to save you. Pillar says their athletes can see a 5-10% improvement in sleep quality but those people are not living like me.
I’m not destroying myself every day but the big nights and big efforts do tend to overlap on the weekend. It has become clear to me that even a moderate, reasonable amount of alcohol for a single night will wreck my sleep. If my diet and sleep hygiene were a consistent 8 or 9 out of 10, maybe I get the marginal gains here. We’ll give it credit for a placebo effect as I always feel like I’m doing the right thing when I drink it before bed.
Price: 40 servings for $50
Verdict: FAKE
Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
I started taking collagen while recovering from shin splints and wouldn’t you know it, I still have shin splints. Strength training and flexibility would make a much bigger difference than any powder, but this has the added benefit of skin/nail/hair health. At 36 years old I must cling to everything I have left.
While my bones and joints don’t really feel any better than they did six months ago, I suppose this might slow their deterioration and my hair is in great shape. It also adds a good amount of protein to whatever you mix it with and I can’t question the effectiveness of that.
Price: 28 servings for $37
Verdict: REAL
Tailwind Nutrition Recovery Mix
Now we’re talking. I would just drink this, it’s great. The 39g of sugar are a big reason why but that’s actually good for you. If you’re doing it right, your harder efforts will have depleted your glycogen stores. You need carbs to rebuild those and while a can of Coke would do the job, this also delivers 11g of protein and 440mg of sodium to replace what you lost.
The downside is that this is the most expensive powder I own per serving. A lot of workouts won’t call for it. Going out and running an easy five miles is not going to drain you like grueling 1K repeats or hours spent climbing up bridges on your 45 pound bike. Save it for special occasions.
Price: 15 servings for $40
Verdict: REAL
LMNT
We’re pro-sugar and pro-salt here. When you see 1000mg of sodium on the back of a box of Trader Joe’s macaroni and cheese it’s a concern but when LMNT puts it in little packets it’s very good, plus you don’t have to microwave any plastic to get the crucial salt. I am a salty sweater if my disgusting hats are any indication and you need to put back everything you lose.
I’ve got the citrus at the moment but the watermelon and raspberry are also excellent. I like the chocolate salt but it may not be for everyone. Nothing wrong with pouring one of these into your Maurten 160 before a race and it works as a margarita mix in a pinch.
They’ve just released 16oz cans of sparkling LMNT but at the moment you can only get them direct from their website and need to order a staggering 32 of them for $72. I suspect this is the only way they can make the shipping cost effective given the weight. I will treat myself to these at some point but the powder is far more practical.
Price: 30 servings for $45
Verdict: REAL